Blizzard Diablo IV – PlayStation 5

Para ser importado fue un envío muy rápido, pero el disco venía fuera de su base de seguridad, lo cual hacía que el disco se moviera constantemente, pudiendo provocar ralladuras en el mismo, por suerte no se rayó, pero se debe de cuidar ese aspecto

Great 4th installment game.

Just to give you a sense of my experience with the franchise…I was so thoroughly obsessed with the original Diablo that I played the PC demo 10+ times just waiting for the full game to come out. Still get a chill when I hear The Butcher’s lusty cry of “FRESH MEAT!” nearly 30 years later. Maxed multiple hardcore characters in Diablo 2 on PC, and enjoyed playing Diablo 3 co-op with my son on PS4. Was a bit apprehensive about Diablo IV given Blizzard’s recent dubious track record, but this game re-affirms that they do indeed know how to make a great game when they really want to.

I love the gritty, vaguely Eastern-European and Middle-Eastern atmospheres. I also really appreciate the moral ambiguity of the factions, characters and situations you come across. You get to decide where your sympathies lie, and it’s not always easy. The music sets just the right tone, and I especially liked a certain early story segment that utilized an updated version of the original Tristram music (they should have used this trope more, actually — it really tickled my nostalgia, plus it’s just a great composition). I half-expected to hear Deckard Cain utter his usual “Stay a while, and listen…” The dialogue is mostly thoughtful (just occasionally generic or a bit trite/unnecessary), and the voice actors do a very good job of role play. The missions are about as creative and varied as they can be, given the rather narrowly-focused action format.

Speaking of action — it is a mostly hyped-up and souped-up version of Diablo’s signature real-time mayhem style. Each character’s skill sets allow for a lot of variety in terms of how you dispatch enemies. If you can set aside wondering what all these monsters that jam up the various locations do when you’re not around to mow them down…just table that thought and keep on mowing. I was pleasantly surprised by the tactical variety and challenges posed by different bosses, and I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of trying to put together just the right set of skills (and dodges) to overcome them.

My first playthrough I tried hardcore Necromancer (LOVE the fact you don’t have to complete the game non-hardcore first), but I got killed by (you guessed it) The Butcher at lowly level 11. So…decided to go regular (non-hardcore) Druid on Difficulty 2 (of 5) all the way through, and just finished. I died maybe 10 times mostly early game, then by level 30 or so got powerful enough that I never really felt that threatened (level 55 at end). WOW…what a journey…and I probably only did about 60% of the side stories and quests and dungeons (or perhaps even less).

In some ways the ending is just the beginning, as the designers have been very thoughtful and broad-ranging in their implementation of post-game and seasonal activities. I feel as if I have barely scratched the surface (just ramped up to Difficulty 3) of everything you can ultimately do in the game.

If there is one lackluster aspect of Diablo IV, it is the loot system. Sometimes it is inordinately complicated and insufficiently explained (such as the seasonal upgrades); most of the time it is incrementally fine-tuned to a fault and on the whole, rather boring. I have almost 3 million gold and no idea what to do with it. I break down at least 98% of what I find and find myself wondering why exactly these monsters just happen to drop gear which only makes it easier to annihilate them. I hope the next iteration of Diablo takes a much more “realistic” approach to loot and crafting, as the current reward system just doesn’t seem that rewarding (beyond advancing the story forward, or doing some activity you haven’t done before).

By contrast, I can still remember how exciting it was finding loot in the original Dungeons and Dragons role playing game 40 years ago(!). Flaming Longsword +1? SWEET! Bracers AC6 for my Magic User? JUST WHAT I NEEDED! Even though that was much more rudimentary, the excitement was much more palpable. This is something the designers of the Souls series seemed to understand, and I hope the owners of the Diablo franchise take it to heart. Less loot, more value = unforgettable gaming.

On the whole, Diablo IV is a very polished, immersive game with a surprisingly compelling story and characters you will not forget.