DIABLO IV

One of the (many) lessons I learned while growing up is that good things come to those who wait. In the gaming world, this is especially true-games are sometimes in first Blizzard game I played seriously was Diablo II, and after the (relative) disappointment of Diablo III, I had looked forward to the next installment in the franchise. This story takes me back to November 2019, when I laid eyes on Diablo IV for the very first time and played the demo. Since then, I have been waiting for a fun and immersive Diablo game-in this case, it was Diablo IV.

- Jose Alvarez

DEVELOPER Blizzard Team 3, Blizzard Albany

PUBLISHER Blizzard Entertainment

PLATFORM PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S 

After about three and a half years of waiting, Diablo IV was officially released on June 5, 2023. Having played the open betas and getting early access, I played over 100 hours of a possible 168 hours in a week, and then I scaled back as I was waiting for hotfixes to take place. You play as a character called the Wanderer, and your goal is to stop Lilith, who is corrupting the inhabitants of Sanctuary 50 years after Diablo III. The darker tone of Diablo IV is a welcome departure from Diablo III and a return to what I loved about Diablo II when I played it 20 years ago.