Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

For me, I'll be quite happy with my lightning-powered cartwheeling spiritborn adventurer for the foreseeable future. I don't know if there's enough here to keep me fully engaged until the next expansion rolls around in a year or two, but Vessel of Hatred has sunk its claws into me in a way that the base game never did.

There has been a range of mixed feelings about what Blizzard has put on offer with Vessel of Hatred. Just as the story starts to ramp up, it ends quite abruptly, leaving you with the sour taste of knowing you'll need to pay another $40 next year if you want the conclusion. Some of the new features, like mercenaries, feel a tad underbaked.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred takes everything that made Diablo 2 and 3 great, and modernizes for it the present day. Blending stunning visuals, musical majesty, and slick, gory combat, it surpasses the base game in every way, even if some may walk away from its story a little perplexed.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is an awesome expansion that adds an excellent new area to explore, a gloriously modular character class that I can’t stop playing, an impressive debut raid activity, and lots more. But while just about everything it adds is awesome, it definitely doesn’t do enough where the somewhat flaccid campaign and story is concerned, and numerous bugs can occasionally drag it down.

Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred has a great start, mediocre middle, and frustrating ending. The Spiritborn class is a fantastic addition, along with the new Mercenary system. At $40 if you’re in it for the story you may come out as frustrated as I am, but if gameplay is all you care about then there’s a lot to love.

Since its launch, Diablo 4 has been on a path of evolution. With a franchise as beloved and storied as Diablo, it has to be a tough balancing act to keep long-time fans pleased, hardcore players engaged, and new players interested. While they sometimes lose their balance momentarily, Blizzard has done a fantastic job of walking that tight rope. Vessel of Hatred and its accompanying updates simultaneously represent the most fun, approachable, and deepest version of Diablo 4 to date.

Vessel of Hatred is a great entry point if you haven’t played Diablo IV before or you’ve been away for a while. Blizzard has made a lot of great changes over the last year, and this expansion brings even more. Between the new season starting on October 7th and all of the Vessel of Hatred content dropping on October 8th - Diablo IV is looking to be in an excellent place.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred demonstrates that Blizzard Entertainment is following the right path with its ever-evolving action-RPG. The addition of a new region and class breathe new life into Sanctuary, and smart changes to progression and core systems only improve the baseline experience further. The story could have been more impactful, but this expansion still offers a journey worth taking.