Diablo 4 Beta Gives Hope for Blizzard Getting Back Into Shape
Diablo 4 could change Blizzard's image before Microsoft takes over the company. Players of the open beta claim it is Blizzard's best game in many years.
Early access to open beta of Diablo IV is over. In anticipation of its proper next phase, which will begin this Friday, players are sharing their impressions. Prevalent are positive opinions saying that thanks to this game Blizzard could return to its former self.
Downward trend
Paradoxically, Blizzard's good streak ended, in a way, after the release of Diablo III. The game has been improved in many aspects - including with the great DLC called Reaper of Souls and getting rid of the auction house - but the debatably saccharine visual style could not be changed and is still criticized to this day.
The following years, however, saw the release of Hearthstone - which received a ton of DLCs - as well as Overwatch - which, for a change, was getting very little new content. Finally, Blizzard "happened to" release Warcraft III: Reforged, followed by Diablo Immortal. The classics were tarnished, and gamers decided that the only thing that mattered to Blizzard anymore was money.
The company's image was not changed even by the decent Diablo II: Resurrected and the "free" Overwatch 2. Also not helping was the regular news of veterans leaving the ranks of the studio, whose exodus resembled evacuation from a sinking ship. Players became convinced that Blizzard would come out on top only after the acquisition by Microsoft.
Hell's hope for better
However, it appears that this may happen sooner - at least to some extent. Gamers started believing it after the Diablo IV beta, which is growing in their eyes to be Blizzard's best game in many years. Many of them found the past weekend amazing and can't wait for the next one - not to mention the game's June release.
Playing Diablo IV reminded many of a return to their childhood years. "I played all night and then got up early in the morning to keep playing"; "I can't remember the last time I played all weekend," players claim. Among such statements are praises about the visuals, the atmosphere, the gameplay pace (slower than, for example, in Diablo III), and even scaling.
Critical words are also not lacking - they concern mainly the repetitiveness of dungeons, interface aesthetics and animations. Nevertheless, the impressions of the community participating in the early beta testing phase should be considered positive. They were not even affected by server queues and technical issues, with which Blizzard struggled on Friday.
Many players have already declared their intention to return to the world of Sanctuary this Friday - even though they will have to create new characters. The open beta phase of Diablo IV will be available to all interested parties on PC, PS4, PS5, XOne and XSX/S. It will begin at 5 p.m. CET and will last until Monday, March 27 at 8 p.m. CET. Will the impressions afterwards be as good? Let's hope so.
