Published Nov 2024
Published Nov 2024
Published Nov 2024
Published Nov 2024
Published Nov 2024
DIABLO IV
DIABLO IV
DIABLO IV
DIABLO IV
Despite the incredible cutscenes and concept design, Blizzard's latest action RPG feels repetitive and one-dimensional
From:
Blizzard
Year:
2023
Genre:
Action RPG
Played:
25 hr
From:
Blizzard
Year:
2023
Genre:
Action RPG
Played:
25hr
25 hr
25 hr
From:
Blizzard
Year:
2023
Genre:
Action RPG
Played:
25 hr
Was there anyone who watched the summoning of Lilith in the 2020 announcement trailer that wasn't completely blown away?
Was there anyone who watched the summoning of Lilith in the 2020 announcement trailer that wasn't completely blown away?
I had never played a minute of any Diablo game, but after experiencing that masterpiece, it quickly rose to the top of my list of games to purchase, and three years later after its release, finally got to try to try the Diablo franchise for the first time.
As indicated by the rating, I unfortunately dropped this game relatively quickly, preventing me from assigning it an official RGR rating. However, during the 25 hours I did play, I was able to develop a reasonable perspective on the factors that contributed to my disinterest, while also identifying some positives to share, particularly regarding the remarkable design and aesthetics of the world and its creatures, which likely attracted me to the game in the first place.
What an aesthetic it is! The dark fantasy world creates a gritty and ominous atmosphere alongside some beautiful demonic themes. Delving into the pre-production concept work reveals that the artists deliberately grounded the visual language in rich gothic and religious imagery. According to Igor Sidorenko, the lead concept artist, much inspiration was drawn from fine art paintings produced during the 16th and 19th centuries. I have included some of those works below, showing how that influence poured into their creation of Sanctuary, one of the most awesome dark fantasy worlds I have encountered since Elden Ring.
When it's eventually brought to life in the 3D game world, it works so well, showcasing a highly polished and original output that continues the degree of quality established by the Lillith trailer, delivering stunning cutscenes, intricate character cosmetics and equipment, immersive landscapes, dungeons, towns, and fantastic creature design
I had never played a minute of any Diablo game, but after that masterpiece it immediately propelled up my list of games to buy, and three years later I finally got to try the Diablo franchise for the first time.
As indicated by my rating, unfortunately, this was a game I dropped quickly, thus preventing me from giving it an official RGR rating. However, in the 25 hours I did play, I managed to gather enough experience and thoughts to form a decent perspective on why this game wasn’t working for me, despite uncovering some positives along the way.
Undoubtedly, the pinnacle of the game lies in the various cutscenes, which are simply remarkable. The exquisite design of Lilith, her various minions and there eventual tirade through the world was stunningly executed, so much so that I watched all the main story cutscenes on YouTube to fully experience the main narrative. From what I observed, the overall world and lore was top-tier, with excellent voice acting and dialogue, an interesting plot and great atmosphere, allbiet the occasional forced or non-sensical character decisions and plot devices that popped up to advance the story.
The primary focus, of course, should be on gameplay, which failed to resonate with me. I found myself mindlessly pressing the same buttons over and over, dispatching hordes of enemies one wave after another without much challenge to be found. It didn’t feel like I was applying any thought or skill to progress through the levels, and this feeling only intensified when I joined my friends in a party (who were a few levels above me) as we melted through endless enemies as if sweeping leaves.
It was really grinding and boring. I am not completely grinding adverse, as long as that behavior is secondary to the more intellectually stimulating core game, which unfortunately for me was not the case here. Gaming definitely has a place where switching off and unwinding from the world is the main objective, but you can do this without relying solely on monotonous grinding in my opinion. TV shows are known as a downtime experience too, but they still engage us with complexity and depth and there is no reason Diablo and its ARPG mechanics couldn't to offer the same experience.
Gameplay was where I felt the most disappointment. It struck me as overly repetitive and grind-heavy, as I found myself pressing the same buttons repeatedly to defeat waves of enemies without much skill or thought as I moved through straight-forward dungeon levels. I hoped for encounters that would require strategic planning or trial and error, but such moments never materialized during my playtime. Additionally, multiplayer sessions with my friend only seemed to exacerbate the problem.
I am not entirely opposed to grinding, provided that such behavior is secondary to a more stimulating core game. Gaming definitely has a place for the more mindless 'switching off' type of experience, but in my opinion you can achieve this without depending solely on monotonous grinding. Television shows are often regarded as a downtime experience as well, yet they still engage us with complexity and depth, and there is no reason why Diablo and its ARPG mechanics couldn't do the same.
Everything scaled to my level, which meant that getting stronger didn’t seem to have any real impact; I was anchored exactly where the game wanted me to be at all times. The items behaved similarly, cumulatively offering tiny percentage gains as they build strength over time, but never dropping anything that felt special or game-changing. Collecting items in general was not that exciting, a blow for a game in which the reward system is primarily loot-based.
I had never played a minute of any Diablo game, but after that masterpiece it immediately propelled up my list of games to buy, and three years later I finally got to try the Diablo franchise for the first time.
As indicated by my rating, unfortunately, this was a game I dropped quickly, thus preventing me from giving it an official RGR rating. However, in the 25 hours I did play, I managed to gather enough experience and thoughts to form a decent perspective on why this game wasn’t working for me, despite uncovering some positives along the way.
Undoubtedly, the pinnacle of the game lies in the various cutscenes, which are simply remarkable. The exquisite design of Lilith, her various minions and there eventual tirade through the world was stunningly executed, so much so that I watched all the main story cutscenes on YouTube to fully experience the main narrative. From what I observed, the overall world and lore was top-tier, with excellent voice acting and dialogue, an interesting plot and great atmosphere, allbiet the occasional forced or non-sensical character decisions and plot devices that popped up to advance the story.
The primary focus, of course, should be on gameplay, which failed to resonate with me. I found myself mindlessly pressing the same buttons over and over, dispatching hordes of enemies one wave after another without much challenge to be found. It didn’t feel like I was applying any thought or skill to progress through the levels, and this feeling only intensified when I joined my friends in a party (who were a few levels above me) as we melted through endless enemies as if sweeping leaves.
It was really grinding and boring. I am not completely grinding adverse, as long as that behavior is secondary to the more intellectually stimulating core game, which unfortunately for me was not the case here. Gaming definitely has a place where switching off and unwinding from the world is the main objective, but you can do this without relying solely on monotonous grinding in my opinion. TV shows are known as a downtime experience too, but they still engage us with complexity and depth and there is no reason Diablo and its ARPG mechanics couldn't to offer the same experience.
Was AI used to create the dungeons? I noticed a mention of Blizzard’s Diffusion tool in some online articles, but it remains unclear to what extent it was utilized, if at all. I bring this up because the dungeons felt a little copy-paste and one-dimensional, and as a result, entering one was never particularly exciting. Dungeons should be mysterious and exploratory spaces, ideally filled with obstacles and challenges that encourage movement from one area to another. I didn’t see much of this in the approximately 20 dungeons I explored, however the overall atmosphere to found was enjoyable and well-crafted.
As a UI designer, I'll write one final section on the visual design of the interface. It is one of the nicest-looking UIs I have ever used. I’ve worked at major tech companies making UI, and we like to think we are at the top of experience design, but it is truly the GUI designers like these who carry the torch for our craft. They take extremely complex and often bloated functionality and turn it into design systems that are not only functionally solid but also exhibit a level of craftsmanship and detail that can only be described as high art. The HUD panel alone is more beautiful than the thousands of screens I have created over my 10+ year career as a UI designer.
This is not to say that the interface was without its issues. While playing on the Xbox, I found item management to be extremely tedious, as I spent excessive time storing and checking the value of items. A more effective filter design and a quicker method for offloading and organizing items would have been appreciated. Navigation was also challenging, and key information was difficult to decipher quickly. Additionally, I encountered several bugs that disrupted my experience, along with general inconsistencies and issues with touch targets. Style over substance might be a fair assessment of this GUI, but I do not envy the designers tasked with creating a complex game like this, especially when they must ensure functionality across both PC and console platforms.
Everything scaled to my level, meaning that getting stronger didn’t actually do anything - you are cemented exactly where it wants you to be, at all times. The items behave similarly, cumulatively offering tiny percentage gains as it builds strength over time, but never dropping anything that felt special or game changing. Collecting items in general was not that exciting, a blow for a game whose reward system is primarily loot based.
Was AI used to create the dungeons? I saw a mention of Blizzard’s Diffusion tool in some online articles prior, but it's not clear to what extent it was utilized, if at all. The reason I bring this up is because the dungeons felt a little copy-paste and one dimensional, therefore never that an exciting a proposition to enter. Dungeons should be mysterious, exploratory places, ideally with obstacles and challenges to move from one area to another. I didn’t see much of this in the 20 or so dungeons I explored, but to be fair did find the overall atmosphere of Sanctuary to be enjoyable and well crafted.
As a UI designer I have to write a section on the amazing work they did with the interfaces visual design. It’s one of the nicest looking UI’s I have ever used. I’ve worked at big tech companies and we like to think we are at the pinnacle of experience design, but it is really GUI designers who hold the torch of our craft. They take extremely complex and often bloated functionality and turn it into design systems that not just are functionally solid, but come with a level of craft and detail that can only be described as high art. Diablo’s HUD panel alone is more beautiful than the 1000s of screens I've made in my 10+ year career.
This isn’t to say that the interface didn’t have its issues. Item management felt extremely tedious, spending too long storing and checking the value of items. A faster way to offload and organize would have been appreciated. Things were also hard to navigate and key info difficult to decipher quickly. There were also a few bugs that broke my experience, and general issues found with consistency and touch targets.
My last is for the awesome character and concept designs that Ive have continued to search for since putting the game down. The demons look fantastic, a nice balance between well established classics like skelton and new demonic forms. The playable characters and their cosmetics were beautiful as well. I've collected a bunch of favorites in the mood board below, but would love to find more
VERDICT
The combat had the potential to be so much better. I would have traded massive generic hordes for smaller and more powerful groups that encouraged the use of specialized move sets and behaviors that necessitate strategic approaches. This could involve delegating specific actions and party members, different engagement hierarchies, or requiring planned tactics both before and during battle. Replacing some of the mindless gameplay would have resonated with me more. It’s unfortunate because the world and story, crafted through the dark concept design—and told through its glorious cutscenes—are at the pinnacle of quality, supported by a lore that continues to attract new gamers like myself to the franchise.
RATING BREAKDOWN
Gameplay
47
Visuals:
86
Story:
-
Sound:
75
BONUS
cut scenes
concept design
FINAL
MOOD
MOOD
