Diablo IV: we put a finger in it, the whole body went through it

2023-06-11 12:57:59

Video game

Diablo IV: we put a finger in it, the whole body went through it

Opening almost without a hitch of the massive game service of Activision-Blizzard. At the first stage of its life, entertainment gives its money’s worth.

PostedJune 11, 2023, 2:57 PM

In Diablo IV, as with previous installments, a 3D isometric view is chosen.

Activision-Blizzard

Released last Friday (June 2) for those who opted to pay full price for the game and Monday (June 6) for others, “Diablo IV” made a canonical start on PC (via the Battle.net client) and on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, according to Activision-Blizzard, which already released a triumphant press release on Tuesday. The publisher claims that the game has already broken a few records, in particular that of the best pre-sold game in the history of Blizzard Entertainment video games. And then “in the four days since the launch of early access, Diablo IV has been played for 93 million hours (…)”, he adds. It is noted that the choice of these data is strange, not conducive to comparison and does not make much sense. But hey, Blizzard is happy, he had to say it.

Especially since 11 years ago, when Diablo III was launched, the same publisher could only be gloomy as the game had experienced a chaotic launch marked by bugs and server failures. It was only afterwards, through fixes and improvements, that things got better.

A complicated context

This time, despite a complicated economic context (the procedure for takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft bogged down), despite various scandals that have rocked the publisher and its studios, going so far as to splash Robert – “Bobby” – Kotick the very controversial big boss of the company, despite the launch in 2022 of Diablo Immortal, an episode designed to be practiced especially on mobile and decried for having adopted the most perverse techniques in terms of microtransactions in its beginnings, in short, despite a context that has durably tarnished the reputation of Blizzard, “Diablo IV” receives much more caresses than beatings . The world is flocking, the servers are holding up (most often, quack reported on Thursday 8), the launch looks like a triumph.

And what about us? We ventured into Sanctuary (such is the name of the infested territory that we scour) from the day of early access. Since then, the sorcerer we have chosen (among 5 proposals) cuts, electrocutes, crushes, burns, freezes, crushes, guts, blows, crushes and eradicates the hordes of demons that descend in waves on the urban and sophisticated mage that we would have liked to be. Our goal? Subtly convey (knock first and then argue) to Lilith – a demon horned – that his return should be as brief as possible. You have to complete the main quests to hope to reach the goal.

So many things to do

But there are so many things to do in Sanctuary. Territories to explore, cellars, caves, dungeons to visit, towns where to converse, trade, spend. And then, above all, we must take care of our form, our talents, our equipment. You have to equip yourself with powers and weapons. You have to select from a skill tree those that best suit your style of play. You have to buy, sell, recycle, make room. It’s work.

We climb the levels (our enemies too because they adapt automatically). The first steps look like a health walk, then things get more complicated. At one point or another, there are always hordes and then a boss to bring us back to modesty. We die. We resurrect. We must choose if we insist, if we persist in error or if we go on a secondary mission to rebuild morale and health. One day, far away, we will have skimmed everything, faced a last danger and finished the main narrative frame. We suspect a bitter outcome, the Sanctuary is too corrupt for the divine light to impose itself.

Another game after game

But we also know that there is another game once the end credits have passed. In the game service that Diablo has become, there is something called an endgame. Already designed activities that unlock at a certain point to which others are added as long as the game is maintained. Diablo IV makes us dizzy, we can’t see the end of it. We will continue, but with measured steps and as long as the pleasure of exploring remains maintained.

Diablo IV is an impressive game. Although the American-style fantastico-religious medieval is not a priori our cup of tea, we admire the beauty of the graphics, the excellence of the sound and musical design and the attention to detail. We also appreciate this atmosphere of sweet despair specific to the franchise and which we find here in its finest guise. In addition, we must note that the developers of the game have taken care to weave a narrative framework a little more worthy of interest than usual. But let’s face it, if the Diablos remain so frighteningly effective in their ability to hold attention, it is through the fine tuning of mechanics of gameplay much more than by the ambition to construct a story that is even slightly correct.

In constant evolution

Permanently connected to servers, which allows you to beat the campaign in online cooperation when you want, Diablo IV will evolve. What is being said here in the month of June 2023 is therefore just a snapshot of entertainment in the very early stages of its life. For the moment, therefore, Diablo IV clearly gives value for money, which was far from obvious. The countryside is dense, the endgame is already provided and participants are not pushed too much towards microtransactions. But with the upcoming arrival of “seasons” and “Battle Pass”, the solicitations are likely to go crescendo. Such is the video game in 2023.

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