Diablo 4 is my first foray into the series, much to the horror of my peers. I’ve never been interested in Diablo, I’ve never gone out of my way to learn more about it, and its elevator pitch does not appeal to me in the slightest. I don’t particularly enjoy combat-heavy games, I don’t care for spending ages working on character builds, and the word ‘grind’ makes me want to run for the hills. However, I don’t believe in writing things off without trying them at least once, especially when it comes to games – it’s my job to evaluate things on their own merit, and many games that sound uninteresting to me have ended up surprising me in the end. In this spirit, I gave Diablo 4 a shot, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.
It doesn’t make sense to me that I, a filthy casual, could love Diablo 4. The game is surprisingly easy to understand and has eased me perfectly into the mechanics that its fanbase loves so much. My colleague Eric Switzer was right when he said thatDiablo 4 is enjoyable even if you don’t love the grindas much as he does. That said, I’m still early in the campaign, and haven’t even come close to hitting the true endgame grind yet. I’m only at level 30, and I’m not sure I can see myself keeping at the game after I finish up its story. I’m still loving my time with it, though – and I think I know how Diablo 4 could hook me in the endgame.
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The secret sauce is in multiplayer – another thing I’ve never really been into. I’m a sucker for a single-player, story-driven experience. I think video games are incredible vehicles for interesting, important stories, and that’s why you’ll find me thinking and writing about games like The Last of Us, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and countless indies. I’ve found that multiplayer games don’t scratch that narrative itch for me – yes, I know Destiny 2 exists, butI started playing far too late to appreciate its story. I’ve tried my hand at multiplayer experiences like Overwatch, but they never really clicked for me, so I was very surprised by the thrill I got from playing Diablo 4 in a party with friends.
Part of it is that there’s plenty of downtime between dungeons to gossip and talk shit, as opposed to other live-services multiplayer games like OW2 where the majority of conversation is along the lines of “Shit! Get the D.Va!”. Running through mobs is far more mindless than playing a shooter, and even a shitty player like me can get fairly far in the game without a whole lot of skill. I can spam buttons and dodge attacks fairly easily, while still having enough brain cells left over to talk to my friends about how their days went and what’s going on with them. I can’t wait to try couch co-op with my partner, as soon as I get my hands on a second controller.
In fact, the lack of overly complex combat is exactly what drew me in. Perhaps what led me to bounce off so many multiplayer shooters is the fact that I just suck at shooters, and I cannot be bothered to put in the effort to git gud. There are so many games I could be playing that don’t require hours of aim training to enjoy, and I’d rather play those instead. Diablo 4 is surprisingly easy, and I can pop on a podcast while playing and not have to worry about not having my full attention on the game.I used to do this with PowerWash Simulator, which surprisingly scratches the same itch for me – the ‘ding!’ sound that I hear every time I clean something completely in PowerWash Simulator gives me the same dopamine hit I get from picking up legendary loot in Diablo 4.
Despite not loving combat and not having any nostalgic connection to the series, I do love Diablo 4. Once again, a game I never thought I’d like has surprised me with a refreshing take on its own roots, and I can’t wait to dive back in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take my Sorceress farther down the rabbit hole of Hell.
Next:I Do Not Like That One Major Death In Diablo 4
