After my recent experience with the Diablo 4 Open Beta I had an interesting discussion with others discussing my feelings on the game as a whole. While I could see a good game here I had too many issues with the technical side of then game to give a full recommendation. And yet despite that the point was brought up that while that is indeed a shame after a few patches these issues would most likely all be gone and I’d just be left with a good game.
Now I see where they are coming from here, the technical problems were the things holding me back but with them gone I should just have the good parts left, but I feel it’s a bit more complicated than that. For me I like to feel as though a game is designed from the heart and with a clear vision in mind. It’s why I loved games like Hypnospace Outlaw which has clear passion and love despite it not being the best gameplay-wise. As such when I played Diablo 4 and saw all these online features that ultimately dragged down the experience for me I remember thinking to myself “Who asked for this?”.
It’s similar to how the Sim City franchise broke down with their last game, a perfectly good game series that was perhaps a bit niche having online features shoved into it to make a more broader market appeal which ultimately ended up ruining it for many. So while I can see the technical issues eventually being patched out that focus on Online content to help boost engagement and posisbly shill microtransactions will still be there, and that it a damn shame. I don’t have issue with multiplayer features, hell being able to invite your friends to adventure alongside you in a party would be a great feature, but it’s the pseudo-mmo nature of the game here that I feel drags it down. It feels as though Activision/Blizzard are trying to make another WoW, but they just don’t need to do that. So yes, while technical issues are the main problem here, it’s the fundemental game systems that cause most of these technical problems that I feel ruins the experience as a whole.
What are your thoughts on this discussion? Do you feel technical issues once patched are just non-issues anymore or do you feel it’s more fundemental core design principals that ultimately end up ruining a game’s experience? Please share your thoughts and opinions, I would be interested to know. That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.