Diablo 4: 10 Huge Things It Must Fix From 3

The Diablo franchise is part of the ‘dark fantasy’ genre. However, part three threw this categorisation out the window when Blizzard removed many of the ‘dark’ background elements. Basically, Diablo III’s graphics became too much like those of the Warcraft family, thereby being completely out of touch with the first two games.

There are many reasons to support this claim. First, Diablo III was the first game that didn’t feature the ‘light radius’ concept. This small-yet-crucial detail made exploring dungeons more realistic, as the player couldn’t see beyond their own line of sight, which meant more surprises as you journeyed further in.

Secondly, in the earlier games day, night, sunshine and rain were randomised features, changing how the player explored. In contrast, Diablo III had several locations with set weather features. These tiny weather and time-of-day elements were essential to adding to the ambiance during a quest.

Finally, the background art was more cartoon-like and lacked any true gore or detail that made the game about fighting demons. In Diablo II, for example, you found dead bodies, pentagrams, trails of blood and other such details that made the evil atmosphere come alive around you. Even though Diablo III had some of these details, the graphics were done in such a way that they didn’t add to the atmosphere whatsoever.

This is a critical aspect of the franchise that needs to return to the next Diablo game. It needs to feel dark, and that can only be achieved with the same colour palette, traditional lighting system (and light radius), grittier graphics and background details. Diablo needs to feel like its own game, not like a darker version of the Warcraft franchise.