It’s absolutely no secret that I’m an absolute Diablo nut in every sense of the word from the earliest Windows 95 days of blasting the original Diablo and all the way through the ups and downs of 2018-19 Blizzcons to now, the present day where the moment to play Diablo IV is quickly approaching. For those who are still in the dark, on June 1st at 4 pm PT, the Gates to Hell swing wide open to those who purchased Early Access, and the official launch for the rest will be June 5th at 4 pm PT on PC via BattleNet, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Regardless of when you are able to play, I promise you this: If you like ARPGs and Diablo in general, you are going absolutely love Diablo IV. As expressed in our main review by Dean Clark, this game will keep us and all of you busy for a very, very long time. Let’s just get this out there right now: Diablo IV is one of the most satisfying games of all time!

I had the extreme pleasure of playing the game quite a bit over the past few weeks and to be totally honest, it’s been nigh impossible to focus or enjoy any other game since our press access was cut off. What greater compliment can be given to a game than one that totally consumes your thoughts, emotions, and focus? I haven’t been this excited to play a game at launch in many, many years.

Rather than consume the entire game or rush through the story as some on our team did, I slowly played with the mechanics and unlocks of the Druid and Rogue. Not only that, I partnered with other members of the press through dungeons and bosses, having an absolute blast!

The sheer number of activities to take part in, level up in, or just explore, is mind-boggling. While the map may not be the largest in open-world gaming, it’s still massive, and better yet, the quality of the environments and content is absolutely fantastic!

While I could talk for hours about all the amazing things to see and do in Diablo IV, what impressed me even more during my playtime is the slow burn of each class and how rewarding it is to find gear, unlock skills, and generally just progress. While level scaling can take the fun out of powering up in some cases, the more I played my Druid, the more powerful and fun it became. I love that this isn’t an instant-reward-type game. You have to work and play for good gear. You have to explore to find power-ups and the more you play, the more fun you start to have, even if some classes feel weak at first. The gameplay cycle and payoff for persistence are absolutely unmatched, especially for a modern game.

Honestly, even typing this makes me want to jump back into the world of Sanctuary and start farming herbs, running dungeons for gear, and exploring every inch of the detailed world for more goodies. The time is soon upon us and absolutely thrilled to see not only where these adventures take me but where the development team plans to take us next.

Diablo IV is an absolute triumph and should be enjoyed by gamers everywhere, regardless of genre preference, whether solo or co-op with a group of friends, this is already a strong GOTY contender in my eyes. See you in Sanctuary!