There is rich lore in Diablo IV game in a number of interesting ways. The Diablo franchise's hack'n'slash gameplay conceals a dark narrative about the suffering of brave heroes destroying themselves in body and mind while trying to save the world from the demon lord Diablo, and the words "Stay a while and listen" from Deckard Cain, the series' chief narrator, bodes ill for the protagonists of the Diablo IV, who may have to grapple with the newly risen Lord of Terror once again.
The Diablo franchise was originally conceived by Blizzard Studios as an update of the rogue-like RPG genre, where adventurers descend into a deep dungeon filled with procedurally generated ages, treasures, and enemies. The unique charm of the first Diablo was in how it simplified both the gameplay and interface for new players, letting them breeze through character creation, quickly grasp the mouse-based control system and promptly get to smiting the demonic hordes, while still offering a complex challenge to those familiar with the game's mechanics.
The latest Diablo IV, detailed by Tech Radar, paint a grim picture for the human world of Sanctuary. The landscapes are desolate, filled with scorched ruins and scattered settlements of desperate, distrusting strangers. Demons and undead infest the wilds, while the foolish actions of a few tomb raiders wind up returning a new demonic threat to the world: Lilith, the Lady of Hatred. How did the setting of Diablo get into this sorry state? Stay a while and listen...
Diablo I: The Town of Tristram & Its Hellish Depths
In the backstory of Diablo, a group of sorcerers defeated the three Prime Evils and bound their essence into small crystal prisons called Soulstones, which are buried deep beneath the earth. Centuries later, a corrupt priest from the city of Tristram broke the Soulstone of Diablo, freeing the Lord of Terror's essence to tempt, corrupt and destroy the civilization above. The plot of Diablo revolves around three heroes – either a Warrior, Rogue or Sorcerer – descending into the dark, eerie dungeons beneath Tristram to slay the evil there. Upon defeating Diablo, the Hero attempts to seal away the great demon by plunging his broken Soulstone into their own forehead, a not-so-great idea that becomes a bit of a trend in the sequels
Diablo II: Pursuing the Dark Wanderer
The new hero of Diablo II – either a Barbarian, Amazon, Necromancer, Sorceress or Paladin – spend most of their saga pursuing a mysterious, demon-summoning Dark Wanderer, who turns out to be the hero from Diablo I, corrupted (somewhat unsurprisingly) by the demon-tainted rock jammed into their brow. With the aid of the Archangel Tyrael, the players venture across different lands to defeat Diablo and his infernal brethren, Mephisto and Baal. In the end, Diablo is banished to the Black Abyss, but the destruction of a relic called the Worldstone weakens the boundaries between Heaven, Hell, and the world of Sanctuary.
Diablo III: Rise of the Nephalem
Twenty years after Diablo II, the forces of Hell return to plague the world of Sanctuary. The hero of Diablo III – a Barbarian, Monk, Wizard, Witch Doctor, Crusader, Necromancer, or Demon Hunter – must tap into their Nephalem heritage in order to sur the Angels of Heaven, apathetic to humanity's plight, and foil the schemes of Diablo, who plots to resurrect themselves into a form powerful enough to overthrow the celestial realms themselves. However, the ending of Diablo III hints that a truce or even cooperation may be possible between the angels and the humans, and this is something which the Lord Of Terror surely would be against.
Odds are good that Diablo will be coming back for the next installment of Blizzard's best-selling series: he is the namesake of the Diablo franchise after all. That being said, the Diablo sequels have introduced more demonic and angelic threats, making Diablo just one of the villains fighting over the fate of mankind.
Lilith, revealed in Diablo IV's cinematic trailer, may wind up stealing Diablo's thunder due to the sheer novelty of her motives and goals. Diablo is scary because he's the classic demon lord seeking to ruin humanity; in contrast, Lilith is the mother of the Nephalem and, by extension, the human race; she's scary because she wants her "children" to thrive and reach their full potential, no matter how horrifying that potential might be. Players will find out for themselves just how much Lilith with overtake the Lord of Terror when Diablo IV releases.
Source: Tech Radar
