2. Diablo 3: The Search for Innocence
By the end of Diablo 3 a few questions are left, which the game tries to explain in some form or another but ultimately leaves them dangling like so many loose ends. You might argue that leaving some mystery open to be answered at a later date is just part of the intrigue, but it isnt. Its frustrating and presumptuous. Leah is the adopted daughter of Deckard Cain, and part of a collective of characters that drive the narrative. She was introduced to the series to fulfill some of Deckards functions, due to his age and the need for a younger, more active character in the role. By the conclusion of the game we had spent approximately three-fourths of the narrative in her company. She was clearly a character we were meant to care about. Unfortunately, it all backfired. The appearance of Diablo toward the end of the game outweighed any emotional anguish we were intended to experience by her loss. She was simply a vessel for his release, thats fine, but why build this relationship over dozens of hours only to let it fizzle out. Leahs death could have been a huge emotional payoff. Instead, she literally disappears in a haze of smoke and thats the last time we see her. The next shot is Diablo rising into frame and were supposed to assume that her body was destroyed in the transformation. Which leaves us wondering, what about her soul? Did it survive the transformation? Was it burnt out of existence when Diablo possessed her? The only hint we receive in-game comes from our old friend, Covetous Shen. When told that Leah has been consumed by Diablo, Shen questions, Do you not think Leahs soul is stronger than that? Because Leah never gets a definitive resolution, when we pull all the in-game evidence together, were left with one of two possible conclusions. Shes either dead or she isnt pretty mind blowing stuff, Blizzard. Fortunately the Vice President of Creative Development at Blizzard, Chris Metzen, has stated that, Her spirits still out there somewhere, right. Theres a good girl there that deserves to be saved and brought back from the abyss. The confirmation is appreciated and certainly indicates the search for Leah could be the topic of a later story. It's just a shame that the information had to come from outside the game, as it would have been so much more powerful within the narrative itself.