In 2022, Blizzard Entertainment celebrated the 25th anniversary of a cult saga in the video game world, initiated in 1997: Diablo. A franchise of dark medieval fantasy, which democratized hack’n’slash in the video game universe after the first beginnings of the genre with Dragon Slayer, in the mid-1980s. If the last big game to date is Diablo III, released in 2012 on Windows and Mac OS then, the following year on home consoles, regularly updated,
moreover, with expansions like Reaper of Souls, the publisher made fans languish with a remake (Diablo II: Resurrected ) and a mobile version (Diablo Immortal), which has been controversial for its ubiquitous monetization. But in the shadows, Blizzard teams were already working on the future of the saga with the highly anticipated Diablo IV.
The publisher took advantage of the Game Awards ceremony to unveil the title’s release date, set for June 6, 2023, but we had the chance to try the game in preview on a test build. The opportunity to discover the prologue and the first area of the game, called the Fractured Peaks. Between novelties and consolidation of the bases of the franchise, Diablo IV is above all marked by the striking passage to the next gen (our test was carried out on PS5), which will delight fans thanks to the cutscenes more sublime than ever, trademark of the Licence. In fact, for fans who can’t wait to enjoy this game, today they can buy Diablo 4 Gold at P2Pah.com.
A character creation that has a mouthful
In our test, we only had access to three classes (Thief, Sorcerer and Barbarian) out of the five announced at the launch of the game, since the roster will be completed with the very popular Druid and Necromancer. If we stay on the classic on this side, it is now possible to personify them more through a character creation system much more advanced than in previous games.
If it is not as complete as an Elden Ring, the customization goes much further than the simple choice of gender. Skin tone and eye color, facial hair, tattoos, jewelry, accessories and other gadgets are all part of creating the hero or heroine of your choice. Moreover, the test build was only a preview of this new system which will offer even more freedom when the game is released, without however being in the confidence of details such as the modification of the face and the body, such as the nose, the mouth, the shape of the skull or even the musculature.
The pleasure of the open world and an elaborate storytelling
For my first try, I chose to dive into the essence of Diablo with a well-venerated melee Barbarian based on a bleeding build. But, before giving ax blows with a vengeance, I am surprised by a long and sublime introductory cinematic. We will carefully avoid spoiling the story which brings back to the fore a forgotten demon as the main antagonist, but the next gen does Diablo a lot of good. The beauty of the cinematics involves us more in the story, sometimes very abstract, of the franchise; here, it is much more “down to earth, mature and dark”, like a return to the sources of the saga and in particular to Diablo II, unanimously considered the best of the franchise.
We are then propelled into a gigantic open world of which we have only seen a tiny part in this build. After about ten minutes more or less scripted (the tutorial for noobs like me, basically), you can literally go where you want, at your own risk to come across creatures much more powerful than your character. If you want to take a break from the story, it is quite possible to visit a dungeon to loot, complete mostly scripted side quests, participate in random events in the open world to earn stuff and the experience or simply wander through the different regions, following the waves of blood that you will spill in the vast and snowy fields of the Fractured Peaks.
Rather cheerful by this first part, I decided to move on to a class that speaks to me more: a remote wizard who looks like he came out of Harry Potter with his little starting magic wand. And there, it was really the foot. Thanks to the new skill tree, which is literally structured like a tree, it is possible to specialize in an element without making your character weak in the face of large waves of enemies. Diablo 4 Gold would really help to form a stronger character. For example, my wizard quickly became a master of ice (fire and electricity elements are also an option), able to shoot huge hailstones at full speed, swing a frozen orb in AOE, protect himself with a barrier cold or freezing an area when you are surrounded by adversity.
We then discover the new gameplay mechanic, called “Evade”, which allows you to quickly get out of the molasses with a dash that only obeys a cooldown of a few seconds. It’s silly, but this mechanic, which was found only in Diablo III through a skill of the Demon Hunter, makes the fights much more rhythmic and dynamic, especially for ranged classes. After all, I understood that the story of Diablo IV was written in a non-linear way, in order to offer more freedom to players who above all wish to venture into the open world without encounter scripted barriers.
