In short, i love it. The beta beyond technical issues was a rollercoaster of positives and negatives, but where it stabilized is above average. Im definitely not cancelling my collectors edition preorder, not going to get the game until its on sale (or get battlepass fomo), same plan as usual.
Details:
Demographic: Occasional hardcore casual (ie, d4 will certainly not be by main).
Class Used: Hydra sorc + random abilities from gear
How far did i get: Played everything until the level 20 achievement, stopped for wanting to avoid any more spoilers, though the “addiction” phase was also beginning to drop away.
More info:
-
The lost ark problem. You start playing d4… the intro story notes push you into a huge high… the very next thing you notice once the gameplay starts… d4 is so similar that “lost ark reskin” becomes what you conclude. The first association was great… “wow!! finally lost ark that i want to play.” Then the dread sinks in… lost ark was one of the handful of games that can crush the very fabric a persons concept of gaming… the moment to moment actions were so pointless that you feel sullied and used just from being there. d4 was also hitting those notes as well. The pointlessness of the overworld. The problem is the underlying malice. The game is just pretend to get you engaged with some horrific grind system, as well as a despair inducing monetization system. And d4 out of the box landed right there.
-
Lost ark part b: I actually had to leave them game for a decent time and make some mental gymnastics to keep going. It was only the beta feat of strength that did it. But im glad that i did… because once you get over it… the presentation and diabloness soon comes though. Once you past the hump… where you get that one skill when the game starts feeling diablo 3 more than lost ark… and wow… instead of lost ark destroyer of hobbies… im playing diablo again and it looks like this!? This is amazing!!
-
Just speaking for myself, gear is i don’t care, im not falling for that rubbish again from years of themepark mmos. The talents were perfect though. They look visually very intimidating in how they are presented, but the complexity once you get over it (again) is perfect, i can’t wait to start playing around. The fact that each ability alone feels weak and cant be spammed, but combined with others in a build will make sense is perfect. Wait, builds are really the shoe in for gear aren’t they? Who knows maybe i’ll care beyond haedrigs gifts this time.
-
Is the more extreme gore that necessary? The dude hung up in chains still alive with no skin im specifically referring to. I can’t believe this is still getting teen ratings. I also very much appreciate the contrast from having seen it in vermintide… the disturbing edgyness there i think is very necessary to balance out the mindless components of its gameplay, and given i’ve spent ages complaining about even the association with lost ark… imagine if it wasn’t there. The rest of it i’ve been desensitised to from previous diablo so its okay.
-
I can’t wait for the cosmetics… but if the monetization goes wrong its a problem isn’t it. Lets just say, i hope the mainstream demographic is large enough in d4 for it to be profitable enough for blizzard to target. Games that rely on whaling screw it up, and mobile games are no better than casino’s, hr departments, and real estate agents. Not entertainment, but slimes of humanity. I enjoy buying cosmetics, i hope there’s something for me, if there’s not, i’ll just resent and disrespect you for it. I’ve never played destiny, but reading around the internet, apparently they have battle passes that can be done at your own leisure. This sounds perfect (even if they are only on sale for a limited time), and a genuine win / win. All you need to do is make sure the cosmetics are desirable enough!
That’s pretty much it. Looking forward to getting the game at some point after launch, will definitely be getting it.
Ps. The preorder bonuses are a joke. That’s not for players, thats corporate going through the multiple edition motions, might as well be assassins creed.