Anxious to Ecstatic

After BlizzCon 2018, the future of the Diablo franchise was a bit on shaky ground. After an unexpected announcement of Diablo: Immortal, for mobile only, Blizzard has pulled all stops and the amazing cinematic kicked it all off for BlizzCon 2019. The excitement in the main hall was palpable while I waited in line for the demo. As the countdown started from a blue background starting with 30… darkness came with a red 4 and the excitement began.

After hoping onto a totally decked out demo station, you are greeted with nothing more than a conjured campfire and three awesome looking characters await. You have a choice of either a Barbarian, Sorceress or Druid. Immediately, the uptick in graphical fidelity was amazing. It’s also a much darker entry in the series as shown in the trailer. Either way, I am pleased to say, Diablo IV is what Diablo III should been! I chose the Sorceress and had an absolutely blast freezing, roasting and shocking baddies to death. It was an absolute joy.

With a look and feel much more like Wolcen than Diablo III, this is a huge win in my mind. The areas were dark, dank yet detailed and the lighting and effects were absolutely perfect. There was no linear path that you had to follow which was a huge relief. Also, runes are back! While it’s still early in development, the game just FEELS so much more like Diablo than Immortal or Diablo III ever did. The demo was very short with a 10 minute time limit so I am heading back for more and will update this article. There is finally Hope in Sanctuary!