Blizzard has presented the story of the upcoming Diablo 4 with two videos. Especially fans of the old parts will be pleased, as the latest installment in the series is once again reminiscent of the “darkness” of the past. Along with the announcement, there was the first part of a new story series, including perhaps the most pleasant narrative voice in the game.
This is the story of Diablo 4:
- The latest Diablo installment takes place 50 years after Diablo 3, when the angel Malthael nearly wiped out all of humanity.
- As one of the few remaining humans, you now ensure that the world is not completely destroyed.
- Now Lilith and Inarius are back, the two creators of the world of Diablo, fighting for dominance over their creation.
You can find a summary of the story of Diablo in our special: The Story of Diablo Explained Briefly – What You Need to Know Before Diablo 4 Arrives
This is what Blizzard says: In a new update video, the developers talk about the story of Diablo 4 and how it came to be (via YouTube). It discusses what you actually see in the game and what has happened since Diablo 3.
It is important that we as players do not yet know exactly what it will actually be about. We only know that “Mom and Dad” are having a fight and we have to somehow deal with it. Whose side we end up on and how everything ends is still open.
Game director Joe Shely makes it clear: “The story of Diablo 4 is the darkest we have ever told.” This addresses a theme that has been on the minds of many fans for months.
Soon after the dev update, another lore video was released, in which Lorath’s voice reads from his book and explains what the demons are about:
“We want to return to the roots”
After Diablo 3 and Diablo Immortal, many fans of the series have wished for a return to what they know from Diablo 1 and 2: a dark world, harder grinding, and no more colorful ponies.
That’s exactly what Diablo 4 aims to deliver. The game takes the best features of its predecessors and creates something new from them. Especially the tone of the story and environment is once again significantly darker, as shown in the first tests.
The response to the videos is extraordinarily positive. There is praise especially for the implementation with image and sound. On YouTube, a user writes: Impossible that this is a series with the official Diablo lore. This is heaven.
On Reddit, a fan writes: The Diablo lore is great and this is the perfect way to present it. I can hardly wait for the other episodes.
The developers make it clear in the video that they want to “return to the roots”. Especially regarding the world, they are orienting themselves towards the original Diablo 1 and the oppressive feeling that prevailed back then.
What particularly distinguishes Diablo 4 from its predecessors is, however, the absence of an iconic villain:
Why is Diablo 4 actually called Diablo 4, but Diablo is not mentioned at all?
