In 2018, Blizzard launched Diablo III: Eternal Collection on Switch, which marked the publisher’s first release on Nintendo hardware since the N64 and the debut of the legendary franchise for Nintendo’s audience. That port was an impressive feat back then, and Blizzard has now decided to one-up it with Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection for Switch 2.
Including all base game and expansion content released for Diablo IV so far (it launched elsewhere in 2023), this port proves to be an impressive and comprehensive package that no fan of action RPGs should miss.
Diablo IV is set in the world of Sanctuary, an earthlike environment that exists as a kind of holding ground for humanity amid the ongoing war between heaven and hell. A group of treasure hunters in an old ruin inadvertently cause the return of Lilith, the creator of Sanctuary and daughter of one of the Prime Evils of Hell. You (“the Wanderer”) then get pulled into the conflict between Lilith and the Horadrim, an ancient and weakening group of warriors and mages formed to combat the Prime Evils.
Although storytelling isn’t exactly the strong suit here, it’s overall a rather compelling tale that feels a cut above the efforts of previous series entries. Lilith herself is a scene-stealing and charismatic villain who embodies the ‘neutral evil’ archetype in the somewhat morally grey motivations of her ongoing mission.
Meanwhile, the supporting characters of the Horadrim get a fair amount of meaningful development throughout their conflict with Lilith and her followers, leading to an overall satisfying conclusion that tees up the expansions well. Though I’d never suggest buying Diablo IV for the story alone, I’d also say you are doing yourself a disservice if you were to just mash through the cutscenes or skip the campaign entirely.
Gameplay falls right in line with the typical ARPG genre tropes where you create a character from one of a few distinct classes and slowly make them your own over the course of a lengthy campaign through developing their skill tree and kitting them out with gear that best supports the build you’ve chosen. The main campaign acts as a solid way of getting the lay of the land, issuing you various quests and sidequests to complete that ease you into the gameplay loop and give you plenty of room to experiment with your build as you gradually put it together.
Basically, it boils down to going out into the wilds and delving into dungeons where enemies drop pieces of loot left and right. Most of it is junk to your build, but every now and then a piece drops that offers an incremental improvement on something you’re currently wearing. Then you run back to town, sell or salvage all the junk, and use the proceeds to either buy even better equipment or to make modifications to your current kit.
It’s an addictive gameplay loop, especially given that you’re either levelling up or finding a good new piece of loot every few minutes. There’s no telling when the next reward is gonna hit for you, enticing you to go just a bit further and do ‘just one more’ quick dungeon run.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch-2/diablo-iv-age-of-hatred-collection
