Diablo IV’s first open beta phase opened its doors on the weekend of March 17, 2023. Like many players, we have entered the world of Sanctuary to give you our impressions. Here’s our first take on the upcoming hit from Blizzard Entertainment.
In 2012, all fans of hack & slash could jump on Diablo 3, the new episode of Blizzard’s cult saga. Following the release of the Reaper of Souls expansion in 2014 and the Nintendo Switch version in 2018, this community-loved installment will finally retire after 11 years. And yes, 2023 will be the year of the coronation of Diablo IV. The Blizzard Entertainment title is due to land on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC next June 6.
Originally announced in 2019, there are only a few more weeks to go before you can walk the wastelands of Sanctuary. But fortunately, Blizzard will first go through the Open Beta box . The opportunity for players to discover the title in preview, and for the studio to obtain valuable feedback on the overall experience, bugs, performance, etc.
The first beta period opened on Friday, March 17 for a weekend. We were able to try for several hours the future hit of the American studio on PS5 and on PC. In this article, we will give you our impressions of what is shaping up to be a strong contender for Game of the Year. Just that.
Also to read : Diablo 4 – gigantic leak reveals character customization and difficulty levels
Our impressions of the Diablo IV beta
After downloading the 77 GB betaso we were all excited to discover the prologue and the first act of the game. Unfortunately, the 63-minute wait to access the servers put us off a little… don’t panic, the beta tests are also there for judge the capacity of the servers, so we can hope that things will go better next June. Three coffees later, we can finally log in and create our hero through a rather comprehensive character editor.
For this 1st beta phase, players have the choice between three classes out of the five available in the final version, namely:
Three balanced and complementary classes
If you are a veteran of the saga, you know these archetypes perfectly. The Barbarian stands out as the melee character par excellencethought to get in the lard with his brute strength, Berserker rage, and full arsenal.
Conversely, wizards will have to keep their distance if they wish to stay alive. But beware, they are no less powerful for all that. Capable of harnessing elements like cold, fire, and lightning, their powers can decimate enemy ranks in moments.
Finally, we have the Thief. This class can be summed up in one word: versatility. In effect, thieves can eliminate their targets from a distance with a bow, while they can deal with the nearest threats with their daggers imbued with poison, frost or darkness. On PS5, yours truly has chosen finesse with the Barbarian, while Monsieur Pierre has rather let himself be tempted by magic on PC.
Finally, we also tried the thief in a split-screen co-op session. From what emerges, balance is good. In addition to being self-sufficient, each class is perfectly complementary. The Barbarian-Sorcerer combo is fatal: the warrior charges into the fray while the sorcerer will melt the life bars from a distance.
A well-thought-out progression
The Diablo experience always boils down to this: the race for power. To do this, several options are available to the player: complete main and side quests, annihilate all enemies on your way, take part in events, visit optional areas such as dungeons / abandoned vaults / mines, etc.
Each level obtained grants a skill point to be spent in the vast, very vast tree available.
From level 10, your hero already has at his disposal basic and main attack skills, movement and defensive abilities, and then weapon mastery. We can therefore bet on a very thorough optimization at the endgame; each character promises to be unique! Of course, Diablo obliges, loot is everywhere. You will spend your life collecting equipment that will directly influence your character’s characteristics (armor point, passive bonuses, reinforcement of certain skills). Fortunately, the well thought-out interface makes things easier.
A smart interface
This was already the case in Diablo III console, and it still is on this opus. The player will have to spend time in the menus, if only to manage their inventory, consult the map, assign their skill points, etc. These round trips can quickly become a nightmare if the interface is not well thought out, especially on console. Rest assured, Blizzard has thought about the problem well. By pressing the Option button on the DualSense, a window opens on the side of the screen.
Here, you can easily access your character’s inventory and the skill tree, without taking your eyes off your character (there’s no pause mode per se). This layout is extremely handy, especially when playing two-player split-screen. In this way, each player can display his menu on the Left or Right sides of the screen and make the modifications of his choice without having to bother the other. Inventory management is efficient : pressing Square allows you to discard your useless items (to then sell/recycle them in one click at merchants and blacksmiths).
On PC, we are on familiar ground. Blizzard hasn’t touched the established formula for over twenty years. Everything is readable, fluid, practical, intuitive. We could regret a somewhat rough interface sometimes, but it perfectly represents the identity of the series.
Smooth maneuverability
While the Diablo saga has always been aimed at the PC market, Blizzard has done a remarkable job of offer easy maneuverability on a joystick. On PS5, we direct our hero by finger and eye. The principle is simple: the player can assign the skill of his choice to the Cross, Square, Triangle, R1, R2 and L2 keys of his controller (the L1 and Circle keys being reserved respectively for healing potions and dodging).
The idea is generally to assign a basic skill on Cross, then the powers using fury/mana/energy on the other keys. Very quickly, we are surprised to chain attacks with disconcerting ease. Small flat however on PS5, the flagship features of the DualSense such as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback are very little used.
On PC, we are still faced with the great classic. The skills acquired are placed on the two mouse buttons while the others take precedence over the 1234 keys. Potion management has also been reviewed, since now we have four (Q key by default), not one. moreover. The globes that sometimes fall near the corpses simply replenish this reserve and do not automatically restore life as in Diablo 3. A way to make the challenge even more difficult, since you always have to keep an eye on the gauge of life, like in the days of Diablo 2.
A graphic slap, simply
Conclusions these first impressions on Diablo IV by the graphic part. Let’s not go four ways, the title of Blizzard impresses from the first moments. The environments are teeming with details, the lighting effects (especially indoors) are strikingly realistic, while the textures display exemplary finesse.
Even when the action heats up, with dozens of enemies and special effects all over the screen, the framerate is never taken as a default, with a constant 60 FPS in 4K. Diablo IV undoubtedly presents itself as a true next-gen experience. It remains to see the graphic rendering on the old generation consoles…
Pierre’s opinion (PC, Sorcerer) :
Those early hours of Diablo are exhilarating and give hope for the best for the future. The first contact is however rough, both in the atmosphere (we start in hostile mountains who want our skin) than in the gameplay. With the wizard, we say goodbye to the nervous and fluid fights of Diablo 3 for more rigid combat, more inspired by the second episode. A fully assumed choice that allows you to better measure your room for improvement over the levels, as you gain in power and skills.
Act I of Diablo 4 is almost perfect. Blizzard has learned the art of revealing the bare minimum when needed. The player is therefore constantly surprised, caught off guard, whether in terms of exploration or gameplay. Everything is square, controlled. Nothing sticks out. The more we advance in these first hours, the more we realize the enormity of the task that awaits us. Diablo 4 will be a rich game, very rich, so much so that a weekend spent on it gives us the impression of having touched its essence only with the fingertips. Last surprise: the MMO aspect workswith a vast and tortured universe in which the players who cross each other know how to help each other.
In short, Diablo 4 has all the cards in hand to become one of the most important games of the year. We hope that the test will be transformed.
