Trailer Impressions: Diablo IV Official Gameplay Trailer

As someone who is a big fan of the Diablo franchise, as well as someone who absolutely hated Diablo 3, I eagerly looking forward to Blizzcon 2019 for the much anticipated reveal of Diablo IV. A pretty cinematic trailer was shown, but what I was really waiting for was to see gameplay. Upon first watching the DIablo IV gameplay trailer, my reaction was generally positive more than negative because the dark tone of Diablo was returning. Although the gameplay seemed slow, I was glad to see the druid make a return to the franchise at the very least, alongside the sorceress and barbarian. One of the more interesting additions to the Diablo IV gameplay is adding mounts, giving the game more of an MMO feel, but raises questions about ease of traveling between zones.

I also watched many gameplay playthroughs of the demo available at Blizzcon and was quite disappointed to see a lot of the gameplay looking very similar to Diablo 3. That being said, I have to be fair and wait for more development because the game seems a couple years away from full release. I was particularly disappointed to see the inventory and weapon UI be almost identical to Diablo 3, which is not exactly the right away to win back the core fans of Diablo 2. Returning to the traditional different item sizes like in Diablo 2 and also Path of Exile is the best way to go. The stats were also very streamlined and too casual. On the plus side, there is a skill tree and talent tree, but there is no doubt everything is still preliminary so i will reserve that criticism.

I am glad to see Diablo IV in the mix for discussion, as more competition in the ARPG genre is best for growth. I just hope Blizzard moves in a gameplay direction away from Diablo 3 and much closer to Diablo 2.