Diablo is one of the most influential games of all time. It was released in 1997 on PC and even though it has received only a handful of sequels, it has remained relevant for decades. One example of its influence can be seen through Destiny, which took the hack-and-slash looter concept and turned it into a shooter.
What about the game series internally? With this latest iteration, fans may be wondering if Diablo 4 is the best in the series so far. Does it do better than every entry before it, or does Diablo 4 fail to progress things forward?
8 Class And Character Customization
The first two games locked players into genders when they chose classes. Diablo 3 allowed players to choose their gender which was big at the time. Now, players can fully customizable their characters in Diablo 4 from gender to hair and eye color.
It’s a massive leap forward for the series, which is great. It’s now easier to stand out during multiplayer sessions with friends thanks to this and the improved transmog settings.
7 Exploring A Non-Linear World
It seems like every series wants to be an open-world experience now. The Dark Souls series leaped forward with the spiritual sequel of Elden Ring. Nintendo made a huge splash with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and now its sequel.
Diablo 4 has an open world as well although significantly smaller than those two examples. Compared to the previous entries in the series though, it is enormous. Just the idea of non-linear progression in the game is huge and it should give players that great sense of discovery that only open-world RPGs can.
6 A Story That Matters
The stories in the first two games were simple although still influential in their respective times. Diablo 3 was more of the same except with a bigger world with its story progression. There were CG cutscenes but there were never in-game cutscenes directed like the ones in Diablo 4.
Camera angles can now shift during story segments which is not new for RPGs. It is for this series though as is the presence of the villain who is Lilith in this case. It is more engrossing to have a villain like Lilith be a constant threat physically and mentally unlike previous villains in the series.
5 The Art Style
The art style in Diablo 3 was one of the things that didn’t sit well with longtime fans. The first two games went for a realistic look, at the time, with plenty of gore. Diablo 3 still had gore but the overall design matched World of Warcraft’s more exaggerated, cartoon-like aesthetic.
Much to the pleasure of fans, Diablo 4 has now gone back to the more realistic style and it rules. It’s not the most graphically up-to-date RPG on the market comparatively but it still looks good. Some of the gore may be too extreme but this is a game about fighting demons, so it fits.
4 The Potion System
Since Demon’s Souls and its spiritual sequel Dark Souls arrived, the video game industry has taken note. A lot more games feature the Soulslike challenging gameplay that became popular with that series. Diablo 4 is not a Soulslike game, but it has borrowed one element via potion distribution.
Every game leading up to this sequel allowed players to carry near-infinite amounts of health and mana potions which made things a tad too simple but that has changed. Health potions, for example, now have set charges which can be replenished at stations or by picking up vials in the field. This small change makes the game better by adding just a tad more challenge to it.
3 The Skill System
The skill system changes between sequels as do the classes within all of the time. As a blanket statement, Diablo 4 offers more variety to each class as far as upgrades go especially after the more linear progression of Diablo 3. So, not only can players customize their character’s visuals but their inner workings as well.
One Rogue in Diablo 4 can be vastly different from another skill-wise. Also, all classes can now dodge out the gate which is a massive improvement that the previous games lacked. It’s more fun and rewarding than ever before to hack away at enemies.
2 Co-Op Crossplay
Diablo began on PC, but it was brought over to consoles, via the PS1, just a year later. It lacked a lot of features but it was still popular. Diablo 2 didn’t add console support until the remake in 2021, but Diablo 3 did a year after its launch on a wide array of consoles.
Diablo 4 is the first new game in the series to simultaneously launch on both PC and consoles. It’s also the first new game to offer crossplay co-op across all consoles. This is an amazing feature that will bring all player types together to have a grand old time. What’s not to love about that?
1 Quest Companions
Previous entries have offered temporary party members before but their integration was minimal. This was fine since most players preferred co-op anyway as it is one of the selling points. Diablo 4 offers players that crossplay support, thankfully, but a lot of main and side quests also grant players temporary party members like Lorath and Neyrelle.
This makes the game more accessible for solo players that struggle in action RPGs. Adding characters to missions is just one more way the game helps construct its narrative better since important characters are around more.
Diablo 4 was released on June 6, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.