Support NeoGAF

[Draugoth]

The Diablo 4 Steam release is struggling, with mixed reviews and less than 2,500 players

Diablo 4 Steam reviews put Blizzard’s RPG in the ‘mixed’ category less than a day after the D4 Steam launch, as player numbers struggle on Valve’s platform too.

www.pcgamesn.com

Diablo 4 Steam reviews put Blizzard’s RPG in the ‘mixed’ category less than a day after the D4 Steam launch, as player numbers struggle on Valve’s platform too.

DiabloI V peaked at just over 5K concurrent players on Steam after slowly yet steadily climbing since it launched on the platform one day ago.Blizzard's previous Steam launch Overwatch 2 peaked at over 75K concurrent players, but had the huge advantage of being free to play.

Since its Steam launch on Tuesday, October 17, Diablo 4 has reached a peak player count of 2,374. Potentially, this number reflects the fact that D4 is available elsewhere on PC, and launched back in June. Overwatch 2’s 24-hour peak player count is 31,457, so there is the possibility that Diablo 4’s will increase, also.

 

[Beer Baelly]

 

[Magic Carpet]

I bought this game and I have to say. Diablo 3 is a far better game. It just is.

 

[ssringo]

Not surprising. Anyone who was interested bought this at launch and the post launch response wasn't all that great with it nosediving in Season 1.

 

[Comandr]

I mean the people that cared about playing Diablo 4 already got rooked into buying it on Battle.net. You know, cuz they thought that was going to be the only option for PC.

I bought this game and I have to say. Diablo 3 is a far better game. It just is.

 

[simpatico]

Is the music in the Steam trailer really catering to Diablo fans?

Is there any value in this as a purely single player experience with no desire to go past the final boss?

 

[64bitmodels]

get trolled Blizzard. Now release D2 Remastered on Steam FFS.

 

[lh032]

i think the diablo IP is done for.

 

[Fake]

Still too high.

 

[Puscifer]

Deserves to be lower for the simple fact they made it seem like they hate their own customers by gimping builds which is so backwards from everything Blizzard has done for YEARS

 

[Saber]

Deserved. They're lucky this game is mixed judging the major consensus their fans have on their forums.

 

[Laieon]

I don't hate Blizzard nearly as much as many do (in fact, they're still one of my favorite studios - their games are comfort food), but I'm not quite sure what they're expecting with these Steam releases. They're cool to hate on so they'll get low to mixed reviews fairly reliably, and most people who were interested in Diablo IV probably got it on Battle.net or consoles months ago. I'm not going to rebuy a game on PC if I've had access to it for months now. Hell, I've been playing it on SteamDeck off and on since launch.

Diablo IV is still pretty close to peak ARPG for me, the only other game on the market that I might enjoy a little more is Last Epoch.

Deserved. They're lucky this game is mixed judging the major consensus their fans have on their forums.

Is it a "major consensus" or are those who like it playing it (or, you know, played it and moved on to something else because not everything needs to hold your attention 100% of the time) and not bitching on forums?

Is the music in the Steam trailer really catering to Diablo fans?

Is there any value in this as a purely single player experience with no desire to go past the final boss?

Absolutely. The cracks don't start to show until after that and most people who bitch about the game are looking for something to spend 100s if not 1000s of hours in. I'm not that type of gamer, I like to move on to the next thing, and DIV is one of my top 3 games of the year so far.

As someone who never had nostalgia for Diablo 2, DIV held my attention for significantly longer.

I bought this game and I have to say. Diablo 3 is a far better game. It just is.

This guy isn't wrong though.

Spoiler

It's also better than Diablo 2

 

[Holammer]

I think the game's reputation was hobbled by word of mouth. I've seen the discourse here on Gaf and Twitter.
A friend bought it on PS5 said I should get it at 75% off.

So I'm not really getting any good vibes.

 

[Hero_Select]

yikes, thats so embarrassing lmao

But also deserved. Diablo 4 isn't very good.

 

[amigastar]

yikes, thats so embarrassing lmao

But also deserved. Diablo 4 isn't very good.

Yep, i got bored pretty quickly. I wait for other Arpgs like Titan Quest 2.

 

[Saber]

Is it a "major consensus" or are those who like it playing it (or, you know, played it and moved on to something else because not everything needs to hold your attention 100% of the time) and not bitching on forums?

Yeah, people go to their forum specifically to bitch. Therefore the same forums they use to discuss and share news should cease to exist.
Also I though this game was a GaaS like Genshin Impact, which btw GaaS means to be played and supported through long periods aka long term project(you should know that entire purpose of GaaS is to hold the attention of players not the other way around). The difference though is that GI is a very sucessfull one while D4 is a failed one.

 

[Laieon]

Yeah, people go to their forum specifically to bitch. Therefore the same forums they use to discuss and share news should cease to exist.
Also I though this game was a GaaS like Genshin Impact, which btw GaaS means to be played and supported through long periods aka long term project(you should know that entire purpose of GaaS is to hold the attention of players not the other way around). The difference though is that GI is a very sucessfull one while D4 is a failed one.

Okay, but I couldn't care less about GI and have no interest in GaaS titles. DIV might have been designed (and arguably failing) as one, but from the offset I had no interest in engaging with it in that manner. I wanted out of it the same thing I want out of every game - something I can spend 20-50 hours on, have fun with, and then jump into something else (until, like similar titles, an expansion or major update that includes new zones and classes) comes out.

And yes, the Blizzard forums are famously a cesspool. They've been that way for as long as I can remember.
At the end of the day? If you don't like the game, cool - you're well entitled to your opinion as it doesn't affect mine at all.

I wait for other Arpgs like Titan Quest 2.

Can't fucking wait.

 

[M.W.]

Derplablo 4
Diablechh 4

Game is hot butt.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Wow, I didn't realize people dislike this game so much. From what I've seen the story doesn't sound too good though.

 

[Hot5pur]

Diablo 4 met my expectations and then some.
It was relatively big free and servers ended up stabilizing rather quickly.
The story and gameplay is excellent and the open world is decently well done, though it is somewhat samey throughout.
I think the major gripe is the endgame. People thought this game would revolutionize the genre but it just ended up being a very competent rpg with high production values and polish.

 

[Warablo]

I played it a ton, but they really dropped the ball for end game content and Season 1/changes.

 

[Nydius]

I bought this game and I have to say. Diablo 3 is a far better game. It just is.

The only place I'd disagree is in the visual style. D3 is too cartoony while I find D4's dark, muted color palette more to my liking.

Gameplay wise? I agree. I'd rather play D3 than D4. At least in D3 I feel like my skill options allow for different builds and playstyles. D4 is pretty much just "what cookie cutter build is OP this season?" and everyone follows it. Mostly because if you try to experiment and craft your own builds, you end up getting completely bent over in higher nightmare tiers.

I'm having more fun with Season 29 of D3 than I had with either the pre-season or Season 1 of D4.

Still think I would have liked D4 more had they given players the option of turning on Lorath for a "dark" ending in the mind-fuck sequence with Lilith.

 

[simpatico]

Absolutely. The cracks don't start to show until after that and most people who bitch about the game are looking for something to spend 100s if not 1000s of hours in. I'm not that type of gamer, I like to move on to the next thing, and DIV is one of my top 3 games of the year so far.

I figured as much. I'm in at $30. Hopefully they don't destroy the SP content by that time like Destiny 2 did.

 

[Optimus Lime]

The hatred for this game is so weird. I found it extremely fun. There are things I miss from Diablo 3, but the game is hardly the blasphemy against Diablo's good name that people like to pretend it is.

And, that Steam count is irrelevant. Of course it's tiny. The game has been out for months, and most people who want to play it have already bought it on Battlenet. 'Look, look, it's a failure HAHAHAHA' is deluded in this instance.

Season 1 wasn't great, but I rolled a new barb last night and I'm having a fucking great time.

 

[hyperbertha]

I don't hate Blizzard nearly as much as many do (in fact, they're still one of my favorite studios - their games are comfort food), but I'm not quite sure what they're expecting with these Steam releases. They're cool to hate on so they'll get low to mixed reviews fairly reliably, and most people who were interested in Diablo IV probably got it on Battle.net or consoles months ago. I'm not going to rebuy a game on PC if I've had access to it for months now. Hell, I've been playing it on SteamDeck off and on since launch.

Diablo IV is still pretty close to peak ARPG for me, the only other game on the market that I might enjoy a little more is Last Epoch.



Is it a "major consensus" or are those who like it playing it (or, you know, played it and moved on to something else because not everything needs to hold your attention 100% of the time) and not bitching on forums?

This is a dumb post. The game is trash, which is exactly why fans are bitching about it. Also this type of game lives or does by it's long term fun factor. Path of exile most definitely didn't get the fall off this did I assure you. Its designed for the crack addict equivalent of gamers.
It doesn't matter if you enjoyed the game, you already admitted to having a low standard for what constitutes fun at the start of the game.

 

[ResilientBanana]

i think the diablo IP is done for.

Diablo 4 was 340 million short of a billion in sales

 

[Dusktildawn48]

I got my money's worth for about 50 hours of playtime. But yeah, season 1 was awful.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Literally everyone who wanted the game already bought it on Battle.net, I'm not sure what exactly this was supposed to do other than prove that transitioning from Battle.net to Steam, assuming MS wants to even do it, will be much harder than anyone expects

 

[Pimpbaa]

I bought this game and I have to say. Diablo 3 is a far better game. It just is.

After the expansion it was. But things were dire for Diablo 3 for a long while. It wasn’t till the PS3 version of Diablo 3 (which didn’t have the real money auction house) that the game got better. Then they got rid of the auction house on PC and then the expansion came out which made the game quite enjoyable. Diablo 4 is fixable in my opinion. There have been worse games that had a big turnaround later. The question is if current Blizzard is up to the task.

 

[DryvBy]

And some moron convinced Microsoft to buy this for $69b lol

 

[Aces High]

I felt asleep playing it.

Chuckled when I learned it happened to many players.

 

[Nydius]

After the expansion it was. But things were dire for Diablo 3 for a long while. It wasn’t till the PS3 version of Diablo 3 (which didn’t have the real money auction house) that the game got better. Then they got rid of the auction house on PC and then the expansion came out which made the game quite enjoyable. Diablo 4 is fixable in my opinion. There have been worse games that had a big turnaround later. The question is if current Blizzard is up to the task.

This is quite true and perhaps it's not very fair to compare it to D3 given that D3 has had a decade of updates. Your last line is the most critical question, however, and given that they have stated they intend on following a Destiny 2 model with big annual expansions with quarterly annual content (as seasons), I'm afraid Blizzard isn't capable of a Reaper of Souls level turnaround anymore.

 

[Hero_Select]

Yep, i got bored pretty quickly. I wait for other Arpgs like Titan Quest 2.

I'm really looking forward to PoE2, everything we've seen so far looks really damn impressive.

 

[Antwix]

They sold 10 million+ copies. Everyone who wanted the game already bought on Bnet. Not sure why people thought the steam numbers would be great considering the terrible season 1. Season 2 plus their revamp is much better already.

 

[Lucie Goosey]

I mean the people that cared about playing Diablo 4 already got rooked into buying it on Battle.net. You know, cuz they thought that was going to be the only option for PC.

I mean the people that cared about playing Diablo 4 already got rooked into buying it on Battle.net. You know, cuz they thought that was going to be the only option for PC.

No.

Diablo 3 is unmemorable.


Diablo 4 actually made me care and feel things.

I don't think my facial expressions changed once whilst playing D3.

 

[Mortisfacio]

I'm actually enjoying Season 2 quite a bit. I gave up around level 85 in season 1, but there's a lot of improvements in the last patch. It's still got issues, but a pretty significant improvement from the dreadful 1.1 patch.

 

[ahtlas7]

I liked Diablo Immortal better than 4 and it cost me nothing.

 

[Freeman76]

It was a little lacking on release but this new season is bangin. Its probably low because most ppl who wanted it have it already

 

[hinch7]

I liked Diablo Immortal better than 4 and it cost me nothing.

Same and I was really looking forward to D4.

Immortal was meme'd to hell even before it launched but it was pretty okay, and fun to play. D4 on the other hand was just a boring slog from start to finish. From the art, characters, story and most importantly gameplay; which was just plain dull.

 

[Paasei]

The campaign was great. The endgame not so much.

 

[amigastar]

Same and I was really looking forward to D4.

Immortal was meme'd to hell even before it launched but it was pretty okay, and fun to pay. D4 on the other hand was just a boring slog from start to finish. From the art, characters, story and most importantly gameplay; which was just plain dull.

Fun to pay or fun to play? Because both words fit.

 

[TheSHEEEP]

In a world with Path Of Exile, D2 + great mods, Last Epoch looking fancy on the horizon, D3 having bored me to death already.... I should be interested in D4 why, exactly?

 

[hinch7]

Fun to pay or fun to play? Because both words fit.

Played and completed the main campaign without spending anything. The game was enjoyable for me at least in small bursts *shrug*. More than D4 at least.

Edit ah missed the typo mb ;p

 

[DavidGzz]

It was a little lacking on release but this new season is bangin. Its probably low because most ppl who wanted it have it already

It was getting bombed and probably still is, people buying it, starting it up so it shows some play time, then giving it a thumbs down because they hate Blizzard and then refunding it. I mean, here is an example, "There are a few reasons why Diablo 4 is on Steam: 1. Bobby and Co want to grab as much money as possible before being kicked to the curb on January 1st, 2024."

I filtered to negative reviews of people who have played 5 hours or more and there are 8 of the 438 negative reviews. Kids who have too much time on their hands lol

 

[PeteBull]

For ppl who arent fans of the series or didnt make it to endgame, thats literally how badly it gets there, this 1minute long vid is parody but its funny only coz its true, just look at comments underneath it

 

[Zathalus]

Meh, I think season 2 is good so far.

 

[PeteBull]

I'm actually enjoying Season 2 quite a bit. I gave up around level 85 in season 1, but there's a lot of improvements in the last patch. It's still got issues, but a pretty significant improvement from the dreadful 1.1 patch.

It still has 2 things that make it super boring and unplayable even for most hardcore diablo series/hack and slash fans like myself- extremly bad itemisation and boring gameplay loop- 0 dopamine rush while playing/finding new items.

For person who already beat story/completed most sidequests and explored whole map at launch this season2 is just ugly old hag with some makup and nice clothes put on her, 0 staying power.
I base it on watching/hearing my fav streamer playing it, i couldnt force myself to do it, but since i really enjoy the guy i only survived that 9h of stream from him watching/listening to his cursing and suffering.

And im not some random hater, im the guy who preordered the game last december and gave it tons of time, 20h in beta, easily 150h at launch(77 summon necro)- after initial 30-50h when u cant be deceived by story/sidequests/map exploring u simply begin to hate the game more and more, coz 2 most important things-its core- so itemisation and gameplay loop, are the 2 things that are most boring/broken, still.

Thats literally opposite what we had in d1, d2, path of excile, hell even in d3 with its reaper of souls expack i lasted solid 300h+ and geared all classes to the teeth in that time, in comparision in d4 i couldnt even do it with 1-my fav summoner necro :/

 

[Monokrom]

I'm actually enjoying Season 2 quite a bit. I gave up around level 85 in season 1, but there's a lot of improvements in the last patch. It's still got issues, but a pretty significant improvement from the dreadful 1.1 patch.

I also like season 2. Lots of changes in the right direction. Rocking a necromancer (lvl 64 atm) in this season.
Edit: Playing on PS5.

 

[L*][*N*K]

I bought this game and I have to say. Diablo 3 is a far better game. It just is.

In 2012 you bought Diablo 3 and you also said “Diablo 2 is a far better hame, it just is”

 

[Barakov]

No.

Diablo 3 is unmemorable.


Diablo 4 actually made me care and feel things.

I don't think my facial expressions changed once whilst playing D3.