Good evening! I hope you've had a good weekend. Most of mine consisted of recording and editing podcasts, but I enjoy that so that's all good. It's a shame we weren't able to sort out a new cat or two, but we'll just have to keep trying there.
This evening, my podcast co-host Chris and I had a thoroughly enjoyable time playing Diablo III on Switch. The more I play this console version, the more it just feels right on a console with an analogue controller. One of the things that always bugged me about Diablo on PC was how clunky and cumbersome it was to move out of the way of something like an area-effect marker or an incoming projectile, but when you're playing with a controller, that completely ceases to be an issue. Boss fights that were hard for all the wrong reasons when played with a mouse become much more enjoyable on console. Delightful.
Diablo III's core gameplay loop remains satisfying and fun. Kill things, make bar get bigger until other numbers get bigger and bar resets, pick up shinies, equip shinies, watch other numbers get bigger. At its core, it's getting into "Skinner box" territory, but the difference between Diablo and a shitty mobile game that showers you with experience points just for tapping on your florist five times a day is that Diablo expects a certain amount of skill and knowledge, and isn't just an "idle" or a "tapper" game. (Insert some pithy comment about Diablo Immortal here.)
Diablo is enjoyable because — particularly in its third incarnation — it combines the things people like about munchkin-centric RPGs (in which your primary concern above all else is making bigger numbers) with some honest to goodness arcade-style action: power-ups, combo bonuses, the whole "more fun with friends" angle. Although on the surface, Diablo appears to take itself very seriously, and indeed plays host to some quite detailed lore, the "Adventure" mode which makes up the meat of the game for most players these days understands that some people don't care about all that nonsense and just want to punch the intestines out of a variety of hideous monsters.
There are a few things I wish could be tweaked slightly about the experience — most notably, I wish the music was more interesting, as Russell Brower's rather ambient soundtrack doesn't do much to stand out. This is fine in the narrative-centric story mode, but in the distinctly more arcadey Adventure mode it would be awesome to have some music with a bit more "oomph" to it — something Castlevania-esque would be sweet. But oh well. You can't have everything.
I also particularly like the "seasonal play" concept, where, if you choose to engage with it, the game is relevant for a specific period of time, and there are clear objectives for you to pursue and be rewarded with cool stuff. Blizzard's use of Achievements has always been very good, particularly in its RPGs, and Diablo III makes great use of these and similar types of awards to motivate you and encourage you to try various different ways to play.
In our session today (and slightly beyond), I went from level 21 to level 50 and had a thoroughly good time. The delightful ridiculousness of the Paragon levels awaits. I shall enjoy grinding away for a bit while this season continues.
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