Diablo 4 is finally great

polygon.com:

When a live-service game undergoes a massive systems overhaul, it’s often characterized as a reversal, a change of course, even a mea culpa — particularly if the game had been headed in a direction the community didn’t like. But a truly successful update of this type is one that enables a game to be more fully itself; to unlock something beautiful that was always present at its core, just tough to get to.

That’s what Blizzard did in 2014 with the “Loot 2.0” update for Diablo 3, which rescued a game that had been floundering since a launch beset by technical issues, an unpopular in-game auction house, and a perceived softening of the tone of this fantasy horror series. But Loot 2.0 didn’t make Diablo 3 more like the fan favorite Diablo 2. It made it more like itself — flamboyant, frenetic, and surreal in its randomization — while extravagantly upping the rewards for playing, and liberating the superb combat design that had always been nestled at the game’s heart.

With the season 4 update for Diablo 4 — called Loot Reborn, surely a nod to that celebrated Loot 2.0 patch — Blizzard has done it again. I wanted the patch to make the game more like Diablo 3, because I’m a Diablo 3 fan, but it hasn’t. It’s done something better, unearthing an all-new item game within Diablo 4 that has its own unique flavor. After just a few hours’ play, it’s clear how much more fun the game is now.

Season 4 has also done more than revolutionize the way loot works to make it more rewarding and less of a head-scratching nightmare of admin. It’s brought Helltides, previously a late-game activity, right into the core of the game from the start. These massively multiplayer-style live events, which draw players to areas of the map that are being assaulted by demon armies for an hour at a time, have been redesigned to make them much more intense and engaging. Now, Helltides promote an aspect of Diablo 4 that has a distinct feel from its predecessors, with players pouring in from across the map to