Diablo 4 - Review Roundup

[HiddenX]

Couchpotato spotted some Diablo 4 reviews:

WCCFTech: Diablo IV Review - Great, Albeit Safe, Hack 'n' Slash Action
Diablo IV is almost here, and we've played a lot of it during ten days of hectic and very pleasing action on review servers for the press.

Videogamer: Our Diablo 4 review tackles the latest entry in the long-running series where you slay demons and earn better loot - but is it worth playing?

Videogameschronicle: Review: Diablo 4 is Blizzard back at its best | VGC
Blizzard exorcises the sins of Immortal with a stunning ARPG.

VG247: Diablo 4 review
Diablo is back with much of the same quality we've been pining for. But in a world with Path of Exile and other competitors, is Blizzard still the king of hell?

Shacknews: Diablo 4 review: A new perspective on a familiar hell
Our Diablo 4 review breaks down what makes the action-RPG from Blizzard stand out from its predecessors and where it really should have innovated

Rockpapershotgun: Diablo IV review: 2023's prettiest RSI machine
Diablo IV is a beautiful, frictionless grey toybox that puts nothing in the way of you playing it for hours and wondering what you've done with your life.

Polygon: Diablo 4 activates and frustrates my lizard brain
More busy work doesn't lessen the series-signature appeal

PCGamesN: Diablo 4 review - Hail Lilith, the darkness has returned
Our Diablo 4 review has been a long time coming, so if you're wondering if the excitement was worth it in the end - yes, yes it was.

Gamingtrend: Diablo IV Review -- Good to the last bloody drop
Diablo IV is a challenge to review. While its predecessors have been fairly straightforward affairs, with a linear story and builds that are more dependent on gear drops and loot tables, Diablo IV has a veritable cornucopia of options that are even more plentiful than I could have imagined...

Gamesradar: Diablo 4 review: "A magnificent and absurd loot theme park"
With nearly 100 hours on the clock, I fear I've barely scratched the surface of Diablo 4

Gamerant: Diablo 4 Review
Diablo 4 has used the lessons of its past to create a massive and enjoyable experience that fans and newcomers alike with be playing for a long time.

Gameinformer: Diablo IV - Review In Progress
Here's what we think of Diablo IV prior to its full launch.

Forbes: 'Diablo 4' Review: It Is Great, I Refuse To Make A Hell Pun
Diablo 4 has arrived. It feels like it has been worth the wait.

Dualshockers: Diablo 4 Review - A Bloody Good Time
A compelling story, a gritty world, and an addicting gameplay loop make this the strongest game in the Diablo series.

Digitaltrends: Diablo 4 review: a hell of a hack-n-slash RPG | Digital Trends
Diablo 4 is a glorious return to form for the Diablo series, though it comes with a few MMO concessions that may drag its experience down for some.

Destructoid: Review: Diablo 4
Diablo 4 is the newest entry in the legendary ARPG series. Find out if it lives up to its predecessors in our review.

Arstechnica: Diablo 4 review: Off to a hell of a good start
Annoying-but-ignorable microtransactions can't ruin nigh-endless looter fun.





More information.

 

[Redglyph]

From what I see of those "micro" transactions, Blizzard is not only abusing their employees.

Is it demanding for the GPU? One article seems to say it's fine on an RTX 4090 thanks to upscaling, and another seemed happy with a GTX 1070 (maybe after turning all settings to min, who knows).

 

[SveNitoR]

From what I see of those "micro" transactions, Blizzard is not only abusing their employees.

Is it demanding for the GPU? One article seems to say it's fine on an RTX 4090 thanks to upscaling, and another seemed happy with a GTX 1070 (maybe after turning all settings to min, who knows).

I could run the beta well on my Vega 64 at 2560x1440. I had to scale back some settings though, and the graphics weren't very impressive then.

 

[SirJames]

Is it demanding for the GPU? One article seems to say it's fine on an RTX 4090 thanks to upscaling, and another seemed happy with a GTX 1070 (maybe after turning all settings to min, who knows).

Runs great on my 1070 on high @ 1080p

Probably runs alright on a 4090. Hard to say, really.

 

[Denril]

On a rtx 2070s at 1440p and dlss on quality i had stable 60fps on high settings during beta.

 

[SveNitoR]

I've seen some other reviews as well. Most seem favorable, though it seems like it is as I feared: more MMO-like than I enjoy, and the level scaling is constant. I really don't enjoy level scaling, but in MMO-like games they seem almost mandatory in order to allow a group of friends to game together despite variable character levels.

 

[Vaelith]

I'm not a fan of level scaling either, but in a multiplayer action looter RPG it makes sense, even when not playing with friends, as it gives players the freedom to level through whichever areas or dungeons they prefer to reach max level, which is where the game actually begins.

Diablo 4 is set up as a seasonal game, and it's what it's being advertised as. The purpose is well-defined - kill demons and loot stuff til the end of the world and get the best, rarest loot so that you can kill demons even better and faster, each different season with a different set of rules and challenges.

It doesn't mean it can't be played as a quasi-single-player game to just complete the story and move on, but I feel that to anyone that wants that, and only that out of Diablo IV, the game will likely be direly underwhelming, much like Path of Exile, or any similar game. That hasn't changed a lot since the days of Diablo 2, over 20 years ago, as I genuinely remember days or weeks of back-to-back doing Mephisto loot runs with as much "Magic Item Find" as I could equip without immediately dying to get the best possible loot in the game, fishing for those perfectly rolled Natalya set pieces, or Bartuc's Claw. And while I don't have those amounts of time anymore, I'm very much looking forward to tapping into all that sea of dopamine once again.

 

[booboo]

It doesn't mean it can't be played as a quasi-single-player game to just complete the story and move on, but I feel that to anyone that wants that, and only that out of Diablo IV, the game will likely be direly underwhelming, much like Path of Exile, or any similar game.

yep and that sums up why I never really got into ARPGs except for an occassional bit of fun with friends - I prefer single player games that have a strong story. I also dislike level scaling, and if you play through as a singleton there shouldn't be a need? You can gate areas with high level creatures as many other games do.

 

[Vaelith]

yep and that sums up why I never really got into ARPGs except for an occassional bit of fun with friends - I prefer single player games that have a strong story. I also dislike level scaling, and if you play through as a singleton there shouldn't be a need? You can gate areas with high level creatures as many other games do.

It's great that different people can enjoy different things, and to me, it's alright that you're not into this kind of game, but you're into other kinds of games. I personally much prefer to interact with people who acknowledge that some type of game is not attractive to them, over those who fabricate in their mind how the game should be, and if it's not exactly how they want it to be, then it must be a bad game and everyone who likes that game is an idiot, plus the developer is rotten for making it that way - aka not the way they specifically wanted it to be to suit their personal taste.

I think what is important is to celebrate that games today are really diverse, and there is a bit of heaven for everyone. Sometimes I wish this or that game was more of my liking, but we can't have it all, can we? And in the end, now and then, you try things that are out of your comfort zone, and find out you actually like something you didn't expect, and that's a great feeling too.

 

[booboo]

Oh I agree - I was just stating my view on what I'd heard of D4, having played D1-3 (and really trying to enjoy them).

Initially D1/2 were fun, D1 because it was newish, but that simply wore off after time. I tried a bunch of other ARPGs (borderlands, grim dawn etc) and found that they really just didn't excite me - when there are just endless waves of enemies, and little story to motivate me, I rapidly lose interest. Especially if there is respawning - if I kill something, it should stay dead. Borerlands was terrible -I remember killing a horde of creatures in a cave, and on the way back out they had all respawned - That's just wrong!

 

[SirJames]

Especially if there is respawning - if I kill something, it should stay dead. Borerlands was terrible -I remember killing a horde of creatures in a cave, and on the way back out they had all respawned - That's just wrong!

Yeah, Borderlands games are pretty terrible. But backtracking through an empty cave doesn't sound that fun, either.

I think Diablo4 does it better. Clear the dungeon then just teleport out - no backtracking required! Good for random maps.

Another good one is having looping dungeons that finish where you start.

 

[Dasale]

Yeah, Borderlands games are pretty terrible. But backtracking through an empty cave doesn't sound that fun, either.

I think Diablo4 does it better. Clear the dungeon then just teleport out - no backtracking required! Good for random maps.

Another good one is having looping dungeons that finish where you start.

I thinks there's a big difference between first Borderlands and second, after it looks more like clones I didn't bother try.

One serious change is the respawn time was much better tuned so quite slower, and most areas involving some backtrack with a possible respawn in between was involving two very different combats, with same location and similar enemies eventually, but deeply different combats from the direction of your attack like from north or from south.

What I still don't like at all even in the second BLD is stuff respawn, like hidden stash respawned, and all containers or items to pick respawned. For me no matter their repsawn rate it's gamepaly mood breaking making me feel I don't play but just farm.

But ok, for dungeons, loops or teleport out make sense. I remind only one game exploiting fairly well such backtracking by making the backtrack to exit become an escape to exit, and facing new enemies or even some new problems along the backtrack. Note sure what game, perhaps some NWN or some NWN module.

 

[SveNitoR]

I'm not a fan of level scaling either, but in a multiplayer action looter RPG it makes sense, even when not playing with friends, as it gives players the freedom to level through whichever areas or dungeons they prefer to reach max level, which is where the game actually begins.

Diablo 4 is set up as a seasonal game, and it's what it's being advertised as. The purpose is well-defined - kill demons and loot stuff til the end of the world and get the best, rarest loot so that you can kill demons even better and faster, each different season with a different set of rules and challenges.

It doesn't mean it can't be played as a quasi-single-player game to just complete the story and move on, but I feel that to anyone that wants that, and only that out of Diablo IV, the game will likely be direly underwhelming, much like Path of Exile, or any similar game. That hasn't changed a lot since the days of Diablo 2, over 20 years ago, as I genuinely remember days or weeks of back-to-back doing Mephisto loot runs with as much "Magic Item Find" as I could equip without immediately dying to get the best possible loot in the game, fishing for those perfectly rolled Natalya set pieces, or Bartuc's Claw. And while I don't have those amounts of time anymore, I'm very much looking forward to tapping into all that sea of dopamine once again.

Yeah, it will likely be underwhelming to me, so I'm likely sitting this one out a few years.