Drawn in a style that feels somewhere between Game of Thrones’ most deprived areas and Dark Souls’ gothic grandeur, it possesses a grimy sense of authenticity. Without that World of Warcraft-like lens, Sanctuary appears a more oppressive and hostile world. There’s a clear shift in aesthetic where Diablo 3 embraced dark fantasy, Diablo 4 values grisly horror. It’s a far cry from the cinematics of Diablo 3, which used shadow and flame rather than gore to depict its demons. The opening CGI cinematic, rendered in movie-like quality by Blizzard’s excellent animation team, features a blood sacrifice that summons the viscera-covered Lilith. That darkness is evident from the moment Diablo 4 begins. “The ‘return to darkness’ pillar is a through-line in everything from dungeons to lighting and embodies the idea that Sanctuary is a dangerous and dark medieval gothic world,” said art director Chris Ryder last year. In the multi-year road to release, Blizzard made sure to emphasise the revived art style. Diablo 4 has returned to its artistic roots, and with it reclaimed its menacing identity. Compare it side by side with its predecessor and one thing is instantly clear: grimdark gothic is back. Just over a decade later, a fourth Diablo game is about to launch. When Diablo 3 launched in 2012 it even featured a secret level filled with rainbows and unicorns, named Whimsyshire, as a way to poke fun at its detractors. But, despite the protest, Blizzard refused to shift its design goals. The studio’s two fantasy settings began to look like companions rather than distinct universes. The two games undeniably spoke a similar visual language, and fans lamented that Blizzard’s colossally popular MMO behemoth was apparently eroding away the gothic menace of its stablemate. Or, to be specific, it was too World of Warcraft. And that was Diablo 3’s problem – it was too Blizzard. “It's a stylized feel and in that sense, it's very sort of a Blizzard philosophy”, said lead producer Keith Lee in an interview with MTV back at the time. A battle between a wizard and skeletal warriors in Diablo 3.
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