Diablo IV logo | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment | Screenshot by Ethan Berman
By ETHAN BERMAN
Staff Writer
In the past, Blizzard Entertainment has made some mistakes. One of their biggest was Diablo III – a pay-to-win, pointless grind that frustrated the Diablo community. The game had lost its sense of Diablo, the classic loot-and-scoot dungeon grind. It was nothing like its predecessor, Diablo II, and so upended expectations. Instead, we got a couch co-op casual experience with no depth. It’s almost as if Blizzard didn’t even try.
Blizzard then had the nerve to create a mobile Diablo game, which fell far short of expectations. The company ended up getting absolutely hounded by the players. With such a loyal fanbase to the originals in the Diablo-verse, Blizzard should have seen it coming. But nobody could’ve expected what happened next.
Monk being hypnotized by The Summoner | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment | Screenshot by Ethan Berman
The next interpretation of the series had been announced at Blizzard’s annual gaming convention, Blizzcon. The rollout included a 10-minute cinematic preview of Diablo IV, providing a sneak peek of the new main antagonist – and Mephisto’s daughter – Lilith. So far, fans like me are impressed and delighted to see a well-made trailer, as well as interactive class previews on Blizzard’s website.
Lilith’s demonic, bloodied first appearance. | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment | Screenshot by Ethan Berman
Blizzard has released information on everything regarding skills, character statistics, weapon types, item qualities, unique items, game optimization, and the game engine. They’ve also been releasing quarterly updates for Diablo IV.
The game looks promising, but looks aren’t everything. One could only hope that Diablo IV will be as good as the promotion – and that the game will be released before retirement.
FACTBOX
The game: Diablo IV
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment (maker of Warcraft, StarCraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch)
Cost: TBA, expect the $60 range
Key point: Better be as good as II
