PS5 - Diablo IV: Hooked? Not This Time

I did not expect this, but my first finished game of 2026 is Diablo IV. My wife and I are long-time fans of the series, but with busy schedules, we only just got around to playing it. Since it was available on PlayStation Plus, we finally decided to give it a try, even though we were a bit worried about getting hooked and losing hundreds of hours. Spoiler: that didn’t happen.

I played a Rogue because I prefer ranged combat, while my wife played a Barbarian to tank and keep enemies away. At first, the game felt more challenging. We died a few times during the first two acts and thought the difficulty might hold up. Once we unlocked more skills, adjusted our builds, and progressed further, the balance completely collapsed. Even on the highest available difficulty, boss fights were over in 10 to 15 seconds. The final boss did not even last a minute. This is very different from how Diablo used to feel.

Loot was another major letdown. New gear rarely felt exciting. There is no effective way to filter for legendary or unique items, so you constantly pick up low-value gear just to manually sort through it later. Instead of rewarding progression, the system felt tedious and drained any long-term motivation to keep playing.

We also strongly disliked the shared-world and MMO-style elements. Other players are everywhere, creating constant visual noise. At times, it is hard to tell players apart from NPCs or enemies. On top of that, the overall “games as a service” approach felt intrusive, with systems that seem designed more around FOMO than really meaningful gameplay.

Either our tastes have changed, or Diablo IV is simply not a good Diablo game. We liked Diablo III, and even Diablo I, despite its age, still felt more rewarding and challenging when we played it again recently. After finishing the campaign of Diablo IV, our motivation dropped to zero. At least I can cross this one off my list...

If you played Diablo IV, I’m genuinely curious. Did you enjoy it more than we did, or do you feel the same way? Are we missing something, or does this resonate with your experience too?

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Diablo IV

Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox and PC

Developer: Blizzard Team 3

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Genre: Hack n Slash

Release Year: 2023

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About Diablo IV:

Diablo IV is an action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth main installment in the Diablo series. The game was announced at BlizzCon 2019 and released on June 5, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and Microsoft Windows. Players create a character from one of seven classes—Barbarian, Sorcerer, Druid, Rogue, Necromancer, Spiritborn, or Paladin—and complete quests through combat using a variety of skills.

The game returns staple features from previous Diablo titles, including procedurally generated dungeons and loot-focused character-building, while introducing new mechanics such as an open world and player versus player combat.

Diablo IV received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its narrative and atmosphere. The game generated $666 million in revenue within six days of launch and surpassed one billion dollars in total revenue by September 2024. Its first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, released in October 2024, and the current season, Season 10: Season of Infernal Chaos, began on September 23, 2025. The second expansion, Lord of Hatred, was announced in December 2025.