The summary of ‘Why Is Diablo 4 SO BAD?!’

The video critiques Diablo 4, highlighting issues such as lack of scaling difficulty, repetitive gameplay, unexciting loot drops, and a shallow narrative compared to earlier Diablo games. Criticisms include the trivialization of enemies, limited skill choices, unmemorable characters, and a lack of challenge and customization in character building. The speaker values challenge, progression, and immersive storytelling, pinpointing flaws in game design choices like scaling difficulty, camera view, and lack of depth in world-building. Conclusions drawn suggest that Diablo 4's emphasis on quantity over quality hampers the gameplay experience, leading to disappointment and a perceived decline in Blizzard's writing quality.

00:00:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker expresses disappointment with Diablo 4, stating it is not to their liking and that they do not enjoy the game. They highlight that while the combat in Diablo 4 is enjoyable and fluid, there are aspects of the game they despise. The speaker also touches upon minor complaints such as the game being always online and issues related to server connectivity. Additionally, they discuss the game’s boss fights, enemy design, skill tree, and gameplay mechanics. Despite some positive aspects, the speaker finds two major flaws in Diablo 4 that they consider “crippling fun-ruining flaws”: difficulty and skills.

00:05:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses their experience playing Diablo 4 at level 48 and the lack of scaling difficulty in the game. They highlight that everything scales with the player’s level, making the game consistently easy regardless of progression. The speaker expresses concerns about the negative impact of scaling difficulty on player experience, comparing it to games like Diablo 1, 2, and World of Warcraft. They critique the stagnant challenge level in Diablo 4, pointing out that enemies adapt to the player’s level, hindering the sense of progression and excitement in gameplay. The speaker emphasizes that scaling difficulty diminishes the uniqueness and challenge of different zones in the game, contrasting with the memorable experiences created by fixed difficulty levels in other games like Elden Ring.

00:10:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the lack of challenge and progression in Diablo 4 compared to previous games like Diablo 1 and the importance of difficulty spikes in RPGs to create a sense of growth and accomplishment. The speaker praises the design of the first Capstone dungeon and criticizes Diablo 4 for not providing evolving challenges as players progress through the game. They highlight a disconnect between the dark tone of the game’s story and the relatively easy gameplay, contrasting it with titles like Bloodborne where the gameplay matches the narrative tone. The speaker emphasizes the shift in player preferences towards wanting to feel powerful by defeating waves of enemies, leading to potentially trivializing basic enemy encounters in Diablo 4.

00:15:00

In this part of the video, the speaker criticizes the scaling and lack of challenge in Diablo 4. They highlight the repetitive nature of combat due to trivialized enemies and express disappointment in the lack of difficulty even in higher levels. The limitations on skills and inability to expand play style beyond five abilities is discussed, with a comparison to previous Diablo games where more skill variety was offered. The lack of flexibility in changing builds without a loadout system is criticized, as well as the restriction on ability choices. The speaker emphasizes the importance of player choice and customization in character building, pointing out other RPGs like Divinity: Original Sin 2 that offer more flexibility in skill slots.

00:20:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the limitations and issues with Diablo 4, focusing on the scaling difficulty, camera view, side content, and the gameplay loop. The speaker criticizes the design choices, such as the zoomed-in camera view, repetitive side content, and the necessity to grind Renown. The speaker expresses frustration with the quantity-over-quality approach to game content and the planned resets for Renown. The emphasis on endless but potentially tedious activities in the game is criticized, highlighting a perceived lack of depth and rewarding gameplay experiences.

00:25:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses how the loot drops in Diablo 4 are unexciting and generic, lacking the uniqueness and appeal seen in earlier Diablo games like Diablo 1 and 2. The speaker expresses disappointment in the lack of excitement in finding loot in Diablo 4 due to the overwhelming amount of meaningless stats and numbers on items. They compare the stat system in Diablo 4 unfavorably to other RPGs, highlighting how certain stats in the game feel useless and unimportant. Additionally, the speaker criticizes the in-game economy of Diablo 4, noting how gold feels worthless and the limited options for purchasing items leads to dissatisfaction with the overall concept of buying equipment in the game.

00:30:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker expresses frustration with in-game currency feeling worthless in an RPG due to high item costs. They begin skipping chests, combat, dialogues, and side quests, feeling the game is becoming trivial. Despite some promising moments in the opening cutscene setting a tone of terror, the story takes a nosedive with forgettable characters and lackluster storytelling. The setup involving Lilith, Mephisto, and anarius is intriguing, but the narrative falters in the middle, losing impact. Comparison with earlier Diablo games highlights a decline in Blizzard’s writing quality.

00:35:00

In this segment of the video, the focus is on comparing the world design and storytelling approach of Diablo 4 to the original Diablo game. The original Diablo is praised for its immersive storytelling, set in a single location called Tristram with only eight characters who provide depth and context to quests. The Butcher quest from Diablo 1 is highlighted for its iconic status and how the characters in Tristram added realism and tension to the game. In contrast, Diablo 4’s open world design spreads thin across multiple areas and characters, making it less memorable and immersive. The lack of depth in storytelling and character interactions in Diablo 4 is criticized compared to the original game’s more focused and impactful approach.

00:40:00

In this part of the video, the speaker criticizes the lack of depth and role of vendors in Diablo 4, implying they only serve a gameplay function without contributing to world-building. They highlight the game’s lack of memorable NPCs, uninteresting loot, and repetitive gameplay mechanics. The speaker suggests that Blizzard prioritized open-world design over meaningful world-building, ultimately leading to a shallow gaming experience. They conclude that despite attempts at creating a massive, replayable world, Diablo 4 falls short.