Welcome to our little preview of Diablo IV, in the midst of the early beta, we got to engage the successor to the GOAT itself.
As is normal with Early access or previews and Betas alike, I will not be talking about any technical issues with the game, but limiting myself to the actual gameplay and to some extent the previous game. Diablo 3, which is in my opinion the GOAT of the genre.
This preview had some incredibly high expectations probably because it asked a single important question. How do you really make a follow-up to the game that was genre-defining and possibly one of the best of all time, regardless of genre? It was supported for years with tons of DLC and now, a new successor enters the battle of humanity versus ghouls, banshees and so many more.
What Diablo IV really did right, is that it created the exact same atmosphere of helpless mankind, in need of a hero to slay all evil. The Evil this time is Lilith, a female and horned demon, gorgeous in her own right, and well, you sadly did not get to see her fight in the short period you have with the game during the beta.
As always, it is the ultimate story of good versus evil and in true Diablo style, you are just thrown into the action whether you like it or not. After the typical character selection, you get the benefits and disadvantages of your selected class. Do you go for remote attacks or do you prefer to go hands-on? A lot is basically left untouched in general, but once you get to play, you will see some changes made to the progress of your character, though here I have to say, an automated “maximum statistics” setting for the clothes in the game.
What I really found remarkable about Diablo IV so far was when it was installed, I was looking at 70+ gigs worth of demo content, which seemed like so much, but then I got to play Sure, only the basic first steps into the game are included, though they do include a run in with one of Lilith’s minions. But the vast amount of content, even for a demo, it was quite impressive. This is a world that’s created with a lot of love and an eye for details.
In my short time with the game, I was liberating prisoners, going into cathedrals, exploring cellars, helping children be exorcised and so much more. I can not wait for the full game to drop and despite not being able to take my progress with me, I will gladly go all out again, probably even with the same class as now. I figured out the class system when I accidentally reset everything and suddenly had a more powerful fighter in my control. This is also the charm of Diablo, finding the class that fits your style the most and learning to harvest that raw potential of your power.
What I also really appreciate is the fact that there is no button bashing for games like these, just press and hold the button for continuous mayhem, much like you would want games like these to perform, it will save on thumbs being blistered and hands cramping up after 8 consecutive hours of slaying your favorite demons, now just to wait for the game to drop and indulge myself once over. After playing the beta I’m convinced this highly-anticipated will deliver.
