Diablo 4 Review — A Throwback to the Good Ole Days

Diablo 4 has been a long time coming, and while Diablo 3 had a somewhat divided response from longtime fans, the fourth instalment makes good on its promises and delivers something more in line with the unanimously-loved Diablo 2, presenting an engrossing game-world, deep combat mechanics, a grittier art-style, and a challenge that stalwarts will find endlessly enticing.

If you’ve been waiting in anticipation for the king of the top-down, click-and-go RPGs to make its demonic return, Diablo 4 does so with a lot of style to boot. Visually, it’s striking, with incredible lighting, character models, and environments that translate excellently from the CGI cutscenes and story portions. Some Blizzard games fall short in the visual department, with the industry-leading cut-scenes often overshadowing the in-game visuals, but Diablo 4 doesn’t disappoint.

In the heat of combat, it’s clear that Diablo 4 is trying to overwhelm players, throwing a lot at you at any given time. Thankfully, it also equips you with enough magic, weapons, and tricks up your sleeves to deal some serious damage if you know what you’re doing. You’ll be frantically (but tactfully) clicking away like a madman which is a welcome throwback to the frenetic energy and tense combat of Diablo entries of yesteryear.

And, of course, that’s half the fun of Diablo 4 — mastering your own character and their special abilities, while balancing their strengths and weaknesses with complimentary weapons and loadouts. There’s no doubt you’ll take a beating at first, but the more you familiarise yourself with how combat works and how to best deal with different types of enemies, you’ll be a dungeon-crawling maestro in no time.

Admittedly, while the grim story and combat are sublime, and there is a lot to find in the Diablo 4 world, it could be an overwhelming experience for those unfamiliar with RPGs in this genre. But for the fans who’ve been watching from afar to see if Diablo find its glory once again, you can breathe a sigh of relief that the horned-king is back on his throne.

Diablo 4 is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and Xbox One.