That doesn’t mean it will be everybody’s cup of tea, of course. Diablo 4 will likely also review quite well, but I only needed to play a few hours of the last free weekend to know that game is not for me.
Yeah, the Diablo action RPG style isn’t my bag either, though I possibly should, like you, at least give the latest a shot to reconfirm that. The last time I actually played as opposed to just read a review was the first Diablo back in the 90s, so it feels like it might be time to try again .
Yeah, Diablo at the end of the day is really only about one thing: perfecting a build, and that is rarely enough for me anymore. Dragon’s Dogma is sort of similar, but because it is fully 3d, I also get a sense of exploration and spectacle that Diablo can’t provide from a locked isometric view.
Other than that, in my RPGs I want either a lot of freedom to role play, which Baldur’s Gate 3, Divinity OS, and Bethesda games provide, OR I want an exquisitely crafted story to lose myself in. (Both would be great, but so far only Planescape Torment has managed that for me)
I just finished FFX and FF9 back to back, and holy crap, those games hold up. In part it is because they are so thematically strong; they are about real things. It’s not just slay the dragon, kill the demon, save or doom the land, look how cool it is; which is fine. I don’t mind that. Baldur’s Gate is very much that and always has been that and there are no qualms from me.
But FF9 is a remarkable exploration of how we confront the truth of our own mortality. FFX is all about living despite the sorrow of living. There aren’t a lot of games that even attempt this kind of story telling, let alone do it so well with such high quality production values and gameplay. I’m not even into JRPGs, but golden era FF games are some of my favorite of all time for this reason.
That’s why I’m practically giddy for FF16. If Square finally has its mojo back then I know it will be something special.
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