Summary
Diabloas a series always remained within the confines of the dungeon-crawler genre, offering players several variations on the concept of dungeons as well as loot and action combat, andDiablo 4meant to follow suit when it came out. With a huge focus on its open world, thedungeon-crawling elementsinDiablo 4fell a bit through the cracks, especially with its mostly objective-based dungeons divided into different sections, each with a main mechanic to address before heading to the boss room. This slows down the process to a slog, forcing players to backtrack and explore every dead end looking for the mechanic-solving items. Vessel of Hatred fixes this, but it still doesn’t fully solve the “dungeon crawler equation.”
One could argue thatDiablo 4is two steps forward and one step back in several ways, as it improves on many aspects of the series or even adds new interesting ones, but other core elements are left behind in the process. The dungeon experience inDiablo 4falls into the latter category, as what seem crucial parts of the game, like Nightmare Dungeons, tend to be disappointing in the long run. In this specific case, the problem always was the lack of an actual dungeon-crawling experience, and while Vessel of Hatred helps, there’s more heavy lifting to do.
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s Nahantu Dungeons Are The DLC’s Unsung Hero
Diablo 4’s Dungeon-Crawling Returns to Classic Design at The Cost of Uniqueness
Diablo 4’s Nahantu dungeonsare the expansion’s unsung hero in the sense that they walk the series back to its dungeon-crawling days with an experience that is more meant to be focused on dungeon exploration and killing bosses. This is a good change, as the game essentially removes the requirements to complete side gimmicks before one can even access the boss room. What this does is kill two birds with one stone:
As such,Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansionputs back the focus on this important aspect of the series, arguably even more so with Nahantu itself. In fact, Nahantu has plenty of narrow pathways and small labyrinths that are faithful to the idea of sticking to the side walls of a dungeon in order to get to its ends. The problem is that this is not the whole package.
Diablo 4’s Dungeons Are Still Missing The Spark
Diablo 4’s endgame contenthas changed with Vessel of Hatred, and while removing the focus from Nightmare Dungeons is a good thing, it’s yet another step back from the dungeon-crawling roots of the series. Not only that, but Nahantu’s dungeons being more “classic” in their design and philosophy also makes them stand out much less among one another - especially without unique and mechanically interesting boss fights. This remains a huge pain point for the game for the time being, and hopefully, the nextDiablo 4expansion will address it.
Even then,Diablo 4’s progression system lacks an element of interconnectivity between dungeons outside of the Sigil at the end of Nightmare Dungeons, which simply acts as a way to direct players to their next activity. What follows is that the dungeon-crawling experience feels bare bones for the most part, even if the game moves away from its side gimmicks. Dungeons inDiablo 4are simply not that meaningful in the grand scheme of things, and while one could argue that theDark Citadel raid inDiablo 4is online dungeon-crawling at its finest, it’s not an activity most of the playerbase will experience. It’s a start, but an actual return to form may take longer than one DLC.
Diablo 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Diablo® IV is the ultimate action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish dungeons, and legendary loot. Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through beautifully dark settings and a gripping story, or explore an expansive end game and shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle world bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players – no lobbies necessary – with cross-play, cross-progression, and couch co-op on Xbox.This is only the beginning for Diablo® IV, with new events, stories, seasons, rewards, and more looming on the horizon.
