“Diablo 4” in the Beta: More Players, More Story, More “Diablo” Blood, Loot, Demons and People who Let Themselves be Seduced by Them
The “Diablo 4” beta has everything a good “Diablo” game needs – for better or for worse. The game still looks quite similar to its predecessor, but that’s because Blizzard has continuously developed “Diablo 3” since its release in 2012. Certain design elements are typical “Diablo” and therefore timeless to a certain extent, such as copy-paste dungeons.
While the main missions lead to individually designed locations, many of the side tasks take place in partially randomly generated environments. The appearance and layout of these environments are repeated after just a few hours of play, which can make the secondary content feel repetitive.
Despite this, “Diablo 4” has several exciting story moments and twists that make players want more. The storytelling is more ambitious than its predecessor since the story is no longer told only in dialogues and rare pre-rendered video scenes. Instead, the game spits out cutscenes in the in-game look, which makes the story feel much more personal and direct.
“Diablo 4” is now a multiplayer game, and the multiplayer system is called the “Shared World.” You can team up with friends and strangers to contest events in the open game world together. However, encounters with other players happen dynamically and are part of the overall package. Certain activities are specifically designed to be tackled as a group.
Blizzard promises that only cosmetic items will be sold in “Diablo 4,” so pay-to-win is off the table. One can expect that “Diablo 4” will be further developed in the long term anyway, and balance changes are to be expected up until release and for years to come.
The game’s level system felt a bit bloodless in its current version. You can award a point after each level up, and the options are rarely exciting. Real new skills can be unlocked at predefined level limits, but there are a number of ways to customize the figure and cobble it together to create your own dream build.
More importantly, mowing down hordes of monsters is a lot of fun again in “Diablo 4.” The core gameplay, the battles, is sitting. Using the Onslaught skill with the Barbarian feels a bit like crashing into a crowd of monsters with an express train. Blizzard can build on that since the new camera zooms in further than its predecessors.
“Diablo 4” looks great, sounds great, and plays catchy. If the scope can match the basics, then this could be a game that series veterans and new players alike can enjoy.
