Before we begin, let me get some disclaimers out of the way. The first is that I hadn’t played Diablo IV before this review. I had played the first, skipped the second (someone else reviewed that), and did a deep dive into Diablo III (which I enjoyed and streamed). Diablo IV has always intrigued me, doubly so after Ben Sheene’s review at its launch. Sheene is a master of words, and his review last year proved that.
The second disclaimer is that while I enjoyed the Diablo series in spurts, the story never stuck with me. I know, I’m awful for admitting that but sometimes you just need a hack/slash RPG fix, and Diablo certainly delivers in that respect. Taking down demons, upgrading your goods constantly, and pushing boundaries with gobs of enemies with a group of friends surrounding and helping is an experience that transcends narrative. It’s just a bunch of fun.
Now, with these two disclaimers out of the way, I had the opportunity to go through Diablo IV and test out the soon-to-be-released Vessel of Hatred DLC. I found a few beautiful moments of revelation during both experiences. The narrative was solid and engaging, the additional gameplay in the DLC was compelling and interesting, and the expansion truly felt like an honest-to-God-worthy addition to the overall Diablo IV experience, mainly due to the story and decisions made about new warriors, in-game content, and how the game was going to work. Ultimately, this might have been the first Diablo game I solidly connected with on the way through its twists and turns, and was more than happy to keep revisiting it despite my busy review schedule.
So, sit back, relax, paint that pentagram on the floor, and start chanting because we’re about to sacrifice your time for this review.
Holy demons and narrative connections
I enjoyed the story immensely. Lilith’s evil journey is laid out well in the base game. Her terribleness affects the main characters and places around the land in the game and that is felt from beginning to end. Lilith’s plan to take out Mephisto and ‘save’ the world was ambitious as it was evil, but it properly brought Mephisto back into the mix and built a perfect bridge to the DLC.
The connected DLC extends Lilith’s impact and how it affected Neyrelle’s journey from the base game. It also expanded upon how Neyrelle decided to contain and unavoidably connect with Mephisto who has all but trapped her, bonded with her, and tortured her into submission. The wanderer’s (you) quest is to try and take Neyrelle back, while also figuring out how to take down Mephisto in the process. Not a bad way to begin a good DLC. Neyrelle’s journey from the original base game was certainly a common trope in storytelling, where she had to sacrifice and play the long game while bearing the brunt of her burden with the true villain, Mephisto. Her new role of carrying an unbearable burden, and you can see it on her agonized face at the beginning of the DLC, is strangely powerful as it is terrible (but in a good way).
The good folks at Blizzard made her character to be so much more than expected. I thought she was going to be a one-off from the base game, where she was a means to progression on the main tale and nothing more. Sometimes stories need bridges and at the time she does what she does to get across the black lake in the base game, it is easy to just write her off as a vessel to the next stop in the storyline. She ends up being so much more than that with the DLC and is a driving point to get your character to journey to the new jungle land of Nahantu, as well as to take on new evils that are constantly pressing against your perceived plight.
Ultimately, Vessel of Hatred is a worthy connection to the base game and is more than a sideshow narrative. It extends and reaches back across multiple Diablo games and pulls in a worthy story that creates constant motivation to push forward through the demonic obstacles and get the story done. This certainly didn’t feel like a DLC throwaway story. It was better than that and it showed how good it was from beginning to end.
If you’re going into this DLC hoping for a connected story to the original experience, then you’re in for a treat. It connects well and doesn’t feel like a forced fit.
Vessel of plenty
The Vessel of Hatred DLC introduces some nice additions to the Diablo world. And nearly every single one of them feels like they belong. They are as follows:
- Spiritborn – This is a new type of character class introduced with this DLC. They’re interesting, very much connected with nature, and have one foot into a spiritual realm. They have a natural presence that surrounds their every being, and the character is just a wonderful and brutal warrior to boot. They’re not quite the barbarian-type from the base game, but they’re good enough to be fancy and fun to use. Their creation and inclusion into the series are well-placed. They fit perfectly within the Nahantu world and make the entire place far more spiritual than a horror show. Blizzard made some smart moves with their design and the Spiritborn are just fun to play within the environment of Nahantu.
- Mercenaries – While I will never know the reasoning behind the exclusion of mercenaries in the base Diablo IV game, I’m glad they’re back in the DLC. They are a much-needed set of companions. For those of us who don’t have too many friends or co-workers who frequent the Diablo series, and I’m sure that is going to change in the coming weeks, it’s always nice to have help when taking on hoards of demons and baddies.
What I particularly liked about their inclusion in the DLC is how you can control and shape them. The skills tree connected with each mercenary has a branching path that allows you to take them down certain roads of development. If you want a brute to be a brute, then you can do so as they level up. If you want a more defensive character, then there is that option as well. The game gives you branches of skills and each choice closes another, so if you ever return to the game from the beginning, the mercenary experience could be considerably different the next playthrough.
I could have used these folks in my journey through Diablo IV’s base game, but regardless, they were certainly a welcomed sight when their option was opened at the beginning of the DLC. To add more context, each mercenary has a backstory, class type, and personality. They’re better than just one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. Blizzard, never take them away again. That’s just mean. Some of us go solo and we need a bit of NPC help.
Now, before I wrap up this explanation, let me give major kudos to the mercenary AI, which is solid when it comes to actual help in fights. There were a few mid-boss levels in the DLC that I could not have completed without their actual The mercenaries make a difference on your team. They aren’t just there to give the illusion of purpose.
- Dark Citadel – The Dark Citadel sounds intriguing enough, though I couldn’t experience it because I was without co-op players. It’s like Destiny 2 dungeons, where you can bring in 2-4 friends, fight some bosses, and earn rewards from each go around. If they’re anything like D2 dungeons, then I would imagine they are brutal as hell. When my writers or friends (or both) get it going with the DLC, I’ll be happy to report back, but right now the concept looks like the D2 dungeon construct. I’m sure it’s better supported.
- Realmwalkers – Now, this interested me. These are world events, where giant creatures spawn portals that constantly dump out baddies. The Realmwalkers are driven by random world events, so you have a certain amount of time to take them down before they disappear. The actual act of taking one down is brutal, as it is fun. Enemy groups start small from open portals, but as the Realmwalker appears and starts their journey, the portal enemies become increased in group size and difficulty. You must deal with enemies while taking down the Realmwalker. It’s not an easy task at all, and the challenge is well-constructed and balanced. It’s a neat addition to the DLC and one that is constantly popping up. And not always in Nahantu.
Beyond these main points of interest, the game also features Runewords, which allow you to essentially power your character even more and borrow some skills from other classes, and the DLC features QOL updates including upping the overall level to 60 and some other minor tweaks to make the experience smoother. A lot comes with this DLC, and all of it appears to be thought through very well. The intention of improving gameplay, connecting the story, and making the experience feel whole/new for the Diablo IV base game seems like it was followed through properly.
While my time was short with this DLC, the time I did have with it felt like there wasn’t a minute wasted. If you’re a fan of the original base game and are dying to see it improved, this should feel like a considerable upgrade over an already solid experience.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap this review.
Conclusion
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred from Blizzard is a worthy expansion that adds more than it subtracts. It continues a great story with compelling characters, introduces a new class, returns mercenaries, and provides additional content, making it more than just a simple DLC release.
