There is a tremendously tall legacy thatDiablo 4seeks to live up to, and its latest gameplay breakdown shows plenty of promise in that regard, offering combat with more grounded visuals and better clarity compared to its predecessor. In a lot of ways, the overriding vision for the developers ofDiablo 4has been a thorough and respectful return to the franchise roots. Thetone inDiablo 4is darker, the world of Sanctuary is less whimsical – it is moody and atmospheric, and greater for its understated direction.
However, this design philosophy extends past the art andstory direction ofDiablo 4. The monsters of Hell inhabiting the game’s regions are not the paper tigers seen inDiablo 3, but rather strike a fine balance akin to the enemies ofDiablo 2. At its roots, theDiablofranchise has always been a power fantasy of taking on the infernal foes of Sanctuary as one of its unlikely heroes, gradually getting stronger along the way. ThoughDiablo 3eventually found its footing through Greater Rifts, its difficulty at launch left a lot to be desired, as a simple breeze could knock out most enemies on Normal difficulty.
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Diablo 4developers Joe Shely and Rod Ferguson sat down with IGN to showcase their intent on howDiablo 4would avoid falling into the same trap. From the get-go,Diablo 4’s combat is designed with clarity and heft in mind. Players should be able to see the surrounding battleground, and utilize it for a tactical advantage, be it through choke points, scalable cliffs, or destructible objects. It’s significantly less fun when the combat boils down to players mashing through a formless mass of enemies with extremely flashy abilities.
One thing whereDiablo 4differs from pastDiablotitlesis the inclusion of mounts. The world of Sanctuary in the fourthDiablogame has a much grander scale than anything players have ever experienced in the franchise. A fair bit of time between intense battles and daunting dungeons will have players come across nothing but gorgeously rendered scenery (and the occasional player), which is where mounts will serve them in better traversing these empty spaces.
Diablo 4is currently in a Closed Betathat ends on November 18, but players who haven’t been invited yet should keep an eye out in the coming months for a proper chance to test out the game. While no launch date has been officially confirmed by Blizzard, it is rumored that the game is set to launch in April next year.
Diablo 4will launch in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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