Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred Fixes the Story, But Campaign Grind Remains a Problem
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Polygon's review of the upcoming Diablo 4 expansion, Lord of Hatred, highlights a vastly improved campaign and narrative, though it still suffers from unrewarding loot and progression compared to endgame activities.
Diablo 4 has always walked a fine line between cinematic storytelling and live service grinding. As Polygon critic Oli Welsh points out in his review of the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion, the core campaign has increasingly felt like an inconvenient hurdle standing between players and the actual game. While the base game launched with an open world that lacked traditional momentum, subsequent updates leaned heavily into seasonal sprints and immediate gratification. When Vessel of Hatred dropped, the narrative felt like an afterthought, leaving players eager to skip the story entirely and jump straight into the activities that actually rewarded their time.
Lord of Hatred, set to launch on April 28, manages to fix half of that equation by delivering a genuinely gripping campaign. The writing swings for the fences right out of the gate with a shocking opening cutscene, bringing back key series figures and reintroducing the demon mother Lilith in a much more sympathetic role. Set against the sun bleached backdrop of the Amazonian civilization of Skovos, the narrative follows Mephisto inhabiting the body of a prophet to build an unwitting army. It makes for a striking and unsettling atmosphere that easily surpasses the previous expansion in sheer theatrical spectacle.
The frustrating catch is that the campaign remains the least efficient way to actually play Diablo 4. Despite the narrative improvements and a series of challenging, lore heavy boss fights toward the end, the loot drops and experience gains during the story still lag far behind standard endgame activities and seasonal loops. For a player base accustomed to fast progression, digital economies, and high reward loops, forcing players through a stingy campaign feels out of touch. Blizzard has built an impressive expansion, but the fundamental disconnect between storytelling and player progression in modern ARPGs is still waiting to be solved.
Tags: Diablo 4, PC Gaming, Console Gaming, RPG, Blizzard
Original article: Polygon