I’m gonna start this Diablo post by talking about World of Warcraft. In case you didn’t read the blog, Soforah and I have been playing WoW for 15 years. Ok, there were highs and lows, but the game always managed to keep us entertained. I don’t know if it’s due to the new – more socially acceptable – crowd at Blizzard, or if the game is simply not targeted at us anymore, but we both have had the most horrible time in Dragonflight. It’s so bad, it had us quit after 2 weeks, and I’m not talking about a break… The game is a chaotic, frustrating, ugly pile of stinking dung!

So, when we went to the beta week-end of Diablo 4, we didn’t have high expectations. Of course, we were very curious to see what Blizzard has in stock for its next gen Hack’n Slash…

We both completed the beta and we both found the game underwhelming, to say the least.

First, the monster density is horrible! Sometimes, you fight 20 mobs, then you have to cross an entire area without finding a single enemy to kill. I understand that they want to introduce mounts in the game (so they’ll probably fill the cash shop with hundreds of poneys, horses and unicorns in every possible colours), but it completely broke the pace of the game.

Second, I find the textures quality pretty poor for a next gen game. I know that Blizzard is trying to keep their games accessible to most, even those with outdated PCs, but this is ridiculous for a game set to be released in 2023.

Finally, I played a sorceress and I found the gameplay boring. I was using arc lightning and I was constantly out of mana. My other ability was a recycled hydra, which I already found boring in Diablo 3.

I know that the game is still in Beta and still needs polishing, but I found the core of the game bad.

I remember the beta of Diablo 3, it was awesome, it had left me wanting more. Diablo 4’s beta makes me afraid, I hope that nowadays Blizzard is not gonna butcher another of its franchises.

We’ll probably try the game in its final state, but the beta has set my expectations very low.

I’m in Heaven right now and I’ll probably be for a few years. Yes, you read well: YEARS! Diablo 2, the game that ruined my first university years but made the rest of my life better is about to be “resurrected”. Even better, it’ll be released on or before December 2021, which instantly makes this year a great one, filled with news, hype and a huge countdown.

We’ve watched the Diablo II: Resurrected Deep Dive panel and it seems that the remaster is in very capable hands. The folks at Vicarious Visions are very committed to bring Diablo 2 to modern days graphics while keeping the experience as close as possible to the original. Also, we get a shared stash!

The new Diablo 4 class, the Rogue, was announced and it looks amazing, with a mix of range and melee attacks. The trailer is pretty dark, which is a good thing. Diablo 4 development is moving on and it feels great to know that there are so many great things ahead for the Diablo fans.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=b0k0dOBEeZs

As if it wasn’t great enough, Blizzard had Metallica perform “For Whom the Bell Tolls” in a studio version exclusively recorded for the Blizzcon.

Oh, I almost forgot, something was said about Diablo Immortal but I didn’t really pay attention. While My initial attitude toward it was pure hate, I think that I’ll probably give it a try anyway but, even if it’s amazing, I doubt that it’ll change my attitude toward phone games.

We’ve spent the morning listening to Metallica and we’ll probably spend the rest of the day playing Diablo 3 and watching all the Diablo panels from the Blizzcon. Life is better than good!