Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred Review – Good Enough to Return

Back to Sanctuary and Diablo… More Out of Habit Than Excitement

To be completely honest, I didn't even know a new Diablo IV expansion was coming out. And that probably says everything about where I currently stand with the franchise. After roughly 250 hours in the base game, I walked away disappointed. And yes, I know how that sounds.

“You played 250 hours and you're saying you didn't like it?”

But anyone who has spent years with Diablo knows exactly what I mean. The problem isn't that Diablo IV is a bad game. Far from it. The combat feels great, the presentation is fantastic, and the campaign was genuinely enjoyable the first time through. The problem is that after all of that, the feeling that usually makes Diablo consume your free time without mercy started falling apart surprisingly fast.

That feeling of: Just one more run. Then another. Then suddenly it's 3 AM. Diablo II had it. Diablo III had it. Well D3 got it later, but still.

For a long time, Diablo IV didn't.

That's why Lord of Hatred almost completely passed me by. If a colleague hadn't asked me to review it, I probably would've discovered it a month later through a random YouTube trailer and thought:

“Wait… this already came out?”

And maybe that's exactly why the expansion ended up leaving a much stronger impression than I expected.

Story – Diablo Has Never Felt More Like a Fantasy TV Drama

The story itself isn't a disaster. In fact, there are some genuinely interesting ideas here and a few moments that actually land. The problem is how everything is presented. Too much emotion. Too much drama. Too many intense stares while someone explains how they're carrying the burden of destiny.

Come on.

We're slaughtering demons, angels, and half of Hell before breakfast. Diablo used to thrive on mystery, terrifying locations, and the feeling that the world had already lost long before the player arrived.

Here, I often felt like I was watching a Netflix fantasy series desperately trying to make every other scene emotionally impactful. At times it starts leaning into Buffy, Supernatural, and family-trauma storytelling, except everyone is talking about hatred, fate, and the darkness consuming the world. That doesn't mean the story is bad. Several scenes involving Mephisto are among the more interesting narrative moments Diablo IV has delivered so far, and there are glimpses of a larger story that could become genuinely compelling.

The problem is that getting to those moments requires sitting through a lot of unnecessary melodrama.

And the biggest issue?

The story constantly suffers from “the princess is in another castle” syndrome. Every time it feels like something important is finally about to happen, the game sends you chasing someone across half the map while another heavy emotional conversation unfolds.

Thankfully, the atmosphere remains outstanding thanks to Blizzard's art team, which has been carrying this franchise for years.

The storytelling, however, still doesn't feel like classic Diablo.

Gameplay – Finally Fun Instead of Feeling Like Homework

This is where Lord of Hatred makes its strongest case.

The skill tree has evolved, although let's not pretend we're suddenly dealing with Path of Exile levels of depth. There's still plenty of “illusion of choice” design where it appears you can build anything, only for the community to figure out the optimal setup within a week.

But the gameplay loop is finally more enjoyable. And more importantly, it feels less like an obligation. War Plans are easily the best addition in the expansion.

Honestly, the entire system feels like a theme-park version of Diablo's endgame. Things explode everywhere. Events constantly appear. Bosses keep spawning. Loot rains from the sky. Numbers cover the screen. The game never stops trying to convince you to play for another ten minutes.

And you know what? It works.

For the first time since Diablo IV launched, I stopped checking the clock while playing. I kept finishing one activity, then another, then another boss because I wanted to see what would drop next.

Maybe it's not revolutionary. Maybe it's not particularly deep.

But for the first time in a very long while, I wasn't playing Diablo IV out of habit. I was playing because I was genuinely having fun. And for a game that spent much of its life trying to convince players they were having fun, that's a massive improvement.

I still think Blizzard is desperately trying to find a balance between Diablo II nostalgia and Diablo III's arcade-style chaos, but Lord of Hatred is the first time it feels like they actually know where they're heading.

Endgame – Finally That Diablo Feeling Again

Most of my endgame experience revolved around War Plans activities.

And honestly? That might be exactly the point. Diablo was never about mastering incredibly complicated systems. It's about progression. It's about loot.

It's about reaching that point where your brain enters autopilot while you wipe entire screens of enemies off the map.

Lord of Hatred finally manages to bring some of that feeling back. Of course, the problems haven't disappeared. After enough hours, things still become repetitive. Loot is better than it was at launch. Progression feels smoother. The overall experience is significantly healthier.

But I still haven't reached the point where I immediately want to create another character the second I finish my current one. Once I'm done with my “Aladdin Paladin,” I'll probably take a break until the next truly great season arrives. And for a Diablo game, that's probably the best way to describe its current state:

Good enough to come back.

Not good enough to completely lose your life to.

Technical Performance – Blizzard Finally Got Its Act Together

Credit where it's due. The game runs extremely well. Performance is stable. Servers aren't catching fire every other day anymore. Class balance is surprisingly solid.

Sure, some builds remain stronger than others and the meta still exists, but for the first time I don't feel like an idiot for refusing to play whatever happens to be the strongest build of the season.

And for modern Blizzard?

That's honestly a huge compliment.

Verdict – The Best Version of Diablo IV So Far

Is Lord of Hatred worth the money?

If you're already invested in Diablo IV and skipped Vessel of Hatred, absolutely. If you walked away disappointed after launch, there's finally a legitimate reason to give the game another chance.

I spent around 30 hours with the expansion and would gladly keep playing.

Honestly, if someone had told me after Diablo IV's launch that I'd happily spend another 30-plus hours in a new expansion, I probably would've laughed at them.

That's perhaps the strongest endorsement I can give.

The frustrating thing is that Diablo IV still feels like a game that's constantly one step away from greatness. Every major update pushes it closer, but somehow it always stops just before crossing the finish line.

Lord of Hatred is easily the best version of Diablo IV we've received so far.

New classes, a new region, a stronger endgame, and a gameplay loop that finally succeeds in keeping you around longer than you planned.

I still don't think Blizzard has created the next legendary Diablo that players will remember for the next decade. But for the first time since launch, it genuinely feels like they're getting close.

And right now, that might be the biggest compliment I can give Diablo IV.