Xbox Game Pass Just Added the Definitive Hack-and-Slash RPG
Sanctuary awaits.
After over a decade of silence, Blizzard Entertainment returned to the Diablo franchise in 2023, giving us a gorgeous and twisted new vision of the world of Sanctuary. Over the decades few franchises have been as influential to RPGs as Diablo, and Diablo 4 pushed the action-RPG into a new era. A stellar campaign is highlighted by an incredible atmosphere, and while the initial launch had some rough patches with the endgame, post-launch support has smoothed a lot of it out. It’s the definitive hack-and-slash RPG, and its gothic world is open for exploration on Xbox Game Pass.
Diablo 4 features a more grounded and personal story than past games. While knowledge of past Diablo games certainly helps, it’s not essential to experience everything in Diablo 4.
Diablo 4 has a fantastic aesthetic that really makes its gothic world come alive.
Without getting too into the weeds, you play as a character known as “The Wanderer,” who’s saved from a group of crazed villagers by Lorath, a member of an ancient order that protects the world called the Horadrim. Together you learn about the prophecy of Lilith’s return, an ancient demon that threatens to bring Sanctuary to ruin. As you might expect, it’s up to you and a ragtag band of allies to save the day.
While there are still plenty of demons and gods to contend with, Diablo 4’s story is more grounded than past games, choosing to focus on the common people that inhabit Sanctuary. Much more than in past games it feels like you really build a bond with the core cast of characters, who often function as party members. This is by far the best campaign Diablo has ever had, with tight pacing, massive set-pieces, and a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of how normal people would live in a world wracked by a battle between gods. All of this is heightened by phenomenal visual design and an aesthetic that makes the world of Sanctuary feel dark, grimy, and dangerous.
What’s truly great about the story, however, is how well it supports the number one thing that Diablo 4 gets right, the gameplay loop. The series has always been a gameplay-first affair, and here the hack-and-slash action has been polished to a sheen.
World events like bosses help add some variety into exploration, and make Diablo 4’s world feel less lonely.
If you’ve played any Diablo game before, you’ll immediately be familiar with the formula in Diablo 4. The game is built around gameplay loop of looting and exploration, gradually leveling and gaining new equipment that lets you delve into the more dangerous areas of Sanctuary. The key difference this time is Diablo 4’s setting is now an open world, where players can traverse different regions seamlessly. Dotted among these regions are dozens of dungeons, which are a mix of procedurally generated and hand-designed areas.
While you can play the game in co-op, the world also has a selection of PvP and boss events that you can join in, providing a wealth of dynamic content to complement all your exploration and dungeon delving.
The sense of progression is what makes Diablo 4 so satisfying, its loot system is impeccably tuned to make it feel like you’re constantly improving or getting something new. Coupled with this is a fantastic class system that lets you pick from five wildly different classes: Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorcerer.
Each of Diablo 4’s classes feel nicely varied, filled with different builds you can lean into.
Each of these classes demands a different gameplay approach, like Barbarian being able to run right into the thick of battle, versus Necromancer which focuses on evasion and building a mini undead army from enemies you defeat. Past the core differences, each class also has multiple different builds you can lean into depending on which abilities you choose as you level. Between the loot and class systems, it constantly feels like your character is growing or improving in some way.
Since its launch, the biggest problem plaguing Diablo 4 is a slow endgame, requiring hours upon hours of grinding for the slightest rewards. It’s taken a while, but nearly a year later, the endgame hustle has become better with seasonal events, new world bosses, and additional story content.
Whether you want to play for a dozen hours or 200, Diablo 4 is an action-RPG filled with depth, interesting characters, and plenty of co-op shenanigans. It’s simply the best Blizzard’s legendary series has been in nearly two decades.
