Diablo 4 Review: Franchise Returns to Form in Hauntingly Beautiful Sequel

Nearly a decade after the minds at Blizzard Entertainment dragged gamers into Sanctuary to deal with the likes of the franchise's eponymous demon and the fallen angel Malthael, we're able to revisit the dark land once more with the release of Diablo 4. It's a game some might consider the most anticipated from Blizzard in quite some time and has a significant weight resting on its shoulders after a lukewarm reception to Diablo 3 and its two expansions.

Luckily for those holding out the hope for the game, Diablo 4 manages to stick the landing and then some. Using the best parts of the changes introduced in Diablo 3 , the franchise's latest entry is a true return to form by combining a significant amount of the mechanics that made it the most prominent Action RPG in the land.

Story-wise, the main campaign of Diablo 4 is unlike anything we've seen before. The cut scenes, abundant throughout the game, are as cinematic as can be, and the story itself is hauntingly beautiful, something largely attributed to the villainous Lilith. Set decades after the events of Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls, the land of Sanctuary has rid the land of monsters, angelic and demonic alike. That allows for the return of Mephisto's daughter Lilith, who quickly makes her way through the world yearning for power she's desired for millennia.

The tale isn't something that reinvents the wheel, and for players that have kept up with the franchise throughout the years, it may seems redundant at times. In spite of that, Lilith is wonderfully complex and one of the most dynamic villains this property has seen. Luckily for the times when the grind grows a bit flat, Diablo 4's gameplay updates allow you to take a breath and explore areas other than Sanctuary as you put the primary story on hold.

The open world is arguably the largest change the game introduces, letting players pop all over Sanctuary in any order they seem fit. If you get stuck on one of the campaign's six acts, pop over to a different region for a quick change of pace. If you don't want to deal with the campaign, do one of the virtually hundreds of side quests or dungeons available throughout each region.

Ranging from seconds to minutes, each quest or dungeon will continue to provide ample loot and XP to your characters, progressing them even though you're not actively playing the campaign story. It's a change that's particularly welcome, one needed because of the combination of an open world with level-scaling opponents, which means you're in for a challenging time no matter which World Tier you find yourself playing on. It's also a change that was necessary for a live service game, with ample care being put into Diablo 4's expansive endgame. With roleplaying at the forefront, there's so much to do in the game it's thrilling and overwhelming at the same time.

In fact, Diablo 4 does everything in its power to put the RPG part of the genre at the forefront. Though the game is light on classes at launch, the customization of each character has been scaled tremendously. The franchise's Transmogrification is beefed up extensively here, allowing players to change the appearance of their armor and weapons to a look of another item they like better while retaining the stats of the actual item itself.

On top of that, changes have been introduced that allow you to socket items easier than ever before. Using materials collected through the game, a simple visit to the village Occultist will have you able to socket virtually anything in your inventory. After that, you can pop over to the Blacksmith to upgrade items you already have, a tremendous quality of life update for those not wanting to grind through one swath of demons after the next.

In a sense, Diablo 4 is perfect for both franchise mainstays and newcomers alike. The lore of Sanctuary expands drastically while the game, story and all, is large enough to keep new players busy. The game is built to allow the developers to scale it with ease with battle passes and seasons for a new generation, but it's nowhere close to being empty. In that sense, it almost feels if the Diablo team packed as much in it as possible into it at the beginning to avoid the feeling of other comparable live service games. Nevertheless, the entire package may end up as the franchise's most exciting piece given it has a little something for everyone.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Diablo 4 is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms with early access beginning the evening of Thursday, June 1st for those who pre-ordered the Deluxe and Ultimate packages of the game. Those who haven't pre-ordered, or pre-ordered the basic package will be able to begin playing the game on June 6th. A review code was provided by the publisher, and the game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.