Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred review

In a little over a year since its original release, Diablo 4 transformed from a decent action RPG into one of the best, a post-launch metamorphosis that few games have pulled off so thoroughly and so swiftly. Blizzard took every single thing players didn't like about it and made them better. Every dungeon and every piece of loot was remade to better fit how people actually want to play a game about clicking demons until they pop. And now Diablo 4 is easily one of the best action RPGs of the last decade.

Its first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, marks the end of its post-launch renovations and the start of its vision for the future. That vision includes a brighter, more expressive Diablo 4 than before, one where its story isn't so bleak that it borders on parody (an overcorrection after complaints that Diablo 3 was too cartoonish), and one where everyone gets an inventory's worth of toys to play with as they ascend to demon-slaying godhood. Diablo 4 is no longer afraid to let me find my own way through its dark fantasy world. It finally understands that Sanctuary, no matter how disastrous its history has been, has always been shaped by its players and what they decide to do in it.

Vessel of Hatred's campaign cements this shift in philosophy for the game. It follows in the footsteps of Neyrelle, the young woman from the first game who is carrying one of the series' major villains, Mephisto, demon lord of hatred, in her pocket. She's on her way to Nahantu, the jungle region on the southern tip of the game's map and your character, the Wanderer, chases after her to help. Your character has much more to say in Vessel of Hatred than they did in the original campaign, and I'm surprised at how pleased I was to see the hero of the story do more than nod and fight monsters. Vessel of Hatred's campaign is shorter than the original one—clocking in at around 12 hours—but it's dense with scenes where characters reflect, mourn, argue, and even tell jokes.

What is it? A massive update