The Diablo series has always held a special place in my heart. As far as I know, the first video game I ever remember playing was the original Diablo on PC. Even as a child, I fondly remember being captivated by this new entertainment medium - by this horrifying, immersive RPG that ignited my imagination and introduced me to the wonders of gaming. Over two decades later and things have finally come full circle. Diablo 4 manages to draw from those nostalgic feelings while putting a modern, masterful spin on the formula that was honestly very hard to put down.

Diablo 4's story takes place several years after the events of Diablo 3. After Malthael wiped out a good chunk of humanity, the remnants of society have struggled to rebuild the world, caught in a perpetual cycle of violence, despair and grief. A lone warrior journeys across the lands before unravelling greater mysteries surrounding blood-thirsty cults, the return of the demonness Lilith and a cataclysmic conflict that threatens to change Sanctuary forever.



I'm probably in the minority when I say that I mainly play the Diablo games to experience the world, characters and story. Beyond all the fluff about live service, endgame and battle passes is an incredibly captivating world dense with interesting dark fantasy lore. It's a shame that the marketing for Diablo 4 seemed to focus so heavily on everything but the story because that's, honestly, the best thing about this game.

While Diablo always delivered captivating lore, its front-and-center narratives for each game were never as strong. The generic heroes rising to overthrow mustache-twirling villains was a storytelling formula beaten to death by the time Diablo 3 released. The game's narratives were held up by the strong lore beneath it but they were never able to match it - well, until now.



Diablo 4's story is magnificently written and it seems like Blizzard learned a lot from the narrative missteps of its past, finally being able to match the intensity of the lore with the excellent plot at the forefront. It's dark, depressing, grim and paints the most morbid and terrifying rendition of evil that I've ever seen in fiction since Berserk. Diablo 4 has finally lived up to the potential of the franchise's premise and I was hooked from the first minute all the way to the gripping, high-octane final hours.

Diablo 4's story is magnificently written and it seems like Blizzard learned a lot from the narrative missteps of its past.

The character writing is particularly strong in Diablo 4, too. Usually, Diablo tends to have forgettable side characters with the exception of a few that stand out (Deckard Cain) or stand out for all the wrong reasons (Leah). However, I was thoroughly invested in the plights of almost every character I met on my journey through Sanctuary this time. Most characters are well-rounded and you get a good understanding for why they are the way they are, or why they're doing often unspeakable actions. The game never gives these characters any justification for it but forces you to examine them in a morally grey light.



The same can be said about Diablo 4's central villain, the mother of Sanctuary, Lilith. Unlike the previous poster bad guys for past games (with the exception of Baal), Lilith is a complex, layered villain that simply believes her cause is for the benefit of humanity. It's hard to look at her as a one-dimensional antagonist since she almost comes across as sympathetic at times, even though her actions and methods are, by all means, absolutely deplorable. Without spoiling anything, I loved how Blizzard handled her tumultuous and destructive relationship with Inarius in this game since that bitter rivalry is at the heart of the narrative.

I've gushed enough about the story in Diablo 4 because it was the biggest thing that stood out to me and kept me going for nearly 25 hours. The world-building is top-notch and the dialogue feels a lot more subdued than the over-the-top, cartoonish nature of Diablo 3's writing. Like I said, I wish Blizzard actually put more of a spotlight on the narrative in the marketing because it's the best in the series yet. A lot of my praise revolves around this but if you're in it for the gameplay and the endgame (we'll get to that in a bit), Diablo 4 delivers that in spades too.



If you've already played one of the numerous betas for Diablo 4 before launch, not much has actually changed in the final product beyond some minor UI adjustments and class balances. The core gameplay loop still has you chasing those sweet loot drops for increasingly better gear and items, clearing hundreds of dungeons of hellish enemies, upgrading your character build and exploring the vast corners of Sanctuary's gigantic map. On that note, the world of Sanctuary here is incredible, densely packed with detail, activities, dungeons, points of interest, ruins and towns that all add to the fantastic world-building. Every location is a story, clearly designed with passion and thought.

Unlike the previous poster bad guys for past games (with the exception of Baal), Lilith is a complex, layered villain that simply believes her cause is for the benefit of humanity.

You'll have five classes to choose from in the beginning of the game: Barbarian, Socerer, Druid, Necromancer and Rogue. Each class features an extensive skill tree with branching nodes, not too dissimilar to the one seen in Diablo 2. You can choose to stick with one specific set of skills to master in, or go for the jack of all trades approach and experiment with everything - it's entirely up to you. I opted for the Sorcerer and focused my acquired skill points (gained per level) on lightning damage and crowd control, though your build comes down to personal preferences and what you enjoy using the most. It's not a game-changing skill tree but it gets the job done, and it's certainly a notch above the fractured way you unlock skills in Diablo 3.



After clearing the game with Sorcerer, I dabbled in the other classes to get a better overall understanding of how they play. In my experience, Blizzard could still do some balancing to the Druid and Barbarian classes as they feel notably underpowered in the initial hours when compared to the other classes. The Sorcerer and Rogue proved to be the most fun classes with the most varied playstyles while the Necromancer, thankfully, isn't as useless as it was in the Server Slam. I never got the chance to extensively try out every class in the game, but they're all worthy and totally viable - it's just that some take a bit longer to become viable than others.

The gameplay itself is the best in the franchise. It manages to feel more like the traditional way you cautiously approached combat in Diablo 2 with the thrill of being a fulfilling power fantasy like Diablo 3. You really feel the impact of melee attacks and of spells demolishing hordes around you. Everything hits with a satisyfing crack (thanks to stellar sound design). It's incredibly addictive, to the point where I kept pushing myself to explore "just one more dungeon" at 3AM.



Of course, if you're familiar with the general ebb and flow of a Diablo game, then you'll feel right at home with Diablo 4. Exploring the game's various dungeons and locations will net you some rewards and that's the key to the gameplay loop's addictive nature: the rewards are great and it all feels earned. Naturally, you might be grinding longer hours for Legendary gear but thanks to the ability to now extract and imbue aspects of gear onto other items, you can easily spend time honing a more ideal build and tweaking your skills to your personal preferences. The number of options here is staggering and I can't commend Blizzard enough for putting this much careful attention to the finer details of character customisation.

The artistry behind the landscape design, sound effects, character models and striking environmental detail is world-class.

In terms of the technical aspects and presentation, Diablo 4 is phenomenal. The artistry behind the landscape design, sound effects, character models and striking environmental detail is world-class. It's about as AAA as you can get in the gaming industry, with clearly a lot of thought put behind its premise. The world is uninviting, dangerous, mysterious and alluring, gently encouraging you to keep going around the next corner in the hopes of finding something new and incredible. Exploration has always been a pillar of past Diablo games, but in Diablo 4, it's a fantastic journey upheld by its gorgeous presentation.



To address the elephant in the room, there's the live service elements and its MMO-lite features. For the most part, the MMO experience is relegated to major towns that act as hub areas where you'll encounter other players roaming around and doing their usual routines. You can also stumble across random world events where other players can join you to battle - I always greatly appreciated the assists. More importantly, it never felt like I was being forced into doing any multiplayer content. In fact, most players on servers seemed like they were in their own bubbles without intruding on your own adventure. Because of this, I could simply enjoy Diablo 4 as a traditional "single-player" game and still soak in the story at my own pace.

Blizzard promises that Diablo 4's endgame will evolve with frequent updates, seasonal content, battle passes and more. I can't say for certain that this will be a good thing or if Blizzard will royally fumble it (and there's a good chance that will happen because it's Blizzard), but so far, it's fine. It's definitely not something that I will sink countless hours into since Diablo has - and always will be - more about the journey, the fascinating lore and the storytelling than the destination for me. However, in my time dabbling with the endgame, I can honestly say that it offers a lot more bang for your buck than Diablo 3. In fact, it's a frightening amount of content that will eat hundreds of hours of your time if you're aiming for the endgame. Even if you aren't tagging along for the story, Diablo 4's stacked endgame content is more than worthy of the asking price.



Due to the nature of the game always requiring an constant online connection, I have been made aware of potential issues that current players are facing. The always online component isn't necessary, especially if you're a person like me who mainly takes the solo path. While my online experience with the game was mostly decent - apart from one disconnect and short queues, which I experienced in the early access period - the experience might differ for players so it's worth bringing up these problems and making potential buyers aware of them should they consider purchasing the game right now. Future updates might remedy these issues, though.

I closed Diablo 4 on a very high note. This is undoubtedly the best game that Blizzard has ever made and I'm still trying to wrap my head around just how much great content is on offer here, whether you're seeking a satisfying, well-written and bold story with masterful world-building or want fantastic endgame activities to drown in. Since Diablo 4 is still "evolving" for better or worse, the product it is right now is nothing short of a masterpiece, the best game in the series and one of the best games I've played in 2023 so far.

UPDATE: In light of the recent discussions surrounding Diablo 4's excessive microtransactions, costly prices and poor handling of post-launch content, this review has been altered to reflect a more suitable score. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, however, we firmly believe that games should be held to a higher standard and the post-launch experience has unfortunately tainted a bit of what made this game special in my eyes. Thank you for understanding.



*PS5 Review code provided by Blizzard Entertainment