5. Diablo 3. 5. Diablo 3. 25 best hack'n'slash hames of all time (2023)

October 19, 2023

5. Diablo 3

Diablo III... Good God, how long have we been waiting for this game? 12 years! Horror, horror. It's inconceivable what a torment it must have been for fans of the series, greeting with tears in their eyes the official reveal of the third installment at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2008, and then for the next four years approaching each successive screenshot and trailer with trembling hands, trying to find the answer to the ever-recurring question, "Will the third installment live up to expectations and match its legendary predecessors?" Relief was supposed to come in May 2012...

There's no denying it - the beginnings were tough. Numerous changes compared to Diablo II divided players into different camps. Many criticized the introduction of online features straight from World of Warcraft (the need for a permanent Internet connection), the abandonment of skill trees in favor of the upfront acquisition of special abilities, the automation of increasing the core attributes of the character, relatively colorful (for Diablo) graphics, limited mode PvP, underdeveloped loot system, spoiled by the auction house, short story campaign, and other things.

On the other hand, there was no shortage of advocates of the new solutions. Blizzard, as always, listened carefully to the voices of players and improved what didn't work. The auction house is now closed, the loot generation is working as it should, and the too-light atmosphere was compensated for by Act V in the Reaper of Souls expansion, in which we landed in the dark, gothic Westmarch.

Today, after several years of patching, updating, and expanding, Diablo III deservedly remains at the forefront of the hack'n'slash genre, although it's far from perfect. This applies to both PCs and consoles, as Blizzard has made an effort to prepare a port with controls fully adapted to pads, now considered by some even more convenient than with the classic "mouse and keyboard" set. The success of Diablo III is also determined by its incredible longevity. The player will face increasingly higher difficulty levels (tempting with more powerful loot and other attractions), as well as separate forms of play, such as the adventure mode introduced in Reaper of Souls.

The game is further enhanced by minor innovations: partial destruction of the environment (bodies and pieces of equipment flying in the air present an incredible sight), locations full of treats - it's hard to believe that the stages are randomly generated - and also... the storyline, expanded thanks to frequent dialogues with the characters accompanying us and the numerous books found with interesting information about the Sanctuary world.

The problem for Blizzard's piece ultimately proved to be time. While it visually ages nicely, it definitely lacks developer support and real new content. On the other hand, it must be admitted that new seasons appear all the time, although the last one is about to launch, so there's still something going on in Diablo III. However, looking at the competitors, it's impossible not to acknowledge that we receive far too few significant innovations.