Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Review: Did Blizzard Finally Get It Right?

A review of Blizzard's attempt to breathe life back into it's beloved hack-and-slash.

Many Diablo veterans will attest to possessing a love-hate relationship with Blizzard’s infamous hack-and-slash. 

Recommended Videos

While earlier versions of the game received incredible praise and reviews, the release of Diablo 3 marked the beginning of the infamous Diablo-induced emotional roller coaster. 

With the first incline being the introduction of the real-money auction house, the abuse and eventual inflammation of the system triggered the inevitable plummeting of the franchise, leaving the role-playing action game to wallow in its defeat. 

However, Blizzard swooped in to save the day (and its reputation). 

With approval ratings slowly beginning to move into Blizzard’s favor, the company and fans were at a standstill. Diablo 3’s expansion, Reaper of Souls, was going to make or break the series, and in my opinion, the rehabilitation was very successful. 

Positive Changes To Gameplay

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/11/117587/2256069-diablo_iii_2012_07_04_22_13_34_632.jpg

There’s one common denominator in the Diablo franchise, and that’s a lot of mindless grinding. A lot of mindless grinding generally means that a lot of your time is spent bored out of your mind.

However, Reaper of Souls takes boredom into account tenfold by adding randomized elements to the game, leaving players with a brand new experience every time they play. Blizzard has added an element of luck with its new Nephalem Rifts feature, which I will expand on below, but also an element of skillful min-maxing considering the stats on loot dropped can now be rerolled, also expanded on below. 

Reaper of Souls has a lot of balance overall, but also retains room for a level of skill that is difficult to obtain. 

Less Loot, But Better Loot

http://diablo3.judgehype.com/screenshots/gamescom2013/conference/28.jpg

A big change for Diablo 3 with the Reaper of Souls expansion is the revamped loot system titled “Loot 2.0.” Rather than dropping an immense amount of loot and having the player sift through it all, Diablo continues with it’s theme of efficiency by reducing the amount of drops, but also making the loot more tailored to player-class and adding better stats. 

By increasing how valuable loot can be parallel to the difficulty level of the dungeon, players will be obtaining gear based on skill, an aspect I enjoy very much. 

Blizzard also introduced “secondary effects,” on the gear pictured in orange above. These stats will not affect your DPS directly, but provide extra bonuses to specific abilities. 

The Story Line Continues

One thing Blizzard is popularly known for is its eloquent way with storylines. In order to keep the audience on the edge of our seat, a fifth act was added to the game’s campaign.

Playing through the act is thrilling and engaging, complete with well-written dialogue and attention-grabbing cinematics. As I played through the quest line, I would frequently yell at my party to wait while I watched every cutscene all the way through.

Yes, I was that guy. 

Nephalem Rifts

http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Diablo-3-Nephalem-Rift.png

Reaching the highest level in the game, and completing the storyline, usually leaves most games with more to desire. Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls shatters this standard by adding a new end-game feature – Nephalem Rifts. 

These randomized adventures spawns you, and your party, into a completely random dungeon, with completely random enemies. With a new experience almost every time, it’s hard to get bored. 

Yes, Whimseyshire is included in the places your party can end up. Yes, there’s a chance you’ll be fighting rabid teddy bears and unicorns

The Crusader (aka the glorified Paladin)

While Blizzard fought hard to differentiate the Crusader class from the Paladin, it’s really not fooling anyone. The main difference is that the Crusader has never “fallen to corruption,” like the Paladins have. 

The Crusader is the first class in Diablo 3 to have a wide array of mid-ranged spells while also wielding a sword and shield. The class itself is incredibly fun to play taking the decision-making out of choosing between playing a mage or a warrior. Not to mention, the class itself is rightfully overpowered. 

This guy is all about options and, for someone as indecisive as me, it’s perfect. 

The Mystic Artisan 

The new artisan crafting NPC comes complete with some exciting new features and (of course) is inevitably well-endowed. Myriam, the mystic, allows players to improve the stats of his/her gear and change the appearance of items and armor. 

That means, if anyone here is as big of a transmogrification fan as I am, the possibilities are endless! The mystic also allows you to choose one aspect of your new piece of gear to reroll for a “perfect score.”

It’s a bit like gambling and I would say it gives you about the same type of rush. The addiction to do all of the damage is quenched on a whole nother level with this lady, and I must say that it does keep the game more engaging. 

No More Level Cap… Wait, What?!

Along with an expansion comes an inevitable level cap increase. However, while you’ll be climbing 10 more levels from 60 to 70, there is now an unlimited amount of paragon levels. 

The level process was actually incredibly easy and fast, which made me nervous. If I got to the level cap within a matter of hours, would there be enough content to keep me entertained? The answer: absolutely. 

While you may be thinking that an unlimited amount of paragon levels would be chaos, Blizzard has allowed these level gains to be account-bound. Basically, you can level one character to increase the strength of another, and how cool is that?

So Many Easter Eggs!

Blizzard is known for is including humourous easter eggs in all of their games.

These easter eggs, hidden inside jokes within games, are guaranteed to create connections among gamers, and definite induce a giggle or two. 

Among these are a Deadmau5 item, a Breaking Bad achievement, and other pop culture references. I formed a list of the most popular gems here

Diablo Has Come A Long Way

I can definitely say that Diablo has effectively picked itself and dusted itself off. After such an appalling crash, I thought that Diablo was absolutely on its way out the door.

Nonetheless, Blizzard never gave up on its prized hack-and-slash and succeeded in reviving the game by adding many enticing features with more on their way. Alex Mayberry revealed that a PvP element may be in the Diablo franchise’s future, which may add an entirely new way to play the game. 

All in all, Diablo is headed in the right direction. I am impressed by Diablo‘s comeback, and it’s safe to say that my faith in the franchise has triumphantly been restored. 

9
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Review: Did Blizzard Finally Get It Right?
A review of Blizzard's attempt to breathe life back into it's beloved hack-and-slash.

GameSkinny is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article South Park: Snow Day Review — D&D-Inspired Gameplay Done Right
Rating: 9
Players standing in a line with their backs to the screen, facing Mr. Hankey on a pedestal
Read Article Midnight Ghost Hunt 1.0 Review: Prop Hunt Meets Campy Horror Classics
Rating: 8
Ghost attacking the Hunters' generator
Read Article Dragon’s Dogma 2 Review: Everything the Dragon Coveted and More
Rating: 8.5
the main red dragon in dragons dogma 2
Read Article Alone in the Dark Review: Dive into the Secrets of Decerto
Rating: 7
Edward Carnby looking at an abandoned mansion room
Read Article Lightyear Frontier Early Access Review: Starting a new life on an alien planet
Space Ship in the Orbit
Related Content
Read Article South Park: Snow Day Review — D&D-Inspired Gameplay Done Right
Rating: 9
Players standing in a line with their backs to the screen, facing Mr. Hankey on a pedestal
Read Article Midnight Ghost Hunt 1.0 Review: Prop Hunt Meets Campy Horror Classics
Rating: 8
Ghost attacking the Hunters' generator
Read Article Dragon’s Dogma 2 Review: Everything the Dragon Coveted and More
Rating: 8.5
the main red dragon in dragons dogma 2
Read Article Alone in the Dark Review: Dive into the Secrets of Decerto
Rating: 7
Edward Carnby looking at an abandoned mansion room
Read Article Lightyear Frontier Early Access Review: Starting a new life on an alien planet
Space Ship in the Orbit
Author
Danielle Marie
All I'm saying is, no one's ever seen me and Batman in the same room.