Diablo 4 players react to the beta test: 'Seems to be Blizzard back in their old form'

pcgamer.com:

The Diablo 4(opens in new tab) early access beta that ran this weekend got off to an entirely predictable rough start, as players struggled with overlong queue times(opens in new tab) and dodgy stability. Shortly after it began, Blizzard reported «an issue affecting our authentication servers» which could result in slow or failed login attempts, which immediately dredged up memories of Diablo 3's dreaded Error 37.

Even we weren't immune.

But once things had settled down and stabilized somewhat, the whole thing actually went pretty well. There were of course individual problems and complaints, and some odd bugs like the infinitely lootable corpse(opens in new tab), but there were no major service issues or downtimes, and by Saturday morning most people were able to get in with minimal waits, and stay connected once they were in.

But even more important than basic functionality, the general feeling seems to be that the beta was good. Like, really good. Diablo 3 took a lot of heat for its auction house, but it also faced pointed and persistent criticism for its bright, colorful visual style, which stood in sharp contrast to the shadowy bleakness of the first two games. Diablo 3 lead producer Keith Lee told MTV(opens in new tab) in 2008 that the «stylized» new look was «sort of a Blizzard philosophy,» and «pushing the envelope in terms of the visuals so that everyone is excited about how everything looks.» It was definitely a bold move, but it didn't look much like Diablo, and that left a lot of fans cold.

Diablo 4, at least as much of it as we saw in the beta (the prologue and first act, enabling players to reach level 25), seems to have made a much more positive first impression.

«Call me a boot licker, say that I'm