Diablo 4's new expansion, Vessel of Hatred, adds a significant amount of content to the game, including the impressive Spiritborn class and a full story through the wilds of Nahantu. I have always been a big fan of the Diablo series, with fond memories of playing the original two games with my family. Seeing the continuation of the timeline and the changes in the world of Sanctuary over the years has been fascinating, including the direction the story is taking now with Vessel of Hatred.

The lore has always intrigued me with its idea of soulstones, Prime Evils, and the lives of these unfortunate citizens of Sanctuary. Seeing Neyrelle take the soulstone with Mephisto inside it at the end of the base game of Diablo 4 left me curious if there would be a repeat of Diablo 1's ending, a subject which I previously asked developers about in an interview. Happily, the story for Vessel of Hatred went much more philosophical and deeper than I had even expected.

Chasing down Neyrelle and figuring out what can be done about Mephisto and the soulstone was something I worried initially would become too cliché and formulaic. Surprisingly, the plot twists, character development, and analogies to mental health in Vessel of Hatred are just as fleshed out as a full game could have been, which helps to justify the cost of this expansion.

Nahantu Is Stunning, Even While Being Corrupted By Mephisto's Darkness

The Greenery Was A Welcome Sight To The Game

One problem that I had with the base game of Diablo 4 was just how incredibly dark it was. Of course, any Diablo game is going to be dark both in visuals and storyline. However, it felt as though Diablo 4 had somehow crossed the invisible line I had in my head of just how dark it should be. Vessel of Hatred did a wonderful job of balancing out some of the darkness with the beautiful greenery of the jungle in Nahantu, even while that jungle was being overcome by Mephisto's essence.

There is still plenty of darkness and evil in this expansion, and certainly life is not suddenly cheerful for the inhabitants of the area. The contrast of life in the verdant greens seemed to make the evil presence of the Hollows and the influence of a Prime Evil spreading across the land even more notable. Therefore, not only did the lush jungle add balance visually, but seeing some of the light added more impact to the darkness.

The Spiritborn Are Incredible In Versatility, But Perhaps Too Much So

So Many Spirit Guardian Paths To Take Can Be A Bit Overwhelming

Naturally, I had to try out the new Spiritborn class while playing Vessel of Hatred. The Spiritborn has a connection with four Spirit Guardians and gets strength and abilities through these spirits. The Jaguar, Gorilla, Eagle, and Centipede each offer unique types of skills, which a Spiritborn can mix and match as they choose in their skill tree with each level advancement.

Although a person could use skills from all four of the Spirit Guardians, I chose to focus only on Jaguar and Eagle for my character, at least this time. The Jaguar offers speed and fire, while the Eagle has lightning attacks and even more speed. This made the combination excitingly quick, although I found myself using the Eagle abilities much more often than Jaguar. My personal favorites were the Soar ability and the Eagle's ultimate skill, where the Spirit Guardian makes an appearance on the battlefield.

While the versatility of choosing between each of these types of guardians can be freeing and open the class up for an almost innumerable amount of character builds, it also feels somewhat overwhelming. Deciding whether to focus on just one or two guardians helps, but then seeing other skills on the tree for Centipede's enticing poison abilities or Gorilla's powerful attacks can present a bit of an internal struggle about whether to change directions.

The Story And Plot Twists Drew Me In And Made Me Want To Keep Seeing More

The Depth Of Certain Characters Added Significantly To The Experience

Unlike the seasons in the game, Vessel of Hatred is designed as a full story expansion that picks up at the end of the main campaign. It introduces new NPCs that play pivotal roles in the story, for better or worse. Early on, players see a new minor boss who wants to change the direction of the Church, as well as a fellow Spiritborn guide, Eru, who has reactions and emotions to what is happening in the world, and Nahantu specifically, which truly makes him feel like a real person.

Every time I thought that perhaps I was reaching the end of this story, a plot twist would happen which changed the direction and kept the narrative moving forward. Without spoiling too much, I will simply say that Vessel of Hatred presents many thought-provoking conversations that a person could take real-life lessons from.

Playing Any Class Other Than The Spiritborn Could Feel Disappointing In Vessel Of Hatred

So Much Story Revolves Around The Spiritborn

In Vessel of Hatred, players can continue with any of their previous characters from Diablo 4 or try out the new Spiritborn class. That said, the way Nahantu is set up, and the direction that the story takes, feels a bit one-sided. I played as the Spiritborn class to try out the new abilities and see what it had to offer, and the game provided so much information about the Spiritborn history along the way that it was a perfect fit for this area.

Unfortunately, this also made me wonder how it would feel playing through Vessel of Hatred using any other class. The heavy tie-ins between Nahantu and the Spiritborn are so interwoven in the expansion, that one could end up feeling like an outsider, or at least as though they were missing out, while using a different class.

Mercenary Companions Feel More Hollow Than The Hollows

Lack Of Conversation Feels Odd And Takes Away From The Experience

Using mercenaries in Vessel of Hatred sounded at first like a perfect way to make the game more approachable for solo players, similar to many of the changes that have been taking place in World of Warcraft lately. After going through quest lines to unlock each of the four available mercenaries, a player can hire one to be a constant companion and another to come in at certain times when needed throughout the game.

Playing with one of the mercenaries hired will allow them to slowly level up, after which players can select different skill paths for each merc. They can be very useful in battles, but seem a bit lackluster otherwise.

While each of the initial questlines to unlock the mercenaries were interesting and seemed as though these characters would offer more story and unique conversations, once they are hired as companions they seem to be invisible. They do fight alongside the player, but there is no conversation or even acknowledgment of their even being there. This just feels like a massive missed opportunity for deeper immersion possibilities.

Final Thoughts And Review Score

7/10: A Deep & Engaging Story

Over the past year, I have enjoyed seeing the growth and changes that developers at Blizzard have made in the base game of Diablo 4 by continually taking player to improve the game. Vessel of Hatred feels almost like a culmination of that growth, although there will likely still be more changes made. The new runewords in the game are interesting, but feel as though more needs to be done with them, and the mercenaries could absolutely be made more integral to the immersion.

Ultimately, however, Vessel of Hatred adds so much to the quality of the game. The story is deep and engaging, and offers many satisfying twists and emotional growth of characters; the Spiritborn class is my new favorite. I am eager to try out other combinations of skills with the Spiritborn and see what else Diablo 4 has to offer in the future.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred releases on October 8, 2024, for PC, PlayStation, Xbox. The base game of Diablo 4 is required to play the expansion. A digital PS5 code was provided to Screen Rant for the purposes of this review.