Diablo 4 Return to Darkness Gameplay Review

Do take note that Diablo 4 is Rated M (Mature) for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, and Language. While the gameplay itself is not the most graphic—due mainly to it being a pulled-away camera and fairly unrealistic graphics—the numerous cut-scenes within the game can be extremely violent and filled with blood and gore. Thematically it also requires a certain level of maturity in certain topics so I would not recommend this for anyone who is below the age of 17.

Now with that notice aside, let’s get to the review.

I am going to approach this review as a person who has played previous versions of Diablo, albeit not a pro / hardcore level. I also do understand microtransactions is something that has been quite questionable among my community in many modern games as a monetization method. I am also not a PRO player of any sort, just a casual gamer so I do understand why sometimes it can be overwhelming for someone to “get into the game” with so much to do…

Storyline

The story continues a few years after what happened in Diablo III, in which Mother Lilith makes a standoff to Father Inarius, in the best way possible : make a move to take over humankind and “set things right”.

As usual, some guy decided “something really really bad is gonna happen” and “let’s wake everyone up to that possibility by bringing a demon in our world”. Not just any demon, the one who created Sanctuary in the first place…

I won’t spoil the story here, you’d need to experience it yourself to really understand the “scale” of the matter. And what’s the best thing about this is you do not need to be “familiar” with the original Diablo lore to get into it. But for those who do, will come across one or two familiar names in the side stories.

Oh yeah, our good friend the Butcher may come and visit you as you are busy with dungeon crawling… a totally unforgettable experience the first time you meet him.

At first when I started the Game, I was quite surprised at how the main questline is arranged as it was very different from the linear flow that I was accustomed to. But I just went ahead and playthrough it like a champ and you know what, it’s not a bad idea at all as it introduces a new possibility where branching stories can be reconnected towards the end goal.

My First Game Character Female Sorcerer called Merah in Diablo 4
From where I come from, Merah Means Red

Approaching Side Quests were also interesting, in a way that they have done away with the “touch and go” style of “bring me this and I pay you” quests, into a more character based NPC to bring you into their world / suffering. And a fine addition to side quests is that you’ll meet them somewhere outside of the town as well while you are out adventuring. The story telling aspect of the game has indeed been lifted with better voice over and CG cutscenes which is the real value for Solo Players like us.

Lore and World Building is indeed Blizzard’s strength and they continued the tradition very well in this title, and I have to say they used their IP to its fullest effect that it even attracts new and old players alike with this new formula.

So it really doesn’t matter if you are “into the story” or not, because there is plenty to do in a game that caters for different playstyles – a short 15 min dungeon run, or a longer 1 hour experience with a sub quest or main quest story.

The only point I got stumped was when I was in this particular area quest that I was supposed to look for a “Decaying Corpse”, and the next thing is “Defeat the Vindictive Sacrifice”. Now it was not clear as to what / who I should be looking for the second objective until I realised it was a monster label!

Then again nowadays there is really nothing that keeps you stuck “long” since the power of the internet is there. Diablo 4 was released on June 5, 2023 (I bought my copy in Dec 2024), but I can see from the game updates they have been consistent in introducing new content and events.

Play Mechanics

The good thing (and best thing) about Diablo IV is that there are no “Pay To Win” microtransactions here. All “paid” rewards are purely cosmetic in nature, however I do have to say that their personalized assets are very very cool to look at and own. I am also happy to note that Diablo did not go down the route of NFT everything. So we are generally safe from any price fluctuation mechanics.

So, with that aside, it’s pure “grind + loot away” which is just simple and straightforward.

About the loot… does anyone remember how simple it was back in DIablo? Now in Diablo 4, we have equipment levels : Normal, Magic, Rare, Legendary, Ancestral Legendary, Unique, Ancestral Unique and Mythic Unique.

So don’t be surprised if you noticed that after completing dungeons or a boss fight or unlocking a secret chest in the middle of the road, it seems that Legendary items dropped quite a bit more this round. It might be a little underwhelming once you noticed that it’s not “the ultimate level” equipment to aim for, thus not as exciting as how it feels back in Diablo 2… haha.

They do have something of a “Gacha Pull” mechanic in the form of the curiosity shop, but that itself is based on how many Obol tokens you earn in-game. We call this the in game “earnable” currency and it is still better than the Platinum token which costs real world money.

Huge World Map to Explore in Diablo 4
With so many events on the World Map, you won’t run out of reasons / things to kill. Still bored? Start a new character!

My first 24 hours with the game was a blast, as there are almost so many new things to discover at every hour. And what the Diablo 4 community has been saying is true : you will be greatly rewarded if you explore the entire map, as there is literally an endless amount of dungeons to sink your teeth into.

And it’s not a small map, it would take hours to reach every corner which is really fun. The “not so fun” bit is although you have a mount, it seems like it’s a really slow option to move around even though you have the gallop command. So my tip for you : unlock every waypoint you can find to make travel easier.

I do have to say I kinda liked the “elevated walkways” concept they implemented when traveling from point A to point B. In fact it adds a little more flavor when you traverse across the huge map in Diablo 4 with a tinge of Lara Croft feeling at times (I was playing a female Sorcerer in my playthrough).

Interesting Scene from Diablo 4
This scene certainly gives off the Uncharted & Lara Croft Vibe

In terms of gear customization, there are so many ways that you can build your hero character. In fact you have 14 slots to create your alternate characters if you so please, and stash is shared across characters as well.

I am playing a Pure Fire Sorcerer and never once I felt short changed by not investing into different element type attacks. In fact there are some “power-ups” (they call it aspects / affixes) in-game that can change up your playstyle. This is quite encouraging as you are never penalized with your choices, no matter how much of a traditionalist / multi-purpose you want your character to be. In fact with a little gold you can even refund your skill points in the skill tree and all will be fine.

The Wardrobe feature is still here, allowing you a bit of space for “self expression” if you see fit. If you are playing the Seasonal Characters, you get a chance to earn exclusive transmogs that you get to keep after the season ends. Each season is about 2-3 months long so there is ample time to grab that free stuff by playing the game.

Not just that, they sometimes have smaller events that will happen on special occasions, like right now there is a holiday event where the community jointly hunt down treasure goblins and win a special cosmetic at the end of the event.

Another thing you should know is that Diablo 4 requires an internet connection to play. Online with multiplayer by default (cross play enabled). However, it is perfectly fine if you choose to go about your own way and loot drops are by account (so no one is gonna grab your loot if you so happen to be hunting in the same event for example). For those of you who would love to have a pause button, I am sorry it doesn’t exist. You’ll probably get booted out after a number of minutes being inactive “automatically”.

Seasonal Play

Old School Rant : Now, taking part in seasonal content is not something I do often in Diablo 3 as I am one of those “play when I feel like it” people who probably will start the game up only once a few months (yes life is hard when you need to work and pay the bills).

However, I am quite intrigued with this idea because that’s how “replayable” games are being built nowadays, and sometimes you’ll just need bits of quality of improvements and bits of new things to explore when you get into the game. It keeps things fresh for both the player and helps the game to evolve, so to speak.

In Diablo 3 you were allowed to reuse a character in a new season. Everything the character had was stored and merged with the old version when the season finished. In Diablo 4, it is different as Seasonal realms have access to seasonal content, Eternal realm has all of the same things except the Seasonal content. Seasonal and Eternal stashes are not shared, everything is separate (Source : Reddit).

When I started the game, I opted to start with a Seasonal Character instead of an Eternal Character, since I am not very sure when I am going to get back to this game again (and its binge gaming season for me since I have a longer holidays at the end of the year).

Now it may seem counterintuitive when you don’t get to reuse your Eternal Character in the Seasonal content, but rest be assured that some of the bits of quality of play improvements from new seasonal content (example, aspects or unique items) does get into the Eternal Realm. According to this article from Polygon, the main consideration on whether to play a Seasonal or Eternal character depends on who you are playing with.

Crush Goblins Together in the Slay Ride To Hell Community Event in Diablo 4
Had loads of fun in the goblin event, got myself a stack of really good equipment drops too!

And you’d probably need to know this, Diablo 4 is built for mainly Seasonal playstyle.

So don’t be disappointed that after 6-12 months down the road that your legacy character in the Eternal Realm would be somewhat “dated” to handle newer content and updates. It certainly won’t play the same but that is expected in a game that has constant updates. Just don’t get too attached with your character builds okay?

At the time of writing this review, I am on “Season 6” which coincides with the Vessel of Hatred DLC. Now I got my base game thanks to the steam winter sales, and will put off the DLC a bit later.

According to PCgamesN, the Diablo 4 Season 7 release date could be around Tuesday, January 21, 2025, based on the previous season dates arriving on Tuesdays approximately every three months.

My personal “go to source” would be Wowhead for the preview of “what’s coming in the next season”, as they frequently have updates from Play Testers that share a bit of their testing experience prior to the new season launch.

And for those of you who wants to explore the idea of socializing with other non-toxic players online by joining a group / team (LFG and LFT), discover your options with the Guide To Diablo 4 Crossplay: Cross-platform & Cross-progression Explained.

Post Main Campaign Experience

Once you finish the main campaign, you’ll be introduced to Nightmare Dungeons (a much tougher version of current dungeons), Hell Tides (a Time Limited Demon whacking fest that awards you special tokens to unlock special chests) and The Artificer’s Pit where you can “pit” (no pun intended) your skills against tougher Monster Hordes (similar to how as the previous Diablo 3 Rifts).

In my experience, right after the main campaign I was so overpowered, I had adjusted my difficulty level to Penitent and it has a just nice feel until I get stronger to face “Torment 1”.

Back in Diablo 3 was the introduction of Paragon Levels. It’s still here in Diablo 4, so after you pass Level 60 (which generally unlocks all the features), paragon kicks in, and in Diablo 4 it comes with a twist… you are presented with a paragon board where you can unlock specific slots that adds to your core attributes like Will power, Intelligence, Strength and Dexterity.

There is a new concept in Diablo 4 called “glyphs” and Glyphs are upgradable by playing through the Artificer’s Pit. It’s a much more flexible build mechanic compared to the old “Core Stats, Offensive, Defensive, and Utility” in Diablo 3.

Difficulty Levels in Diablo 4
You can unlock higher tier only after you beat the Artificer Pit of that Level
Paragon Board System and Upgrades in Diablo 4
The Paragon Board is quite an interesting upgrade concept that allows you to build your character the way you want.

As you play more of the events you’ll collect glyphs that can fundamentally strengthen some of your skills and the amount of damage your character will take in game, so it’s good to pay attention to this if you are aiming for an “ultimate build” of your character.

Glyph Upgrade System in Diablo 4

Now if you just want to go for the good old “upgrade my tools” approach, you can experiment with the Blacksmith’s Masterworks idea. Depending on the quality of your item, you’ll need to collect rare materials to level up your equipment. Sometimes you’ll get that one piece of equipment that looks pretty good but there is just that 1 affix (read: spec) that just doesn’t add to the way your character plays. You can change it out with something better (and you’ll collect even more affix and aspects in time) and sometimes I do take a look and see whether I have something better that I could use on my trusty tool of “demon demolition”.

I have to admit this part took me a while to wrap my head around it but safe to say it is quite a good idea since you might have that specific combination of equipment you use that just needs a little affix boost and not a total “risk it or lose it” overhaul (yes and from what I seen of the number of possible specs there is out there, it’s hard to get what you need through regular drops).

Having 7 Head Hydras in Diablo 4 is quite possible with the right combination of upgrades
7 Headed Hydras is indeed possible with just some tweaks in my gear and affixes

Also, another perplexing note, there are some locations in the map that suggest PvP play, which is not really “my thing” and I’d rather focus on min-maxing my character or punish the Hordes of Burning Hell in my own sweet time. However it was later on that I realized that you can use these places to collect Red Dust (another in-game currency) that can be used for purchasing gear, customization, scrolls, and mount ornaments that you wouldn’t be able to find in non PvP areas.

Since Diablo 4 is a Live Service game, you can expect new events introduced, such as the RealmWalker Event. Now what I do like in terms of “being online” is whenever there is the RealmWalker Event, it’s so much easier to take that giant down with a few friends who “so happen to pass by”. Kid you not when I say the big giant mammoths of a RealmWalker is not exactly something a new-ish player is able to take down on their own and many hands definitely make things a lot easier, since you just need to get into the portal that appears after you take it down and get the stuff that you need.

Later you’ll be able to unlock “Infernal Hordes” that sort of plays like a multi 1min wave hit fest with changeable bonuses in between. I noticed I do this event a lot more when I suffer from “not so interesting equipment drops” fatigue and wanted to focus more on collecting upgrade materials.

I guess in this aspect, Diablo 4 has something for every player’s motivation regardless of what stage of play you are.

Game Graphics

Overall Art Style is pretty dark and morbid, so if you are a horror film / game fan, you’ll feel right at home with the “demons overruns the world and trusts humankind into bleakness” scenario. And I can tell you the cutscenes are so worth it to run through again and again, especially at the end of ACT V where the good vs evil culminates into a final showdown.

The in-game world can be so immersive that sometimes I would just stop and zoom in to take in all the details on the walls, shelves of books, ornaments, and even the creepy crawling slime on the walls… I have to say in terms of digital assets of the environment they have really outdone themselves, my only qualm is that my NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Graphics Card needs to balance between performance and quality renderings.

Diablo 4 has opted to stay true to its isometric dungeon exploration roots, so don’t expect “photo mode” in this game that allows you to switch between different perspectives, like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. But I am quite hopeful that I may yet to be introduced someday. Diablo 4 indeed has the potential to exude that spatial experience of “being in character”. But what I do understand is that perhaps the design decision was made that way so that our friends who are on Portable Consoles like the SteamDeck won’t feel missed out on their play experience.

Now if at any point if you feel that the bulk of animated hordes is eating up your Graphical Prowess on your trusty PC, there is quite a comprehensive list of graphic settings you can use to adjust the level of lighting and anti aliasing to make life of adventuring a little easier.

Another thing to note, is that sometimes you can improve the quality of your gameplay by changing a few settings in the game menu. I particularly liked to add on additional explanations of the Dungeon Affixes and Equipment Specs so that I know what I would be missing out if I made the switch. Check my FAQ section on what settings you can turn on at the bottom of the article.

Dungeon Affixes and Equipment Comparison tooltip for Diablo 4
With a little tweak in the settings, you can easily find out what the Nightmare Dungeon Affixes actually mean, plus a better equipment comparison

Music

If you are gaming on a PC with soundbar speakers (like I usually do), you are missing out on the quality sound effects and music track on this one!

The moment I put on the headphones, I was instantly transported to an array of orchestral treats that really brings out the mood (and I had already finished the main game by this point).

My favorite track has to be the swamp. The background chanting is pretty mesmerising and haunting at the same time, plus when you hear Timue (its one of the many NPC that has a very interesting background) speaking over the music… it sometimes can give you the chills.

I also have to say that the voiceover work (especially the guys who had to play NPC characters who cried because of remorse for the loss of a loved one) is especially commendable. There were a few instances where I could not help but to find out more about the backstory of the matter, in which the length of the side quests (which can lead to another side quest) does the job beautifully, with very good storytelling and world building.

Conclusion

Diablo 4 is a well polished take of a classic Loot Action title that cannot escape from Live Service offering to keep players in “for the long haul”. Although it takes a while to get used to the myriad of tweaks you can do to optimize your character, the storytelling and upgrade system is interesting to experiment with and you’ll undoubtably put in a few hundred hours across the basic 5 character classes in the base title itself.

Sometime in October 2025, the Vessel of Hatred DLC was just released, and to round up that bit you get:

  • Nahantu – a new area to explore, plus a new Spiritborn class to go with it
  • Mercenaries – a new sidekick system
  • An overhaul of the item upgrades with Runes and Runewords
  • New Paragon Skills

Perhaps enough to entice a return of seasoned players back to the game.

Edit : I just started the new season with the game, and you’d probably want to know you need to have 10GB extra disk space and sometime for the game to update (via Steam).

Website : https://diablo4.blizzard.com/en-us

Steam : https://store.steampowered.com/app/2344520/Diablo_IV

More Information About Diablo 4

(This section may contain spoilers, read it at your own risk)

Can you play Diablo 4 Offline?

Nope, your PC / Console will have to be constantly online to play this game.

Can you play Diablo 4 without spending money?

Yes you can just play through the seasons for the additional content. Some of the additional content gets incorporated in the “Eternal Realm” (Your non seasonal characters will remain here) so it’s kind of like bits of game updates. Real money is only for cosmetic upgrades, does not influence gameplay mechanics.

Do enemies level with you in Diablo 4?

Yes they do. Of course, the more you optimize your skill level and equipment, at some point you might want to add on additional challenge (and get better loot drops while you are at it).

How many hours of gameplay is Diablo 4?

Personally I could play my Sorcerer for 100 hours and I still did not run out of things to discover and optimize my build. There are six Diablo 4 classes: Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Spiritborn (if you buy the Vessel Of Hatred DLC). Read this if you want to find out which is the best class for your style in Diablo 4.

What is the Level cap in Diablo 4?

Main Campaign up to Level 60, in which you will start accumulating Paragon points up to Level 300. The trick to get ahead is to customize a build that can stack bonuses to become much stronger for later World Tiers (Torment 1 and beyond).

Is Diablo 4 an Open World Game?

The map is huge enough to give you an impression that it’s open world… but actually the amount of events in the game is enough to cater for replay value for all levels and play runs. The Random Generation of Dungeons is good enough to keep the game fresh.

How much replay value does Diablo 4 have?

In Diablo 4, all dungeons are randomly generated, so it stays fresh even when you repeat certain locations on the map. Many players would prefer to stick to seasonal play because of additional content and events that are time limited (and you get certain bonus perks during the seasonal play as well). Of course, for the challenged, you can always go for Hardcore mode and see how long you can survive.

How and Where to farm for that piece of unique item for my character?

According to Den Of Geek, don’t bother to farm of awesome 3 star gear until you are on world tier 4. If you are looking for farming locations, you might want to read How To Farm Unique Items From Bosses.

Not sure about you, for me personally if I am on a binge run on the game, I’d highly recommend these settings to make it easy on your eyes (and if you just have a standard monitor like me).

Planning to play for long hours with less eye fatigue:

Settings –> Gameplay –>

  • Screen Shake Effects (Off)
  • Combat Hit Flash (Off)
  • Reduce Strobing (On)

Less Clutter on Your UI / See where the Enemies are coming from the Bottom of Your Screen:

Settings –> Gameplay –>

  • HUD Configuration → Left

More Info on your Equipment Screen:

  • Advanced ToolTip Compare (On)
  • Advanced ToolTip Information (On)

More awesome tips here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIC4usGCKIw

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Posted by Wycoconut

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