With the fourth main installment to Blizzard Entertainment's long-running Diablo series hopefully releasing next year, many players are excited to see what Diablo 4 might bring to the table. Over the course of the series' run so far, each installment has offered something a little different, from new villains and different playable classes to mechanical tweaks and gameplay upgrades. Diablo 4 is Blizzard's chance to take the franchise in some intriguing new directions and really push the boundaries for what it means to be a Diablo game. Glimpses given of the game so far may look promising, but there are a few things Blizzard should steer clear of.
Developers are never going to please everyone, and even the most highly-rated and enthusiastically reviewed games of all time have their naysayers. That being said, the gaming community can have its share of valid criticisms of new titles, and developers need to make sure they're shipping games in the best possible shape they can be or risk the ire of players. With some rocky starts and controversial elements to the most recent Diablo games, Diablo Immortal and Diablo 2: Resurrected, Blizzard should make sure it learns from its mistakes to set Diablo 4 apart from some of its predecessors.
The Controversies Surrounding Diablo Immortal
Pay-to-win formats have always faced a heavy amount of criticism from players, and for good reason. While including purchasable items like cosmetics, weapons, and loot boxes has started to become much more common and is largely an accepted practice in games like Overwatch and Fortnite, the ability to buy OP advantages rather than earn them has never really sat right with the majority of gamers. Even if a title is free-to-play, gamers shouldn't be expected to shell out thousands in order to level up characters and explore all that a game has to offer. Diablo Immortal, the free-to-play MMORPG of the Diablo franchise, has faced a lot of backlash for its microtransactions, with reports claiming that players need to spend around $500,000 to max out their character.
Diablo Immortal didn't get off to the best of starts, either, as its announcement in 2018 was met with disappointment from fans who wanted a PC-focused installment instead of a mobile one. Diablo Immortal did eventually come to PC, but its release still garnered a fairly mixed response from the player base. Elements like combat and graphics were praised, but these couldn't overcome the negative reactions to the unfair progression system and the controversy of the game's microtransactions. Diablo Immortal still has its fans, but the hidden aspects of some features, the randomization and cost of progression, and the limits on non-fee paying players have culminated in a fairly poor reception.
The Restrictions Of Diablo 2: Resurrected
Diablo 2: Resurrected wasn't the subject of quite so much controversy, but it didn't have the smoothest of starts either thanks to some server problems. The remaster of Diablo 2 and its DLC launched with its own issues, and several months after its September 2021 release, some of them still weren't fixed. However, many agree that Diablo 2: Resurrected was a surprising but worthy remaster of the original game, and it's had a positive critical response overall. Blizzard was committed to maintaining the integrity of the original game and barely made any changes to the gameplay or mechanics, simply opting for a cosmetic upgrade.
This decision has pleased legacy players and gamers that might find the old-fashioned gameplay refreshing compared to more modern titles, but there's no denying that Diablo 2: Resurrected can feel a little dated. It's definitely not a recommended entry point to the Diablo franchise for new players, and even though its retro game design can be a nostalgic contrast to other ARPGs of recent years, it does feel a little clunky and awkward in comparison. Diablo 2: Resurrected is undoubtedly a more niche title for die-hard Diablo fans, and while it's been received positively, it doesn't necessarily have a wide appeal.
Diablo 4's Chance To Break Away
Diablo Immortal isn't the only controversy that Blizzard has faced recently, with Overwatch 2 proving to be pretty divisive alongside reports and allegations of harassment and a toxic work culture within its offices. While Blizzard is by no means the only major developer to be hit by such allegations in recent years, this has nevertheless combined with the microtransactions controversy to make players not particularly well-disposed toward Blizzard at the moment. Because of all the backlash, Blizzard has had to come out and assure players that the upcoming Diablo 4 won't be anything like Diablo Immortal. That may be true, but the inclusion of cosmetic microtransactions in the next Diablo installment does mean players are a little wary.
The launch of Diablo Immortal is still recent, and Diablo 4 is at least several months away, so the criticism and skepticism feel very fresh. Diablo 2: Resurrected may have been largely able to overcome its less than ideal launch, but Blizzard hasn't really been in gamers' good books lately. Diablo 4 is already a completely different beast from the ill-fated Diablo Immortal, as it's a full-priced game designed solely for PC and consoles. There will be multiplayer elements and PvP encounters, and although Diablo 4 will have a large open world for players to explore, it is not an MMO.
These aspects alone should distance it enough from Diablo Immortal, but players do sometimes have long memories for developer mistakes. As long as Blizzard is more transparent with features and any paid elements than it was with Diablo Immortal, it should be able to win players back to some extent. Diablo 2: Resurrected isn't as reviled as Diablo Immortal, but it didn't really represent a step forward for the franchise. It was a fun hit of nostalgia for long-time players, but it didn't necessarily entice new ones. Games are at their best when they have an active, engaged, and expanding player base, and Diablo 4 is Blizzard's chance to continue to build one. There are lots of new directions the Diablo franchise could go in, but emulating older games or including excessive microtransactions is definitely not the way forward.
Diablo 4 will launch in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
