LifeisXbox’s Diablo IV Preview | Time for a hands-on preview of Diablo IV. I honestly don’t know where to start and trust me, that’s a tremendously good thing in this instance. Within the beta I was able to play through Act I and reach a maximum level of 25 – these had both been the furthest anyone could progress. I felt like I had plenty of well-spent time on Diablo IV and even now, I’m constantly finding myself thinking about the incredible experience I’ve already had the pleasure to enjoy, making me excited for all the content that has been kept a secret. I played as a sorcerer, managed to get all my gear to rare or legendary quality, and explored vast quantities of land, dungeons, side quests, and the main story with some special events thrown in every so often for good measure.
ℹ️ Previewed on Xbox Series S | Preview code provided by PR/publisher. This preview is the personal opinion of the writer and is based on an unfinished game.
Diablo IV is a combination of an exceptional adventure and story
It started off with an out-of-this-world cinematic that really showcased the start of what is bound to be an exceptional story. The pace was set from there and sent shivers down my spine in anticipation of what this would evolve into. There were five choices of class shown to us: The Rogue, Sorcerer, and Barbarian – with the Necromancer and Druid being locked until the Open Beta; something to look forward to already! The starting customisation is quite lacklustre but does improve slightly as you progress. The story starts off at a steady pace for the first hour or so but quickly picks up after this and becomes full of lore, content, and story content to follow. I had no problem with this as it allowed me to quickly become immersed in my widely open-world surroundings with plenty of breakable objects and places to loot at my leisure. As with the Diablo series of games, there’s the fast-paced combat and oh my, was it satisfying to cast a whole calibre of different abilities on my enemies while dodging out of harm’s way. The special elite enemies and their obnoxious enhancements have of course stayed within the series, giving the game tougher situations to fight against. Abilities are earned through levelling up and selecting which abilities you wish to use/empower through your abilities tree with one point awarded for each level. The options to choose from were brilliant and gave you multiple ways to build your character.
Content that will have you coming back for more
Exploration is always rewarded with experience, hidden areas, and out-of-the-way side quests to make you more inclined to do so. That being said, why wouldn’t you want to explore? There’s a giant map with stunning scenery spread across the land that never failed to catch my eye. I was actually amazed by the quality of the graphics and consistently admired every area I came across, including the violent and strangely satisfying details of enemies being slaughtered before my very eyes. Then there’s the main community that consists of merchants who all have their own specialities. These are used to buy, sell, upgrade, salvage, and enhance your gear when you’re able to. During random in-game events, I came across countless players who always seemed to help out where they could and although I played alone, it felt nice to see other players roaming the lands. Based on what I did manage to play in the Early Access Beta, I can safely say things are looking immensely positive with the direction the developers have taken this much-loved series and I can’t wait to dive straight in with both the Open Beta and full game release. It will definitely be taking up significant amounts of my time; just wait and see.
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Hello, I’m Victoria. I’m from the UK and have been playing video games for as long as I can remember; back on DreamCast. I’ve pretty much fallen for Xbox since I was around eight years old and remember BioShock being my first game on the Xbox360. Although I find it thoroughly enjoyable to not only experience gameplay, I also find comfort in getting lost and engrossed in the online worlds that sometimes differ greatly from what we know. Another side of my Xbox passion would be achievement hunting and gamerscore. I thrive when I hear the little sound of one popping up on the screen and I’m always finding ways to work on my backlog when possible. Horror is my favourite genre so if you have any recommendations, don’t be afraid to send them my way!