Blizzard's controversy and track record with Diablo IV being shown off and within players' grasp sometime within the next year is both exciting and concerning.
The series made a name for itself on PC as being one of the pioneers of the action RPG subgenre, and Diablo III shaped up to be a thoroughly engaging experience once its own controversies were ironed out. Expectedly, fans are cautious about the next apparently ambitious entry, with Redditors discussing what they hope to see from the game's moment-to-moment gameplay loop.
A More Substantive Endgame
After Diablo III's rocky launch on PC, it developed into a worthy entry in the series with post-launch and excellent console ports to PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. However, one criticism of the game -- and mainly with Immortal -- was its superficial endgame content.
Redditor Fauwcet said, "while plenty of the systems aren't fully realized as they are meant to be kept short, them having things like dungeons, world events, PvP, rifts, etc. gives me hope that there will be more to [the] endgame in D4 than just endless rifts." Aside from things like seasons, Diablo III thankfully had at least its story padded out with the DLC expansion.
Aggressive Microtransactions Like Diablo Immortal
When it comes to negative topics in the gaming industry, microtransactions are often the elephant in the room. It was perhaps the most glaring issue with the mobile Diablo Immortal, and given Blizzard's aforementioned reputation with this, it's cause for immediate concern to many fans.
Redditor Csub overall liked what they saw, but noted "Game looks good. But it is a Blizzard game so I'm heavily tempering my expectations. I believe they already said there will be microtransactions. Probably cosmetics only (first) though." It's a reasonable source of apprehension in gaming, and it, unfortunately, wouldn't be surprising if the developers sneak in more MTX bit by bit post-launch.
Doesn't Sacrifice Story For Open-World Design
There are plenty of excellent open-world video games, but games shouldn't adopt the format just for the sake of it. Whenever open-world games are scrutinized, it's often due to the world feeling barren or bloated. Likewise, the demand for this approach can detract from a game's more important elements.
Redditor thexvoid expressed this worry, saying "The way they talk about open-ended and nonlinear makes me feel the story is gonna be pretty weak to accommodate," adding "Which I know diablo isn’t the biggest story game, but it was still good in previous games." The previous acclaimed games in the franchise built solid stories on the foundation of a more "linear" world design, and this massive jump in scale wouldn't be worth sacrificing that.
Doesn't Force Multiplayer
Diablo has always been known as a great single-player action RPG that also has a great multiplayer component to it. It's a supplemental feature that adds to an already engaging core experience instead of detracting from it. Multiplayer games are undeniably popular, but people play games for different reasons.
Redditor GLaD0S11 said, "I'd be interested to see more about the single-player experience," and that they "don't mind random world boss type things having players around, but I want to be in my own world for the most part." Blizzard focused a lot on the new open and shared world of Diablo IV, but many fans will be hoping for a better look at the single-player experience before 2023's release.
Good Gear That Can Be Looted Naturally
One way that invasive microtransactions snuck their way into the modern gaming scene was starting with cosmetics. However, as people spent more and more on them, MTX started to become almost essential to some extent to play through the entirety of certain games. Redditor Modal1 expressed their grievances with the practice, saying "The whole idea of loot for me is cosmetics. Grinding and trying to unlock high-end, cool-looking gear is gone if the coolest armor is just going to be bought for $10 in a store. What’s even the point of playing[?]"
Diablo is undeniably a grind-focused series, but -- like with Capcom's Monster Hunter -- the grind is typically done in a genuinely fun gameplay loop. That's why paying to get better armor and weapons as MTX would be especially detrimental to something like Diablo IV.
More Single-Player RPG, Less MMO
Another major concern, especially with Diablo IV going open world, is the game morphing into a watered-down MMORPG. World of Warcraft is Blizzard's flagship MMO, and Diablo made single-player its crux, not tethering players to a large-scale online world.
Redditor ZyrxilToo was up front with their worries, commenting that they're "really concerned it's going to have MMO-lite or F2P related aspects like daily quests or other nonsense." The combination of free-to-play mobile game mechanics like Immortal's mixed with a diluted MMORPG setting understandably doesn't sit right with most players.
Engaging Daily Quests
Given the emphasis on the "shared world" aspect of Diablo IV, it's inevitable that the game will have online multiplayer components designed to keep fans playing as consistently as possible. That's another facet of gaming that saw MTX creep in, and players are worried things will get more aggressive in IV.
Redditor Frickfrackfrock acknowledged the risks of the online features shown but said, "However, just like anything, it can be done in a good way and a bad way. Like, being asked to do a fun rift run with friends as your daily quest isn't exactly as torturous as being told to gather 50x wolf pelts." There's surely a balance between monotonous and consistently engaging, and fans are hoping that balance is struck in IV's open-world setting.
A Darker Visual Style
Games like the Dark Souls trilogy were praised for (among many other things) being immersive dark fantasy RPGs. The Diablo series certainly falls under the dark fantasy subgenre, but one minor complaint about III was its surprisingly vibrant color palette and general art direction for such a bleak, apocalyptic world.
Redditor Maelis likes what they've seen in Diablo IV's art direction and hopes it follows through upon release, saying "Regardless of anything else, can I just say how much I love the visual style of this game? It seems like they really took the criticisms of 3 to heart in that regard. This actually looks like Diablo."
Diablo III-Like Couch Co-Op On Consoles
Diablo III established itself as one of the best modern action RPGs, and a big part of that is due to the excellent handling of couch co-op on the console versions of the game. It's set for a comeback in Diablo IV after being disappointingly absent from the Diablo II: Resurrected remaster, and many players now have high expectations for the feature.
Redditor Zacharuni had it high on their list, saying "Diablo 2, Torchlight 2, and Grim Dawn all left it out when Diablo 3 handled it incredibly. Fingers crossed." Couch co-op was a major selling point that contributed to Diablo III's impressive lifespan.
Leaning Into Less Chaotic Action
Similar to the critique of Diablo III's colorful art direction, some players didn't care for the equally vibrant and chaotic action. Though, the latter point might be for more logistical reasons rather than atmospheric ones.
Redditor MonkawMonk liked the more subdued direction taken in Diablo IV, saying "I definitely dig the less flashy combat. I don’t know about you all but when I play ARPG or even an MMO I like to see what the hell I'm doing and what’s going on around me." The developers seem to also make combat less visually frantic while still keeping the spectacle factor and feeling cathartic.