Top Upcoming Diablo-Like Games

Why not start with Diablo IV? Expectations for the follow up to the father franchise are sky high. After playing some demo sessions and keeping up with the updates, there’s a great recipe in the making, but it’s probably going to be a while before we see all the swirling elements coalesce into anything tangible.

With Covid-19’s massive, sweeping effects on the industry and the inherent development time with a beast this massive, we may not see Diablo IV for a while. That said, the base elements that we’ve seen include some highly interesting fare for loot hunters, including open world elements that have players running into each other as they take on goatmen and demons and teaming up to take on big world bosses for powerful rewards. The motif is grim, dark, and depressing – a return to the gothic doomed sensibilities of earlier Diablo fare and a bit less of the colorful infusion that Diablo III brought to the series. Recent updates go into what a skill tree could look like, respec options, and item philosophy.

My play sessions with the game left me craving more, but the big question for Diablo IV is how the endgame is going to shake out. Campaigns for Diablo-likes are blasted through in moments of playtime compared to how much time is spent meticulously tailoring and perfecting characters for top-end gameplay against big bosses and tough-tuned encounters. 

Most of us are familiar with the leveling processes and infinite rift grinding, and Diablo IV’s dungeon/key system looks like it may give another layer to randomized dungeon crawling. Of course, what we’ve seen so far could (and probably will) look very different later this year and next. Is Diablo IV coming in 2021? Well, we can dream, but it’s probably not going to grace us with its evil presence for a while yet.