Diablo III Review: Welcome Back (To Hell)

By: Matt Alexander

Are you easily peer-pressured? Do you often find yourself swept up by the opinions of others? If so, go buy Diablo III. All the cool kids are doing it. The first one isn’t free, but the online play and added characters are.

#DungeonCrawl through hordes of not-so-smart enemies who drop mostly useless equipment for your many slots (that’s what she said). Enjoy solid and plentiful voice acting, nearly no loading times, and glitch-free, picturesque maps, all marked improvements on the series’ past. There are also a handful of realistic cut scenes, insofar as demons and the undead are realistic.

The game features 6 possible characters all with customizable skill choices and bonuses. There is no skill tree, so you can switch up your playing style as often as you’d like. The developers know by now that gameplay and character customization are the name of the game (other than, you know, the actual name “Diablo”).

Storyline always takes a back seat in this genre, but there are plenty of smaller objectives within each Act to keep interest in the plot. There are many “lores” to be found in each map, notes from relevant parties which reveal backstory. The way the story ties together and builds on the Diablo mythos is a hidden gem of the game, and not the kind you socket into equipment [cue laugh track].

Online multiplayer is a hack-and-slash haven for friends, while loads of achievements keeps things interesting for completionists. There are over a dozen difficulty settings and a NewGame+ feature, making the game basically endless. Diablo III has something for everyone,  so get onboard before the cool kid train leaves you behind!

9/10 Bro Fists

*Editor’s Note: When Diablo 3’s game director Josh Mosqueira left Blizzard in July, many assumed that was the final nail in the coffin for a potential 2nd expansion. However with BlizzCon right around the corner, the rumor mill is once again churning. That Diablo 3 has a scheduled development Q&A  seems to suggests the title may not be in maintenance mode quite yet. That Diablo’s booth has been expanded and renamed (simply Diablo instead of Diablo 3) for this year’s event points to a potential Diablo 4 or Diablo 2 remastered reveal.