There's more to a game than just gameplay, there's the mythology behind the game, the storyline, etc. I've been a Diablo game fan going all the way back to the original.
Yeah, and previous games did it better in every way compared to the latest entry, I don't think they can top their own best work pre-2010. That's why they're going back to basics with remasters.
Now they're adding BS characters and McGuffins all over the place to fill in plot holes, just to be defeated later like they're nothing (I literary just bought D3ROS today and beat Act V in less than 2 hours just to make sense of the D4 trailer) and vaguely setup possible sequels, while "expanding" the lore on the Eternal Conflict and whatever else is going on in the background. IMO that's not good enough, but it's Diablo and there isn't much to stray from so the writers are limited at what they can do.
I do like watching the beautiful cinematics, but usually the games on launch aren't worth +$60 dollar price-tag. Like I did with D3, I'll wait until all of the content is released before even trying it. Most of the time I am not missing out on much.
At the time when I beat D2LoD back in 2011 (Yes I was more than 10 years late, I forgot such a game even existed, because I wasn't willing to experiment AND had to wait until I got burnt out on TES IV), I always wondered what happens next. After I played D3 not long after for the first time, I still feel like it should have ended at 2. And it's still one of the games anyone should play if they even remotely love RPGs, with D3 I couldn't give that recommendation. It's like there's something really special about it that sadly most games released today simply lack.
I won't deny there is nostalgia factor in it. I'll give one example, like how I
miss the old installers and waiting for the game to install while epic music plays or you get to see screenshots of the game to hype you up,. It's a ritual, and I loved every second of it. The sound of the physical disk being read. Now I just press a button, the thing downloads uneventfully and it's over without much excitement, a completely sterile experience.
Then there's the whole thing overall, you watch the badass intro and you stay at edge of your damn seat through it all, watch the outro and have your mind blown without even having a single thought that you could be bored. Not a lot of games can pull that off, and you have that question in your mind
what happens next. Maybe my attention span has dropped since then, but the last time a game made me feel like that without being attached too much was far too long ago.
I'm not disappointed they're making a fourth entry, I simply don't like how the industry is going nowadays and players are being groomed to meet game publisher expectations because a lot of people seem to not have a mind of their own, when they like to think they do.
I can't really be vocal about these types of things, it's not like my own feeling of something ever changed all that much that has happened in the last decade. There hasn't been a game that passed my expectations in more than 10 years after having a taste of the classics.
It's probably because I feel wrong when playing a re-skinned version of something that was released previously. Like I would prefer playing Unreal Tournament 99 over 2004, Morrowind over Oblivion or MechWarrior 2 and 3 over anything later just to give a few examples. There hasn't been anything revolutionary that makes me go ape s**t and remember the moments like they were just yesterday.
And this is one of the 10 main reasons I never get the games on launch. Every game franchise has it's peak and it started very early, so It's not so easy to be equal or better than what was, or maybe the majority is simply concentrated on making money and not making a better game. In a lot of cases we're getting less as years go by.
I haven't given up on TNBT that someone is secretly working on, as some devs have clearly shown that it's still possible to make something even better.
In a way I feel spoiled to have played really great games in short amount of time that we humans have and nothing so far even comes close to what I have seen and can never be re-played the same as I have for the first time.
I want another time of renaissance for games to begin, where you didn't even have a doubt in your mind a game was going to be near perfect as soon as you saw the trailer.
Everyone has their own opinion though and I feel like I said too much.
one can hope
