Hands on preview coverage of Diablo 4, Blizzard’s return to its legendary grimdark ARPG, went live around the internet last night. The previews paint a picture of a game that is still very much leaning into story (concerning for the Diablo 2 heads that crave only ceaseless crunch and grind) while trying to claw back some of the crunch that was stripped out of Diablo 3 to make it more palatable (cheering from the Diablo 2 fans).
Among the local contingent, the feeling was that the game is heading in the right direction. Press Start Australia’s Camilla Wolfe felt her preview builds demonstrated a game that was “familiar but fresh”. GamesHub’s Edmond Tran noted how hard the game seemed to be pushing the story to the fore, with carefully crafted in-game cutscenes spotlighting narrative sequences. AusGamers’ Kosta Andreadis called “Diablo 2 meets Diablo 3” in both design and narrative approach. Checkpoint Gaming’s Omi Koulas focused in on the gameplay, digging into the kind of details the Diablo 2 crowd have craved — what kind of builds can I create? How much control over my base stats do I have? Omi comes away impressed, which will hopefully set a few minds at ease.
Kotaku Australia wasn’t invited to preview Diablo 4, so, unfortunately, we have no coverage of our own to offer around this one. Maybe next time!
Looking overseas, Polygon’s Ryan Gilliam noted how seriously the game seemed to take itself, and what a marked retreat from the more heroic fantasy of Diablo 3 that was. This element of Diablo 4‘s design has been a known quantity for some time: Diablo 3 famously attempted to trade on World of Warcraft‘s immense popularity by lightening the tone of its story and aesthetic, to the chagrin of the long-time fandom. In the creation of Diablo 4, Blizzard has made a lot of noise about returning to the oppressive darkness of Diablo 2.
IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey was effusive in his praise (though he usually is), saying he can’t stop thinking about the game. Gamespot’s Alessandro Barbosa was also interested in the ways the game seeks to differentiate itself from its predecessors. Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese was also very pleased with what he saw, saying “I’m sold”.
Even the damn PlayStation blog, which exists as a pure promotional tool, got a writer in the preview.
Anyway.
If Blizzard’s happy to have people running hands-on content around a recent build, it would lend credence to the rumours that a 2023 release date is indeed imminent. Rumours have swirled for weeks that the game could be set for release as early as March, though more sensible estimates put it closer to July. This is the kind of thing that would have been announced at BlizzCon in previous years, but, of course, after Blizzard’s tumultuous year, plagued with scandals and departures, that show no longer exists.
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