One knows basically what to expect when starting a new game of Diablo: archetypal role-playing game class selections, gothic Christian aesthetics, and hordes of hellish monsters to vanquish. In this, Diablo 4 is perfectly competent. Unfortunately, however, the game suffers from a catastrophic lack of character. Having raised my sorcerer to level 100 and turned the endgame treadmill over a few times, I feel a disappointing indifference to the entire game.
I finally bought and played Diablo 4 during it’s much-lauded
overhaul Season 4, called “Loot Reborn.” I cannot therefore comment on the
apparently even less playable state it was in for the first three seasons. What
I can say, though, is that by season 4 some extremely-online game designers have
certainly gotten ahold of the game. In its current incarnation, Diablo 4 has
been woven out of too many baroque, interconnected, and exhaustingly “gamey”
systems. From the paragon boards to masterworking items, Diablo 4 hasn’t done
enough with its world and fiction to justify these intricate, fiddly systems.
