Combines the best of Diablo II and III | Review - Diablo IV Beta Test

Diablo IV is an action RPG developed and published by Blizzard, and the fourth game in the critically acclaimed and highly popular Diablo game series. It is scheduled for release on June 6, 2023, with a beta test currently in progress. The early access runs from March 17 to 19, with an open beta available next week March 24-26, free to try for everyone.

I got the chance to play the early access beta test of the upcoming game Diablo IV, and my experience with the gameplay has been nothing short of amazing so far. It still looks and plays like a proper Diablo game, with respect to both Diablo II and III.

Beautiful atmosphere and visuals

First of all, the visuals of Diablo IV are just beautiful, from the dark fantasy art style perfectly complemented by the immersive lighting system, to the highly detailed and customizable character models. Even the icons and UI elements are superbly designed, with a church-esque stained glass aesthetic going along with it.

For comparison, Diablo III at release was not even good looking by 2012 standards. This time, Diablo IV took it to the highest level and brought a visual fidelity worthy of being called a true graphical powerhouse when maxed out, and the requirements aren’t really demanding at the minimum: only needing a 2nd gen i5 and an old GTX 660 to run.

Everything is now in a higher detail, and this also benefits the storytelling a lot. There are now in-game cutscenes that allow the game to tell the story at a more personal level. It gives the developers the ability to do close-ups of the characters without having to resort to either a basic dialogue exchange or a high budget CGI sequence.

The story takes place thirty years after Diablo III, there was a somewhat peaceful era that is soon now disturbed by the return of Lilith, the demon who created Sanctuary — the world of humans. After having strange visions associated with Lilith's return, the player character pursues Lilith across Sanctuary.

Gameplay Analysis

For the gameplay, it still continues the signature explosive and action-packed combat that started with Diablo III, albeit with the dark art style and a deep varied skill tree that is closer to Diablo II.

Players can select any of the five classes to create and customize a character. Level it up, play through the campaign, explore the open world, and acquire better gear. With or without friends, you are placed in a shared instance with other online players, as well as party up with three other players. Diablo IV also features a global region, crossplay, and cross progression between PC and other consoles, so everyone who owns it in any platform can technically play with each other.

Beta Test schedule

The early access beta this weekend (March 17 to 19) gives players access to the Barbarian, Sorcerer, and Rogue classes, and can level them up to level 25 and finish up to Act I. The next round of beta is free for everyone (March 24-26) and will give access to the Druid and Necromancer classes.

Leveling characters allows you to accumulate points that can be used to acquire new skills. The system resembles the Diablo II system more so than Diablo III. With a clear choice given to the player on what spells to unlock, prioritize, and focus on. A respec quality of life option like the one in Diablo III however, is available. Allowing you to try out builds and experiment to your heart’s content — as long as you got the gold. For the purpose of the beta, all respects are temporarily free.

The skill trees are well designed. It’s not as overly complex as Path of Exile with over a thousand skills to choose from, it just gives players the right amount of abilities to work with. You could tell that the developers took their time and care in crafting these skills to what I would say a pretty engaging and somewhat balanced experience. Quality over quantity.

I've tried playing every alternative out there in search to fill the void that Diablo III left. Path of Exile, Grim Dawn, Torchlight, even Diablo Immortal and the recent Diablo II: Resurrected --- Nothing quite matched the explosive kinetic combat and the addicting gameplay loop that Diablo III offered, not until Diablo IV came.

The combat of Diablo IV is simply gratifying. The fluid movement, responsive controls, and satisfying hits accentuated by the stunning visuals make this game immensely satisfying to play.

The fluid gruesome combat system perfected in Diablo III makes a return in Diablo IV and is just as refined as ever. With the addition of some elements such as a dedicated dodge maneuver.

New to the series, Diablo IV now features a massive open-world aspect to it where the game world outside locations such as towns and the wilderness are in a shared instance with other players and parties, providing emergent multiplayer gameplay opportunities and cooperative activities all across the world map.

The gearing is looking great so far, the stat system resembles the closest to DIablo III, with streamlined stats for each body part slot and colored items indicating their rarity. Looting is done the same way: by killing mobs, opening chests, or as a reward for quests.

The developers have learned a lot in their 10 years of continuous updates to Diablo III and added many of the quality of life features to their newest game. Legendary affixes can still be infused to characters and items, an auto salvage option, teleporting to friends, a remixed version of the health globe and potion systems, and many more positive improvements.

Technical Analysis

No matter how good the gameplay is, the beta is not quite as smooth as I expected, with hiccups on the performance especially in towns, and some minor disconnecting and rubber banding issues with the server. We also get the classic long queueing times brought forth by day one launches

Conclusion:

The Diablo IV beta is an amazing glimpse of what’s to come in June. It looks like players are getting a game that combines the best of Diablo II and III with masterful gameplay, visuals, and storytelling. There are performance and server issues, but I am hoping they are ironed out by the time it releases. I highly recommend trying out the open beta this March 24-26, and seeing it for yourself.