On this page:
- choose your class
- The story so far…
- open plains
- fun with friends
- Routine
- Devil with an Xbox controller
- our last thoughts
Image: Blizzard
choose your class
Classes available during this time include Barbarian, Wizard, and Rogue, an homage to the selection from the original 1997 release. Classes that were unavailable included Necromancer (who first appeared in Diablo II ) and the Druid (who originally appeared in the Diablo II expansion). The immediate addition you will notice in this section of the game is the character creator. You pick a class, then tweak your character from body shape to facial structure and other customization options like jewelry and tattoos to make your hero stand out, at least before he’s gone. covered from head to toe in armour. If you’ve played Diablo Immortal before, it won’t surprise you, but the customization options definitely stack up in comparison.
The story so far…
Once you’ve picked a class and created a character to your liking, you’ll be thrust into the much darker world of Diablo IV. Starting in an area filled with deep snow within Sanctuary, literally surviving for your life, you’re on the outskirts of what appears to be an abandoned town. When you arrive, he’s not quite lifeless, but there are cultists in town performing satanic rituals, and you’re on the menu as their next sacrifice. Luckily, you manage to regain your freedom and from there you discover Lilith, the daughter of the hate lord Mephisto, and her plans to unleash hell once more, with your job now to find her. The prologue leading to the main town of Kyovashed can take up to an hour in the first run (cutscenes included), but in the second and third games, by skipping all the cutscenes, we were able to cut it down to just over 10 minutes.
Image: Blizzard
open plains
Once you enter the main town, you can leave and explore the first area, Fractured Peaks. Diablo IV may pleasantly surprise anyone who hasn’t played Diablo Immortal, but those who have already will at least have an idea of what to expect. While there are still roads and linear sections throughout the map, like previous Diablo entries, the map is now more of an open-world design where towns and roads meet. Along the way, you will encounter forests, swamps, snow-capped mountains, open plains, dungeons, caves and huge castles… the list goes on. Visually, it’s an impressive leap from Diablo III, especially when you start noticing the finer graphical details like falling snowflakes, muddy paths lined with puddles of water, and the light filtering through realms full of demons There are also times when the camera pans across a wider shot, usually highlighting a point of interest. These stunning graphics are backed by an appropriately “evil” soundtrack, capturing the grim predicament in which the world of Sanctuary and its people find themselves.
This new level of freedom certainly also makes it easier to get lost. Apart from the main quests, there is a grand 35 side missions to complete in this beta version. The objectives range from helping the townspeople save their loved ones to defending a location from a demonic attack. Then you have additional world activities to go through, like secondary dungeons and public PvE events where you battle a wave of enemies to unlock some nice loot, much like in the recent Diablo Immortal. There are also three strongholds to battle in this beta, where you essentially free up a location full of monsters, with some areas turned into havens and city centers as a reward.
Image: Blizzard
fun with friends
All of the “live” events and features combined make the entire Diablo experience more lively than ever, creating an almost MMO-like environment where you’ll find yourself jumping between players, NPCs, and enemy interactions, as well as events public on a regular basis. base. As far as the local and online multiplayer aspects go, both modes are drop-in experiences. Aside from a few minor connection issues from time to time in the beta, the online multiplayer experience is very similar to Diablo 3. Crossplay was also seamless thanks to the Battle.net integration. You and a friend or family member (or more) can race from mission to mission, slaying monsters with the loot split between you. The local experience was just as perfect. Although the setup required another Battle.net account to be logged into the system, there also seemed to be a restriction: preventing low-level players from joining higher-level ones. When playing with others, enemies also seemed to scale to your own character’s level, keeping battles competitive.
Routine
Diablo IV at these early stages of the game, from level 1 to 25, doesn’t feel as fast (at least not yet) as Diablo III has morphed over the years into higher levels of play, but we had access to only a large part of it. of this world in beta. As you progress, you also have an extensive skill tree to work with, unlocking all sorts of moves and attacks to help you in and out of battle. Skill Points are unlocked by level and can be reassigned if you want to rebuild your build.
Image: Blizzard
Devil with an Xbox controller
As far as controls go, the game performed pretty well with the latest Xbox controller. In Diablo III it was quite finicky at times, but here it seems the UI and controller implementation have been well integrated. Attacking enemies is as simple as holding down a button, and all additional attacks are assigned to other buttons, including triggers. Triggers and bumpers also play a part in navigating submenus, as does the d-pad that displays interactions and emoticons, or accepts party invites. Overall, this makes extended gaming sessions quite easy on your hands compared to previous console experiences and even the PC version, which often required tireless clicks in the past.
These simple controls make killing enemies new and old fun. In the beta, there’s a mix of new boss fights featuring all sorts of hideous creatures and some of the old ones making a return, like: revelation – The Butcher, who can now appear randomly in dungeons. Although you don’t face Lilith in this early game test, you do face her minions.
our last thoughts
Ultimately, the Diablo IV beta left us wanting more. Once we finished the story and the additional bonus content in the first region, we were eager to learn more, see more, and level up. Due to Blizzard’s constant evolution of their games, it’s hard to say how the game will perform in the years to come and even after launch, but at this early stage this fourth entry seems to provide a solid enough foundation for that the company can rely on at the same time, while delivering a fresh take on a classic series that many have had a great time with over the years.
Did you try the Diablo 4 beta last weekend? Tell us in the comment section below.
related games
When he’s not repaying a loan to Tom Nook, Liam enjoys reporting on the latest gaming news and admiring his library of video games. His favorite Nintendo character used to be a guitar-playing dog, but now he prefers hanging out with Judd the cat.