The Diablo IV open beta is coming to a close and with that, both beta weekends are over. That means the next time players get a chance to dive back into the world of Sanctuary to slay demons, it’ll be in June. When the game officially launches.
While the early access beta and open beta for Diablo IV both had their fair share of problems to solve, like massive login queues and constant server disconnects, the game is still very likely to be a slam dunk. Really, Blizzard knocked it out of the park here. Which is to say that I don’t feel Diablo IV will fall prey to the same pitfalls as Diablo Immortal. A concern that some have had over the past year or so.
No, rather I think Diablo IV is going to be a massive hit. And rightfully so. It’s very clear that the development team has poured their very souls into this game. And server issues aside, it feels like every team was firing on all cylinders. From art to story to combat, Diablo IV delivers. And it’s going to be an addicting gameplay experience that many will struggle to pull themselves away from. Self-control be damned.
In fact, had it not been for Destiny 2’s Iron Banner event last week, which I unfortunately had to grind every day just for a single good weapon roll, I’d have been playing more Diablo IV this past weekend.
The Diablo IV open beta is a good sign of things to come
There’s a lot to unpack about what made the open beta so good, and by extension what will make this game a mega hit for Blizzard. First and foremost is the narrative. While the story of Diablo games has always been engaging, Diablo III shifted the game to having a less dark tone. Not everyone was pleased with this decision and Blizzard made note of that. Diablo IV is the result of applying that feedback. Delivering a very dark story that feels more gothic.
Beyond the narrative, the gameplay feels great. Even early game feels incredibly satisfying as you run around the world of Sanctuary looking for your next target. All the while popping into the occasional dungeon you find along the way and hoping for that next powerful legendary to drop.
The open beta barely even scratched the surface of what the full game will deliver, and it was already very hard to stop playing. The game is that good. And there’s so much more that players will get to experience in just a few month’s time. There will no doubt be a ton of legendary items that weren’t included in the beta. Not to mention the lion’s share of the story and everything past level 25 (the beta’s level cap). Which includes endgame content, the paragon system for even deeper, more complex builds, and like four other massive zones to explore.
While more than a few players seem to be less than enthusiastic about the game’s UI, I personally didn’t find it to be a problem. In fact I quite like the way things are laid out. Although it wouldn’t bother me if Blizzard improved the UI in some way either.
Playing with a controller feels absolutely incredible

The days of playing a Diablo game with just your mouse and keyboard are long gone. In truth, they disappeared with Diablo III. Which was eventually launched on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. While I never really experienced those versions myself, I did get to play a lot of Diablo Immortal with the controller. And putting aside all of the issues the game has, one thing that was damn near perfected was the controller gameplay. It felt really, really solid. Even for a game that was initially designed as a touch-based mobile game.
That same feeling of smooth controls allowing me to effortlessly bounce around Diablo’s world slaying demons is present in Diablo IV. It’s even more polished. And honestly, I think everyone should at least give the controller a try. Even if you play on PC, controllers like the DualSense and many others are supported. Controller offers a sort of lean back gaming experience that you just don’t get with mouse and keyboard. It’s more comfortable for long gaming sessions. And for me at least, it feels less disjointed. Specifically in terms of having every ability and game menu at your fingertips.
The other side of this is that players on console are going to get a stellar game experience because the controller gameplay is on point. Which is perfect since Diablo IV supports cross-progression and cross-play, both of which work well. And that means if you want to buy a copy for both PC and your console of choice, you can hop back and forth between the two when it suits you. I did this a lot during last week’s early access open beta and never once had problems diving right back in to where I left off. Save for the login queues the first day.
Be beautiful in sin
If you love Diablo, if you love the world, grab this game at launch. Or pre-order it for early launch access and some extra goodies. Even if you haven’t played Diablo in years, give Diablo IV a chance. While I didn’t get to try out all five classes during the beta, I’ve heard good things about the ones that regrettably fell by the wayside for me.
And if every class feels as varied as the Rogue early on, then I see many, many hours of replay value for Diablo IV post launch. If not to max every single class, to at least try them all.
I can’t say for certain that Diablo IV won’t have any launch issues. But I can say that judging from the beta, the game is in a very good place. And I think it’ll have a strong start that will only get better.
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Source: ndroidheadlines.com