Spiritborn to Slay | Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred Review

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Code provided by publisher

Reviewed on PlayStation 5

Last year I put over 150 hours into Diablo IV, easily being one of my top games of the year. But after a few months of the games seasons failing to re-enamor me with the gameplay the long stint between the base game and the first of its major expansions meant the flaws in the games systems began to show. Thankfully, the lush and murky  Nahantu offer a jungle infused, swampy injection of Diablo into my veins. Vessel of Hatred is more than just a new expansion for Diablo IV, its a rebirth of sorts for the game overall, bringing with it a fiercely addicting new class, The Spiritborn, and a massive overhaul of the progression and leveling systems. These changes alongside some excellent new raids and solid foundational activities make the unfinished story, half-hearted campaign and middling endgame content hit a little softer. Which is good because the spiritborn class is so much fun to play, I can easily see losing hundreds more hours to this good brain juice causing ride of never-ending loot.

Blizzard clearly wanted to hook me on the front end of this diabolic package. Why else would they frontload the darkest, most bleak, bloody, body horror filled bits right in the opening hours of the DLC. Vessel of Hatred picks up after some time has passed since the original campaign for Diablo IV ended. Neyrell has been carrying around her new bff and gorgeous accessory, the soulstone containing Mephisto. She seeks a way to destroy him permanently and takes on the role of sole burden carrier, but darkness is leaking out and it is consuming the world around her. Like a Frodo to our Samwise she seeks to destroy this darkness alone. We won’t let her. All while the church has started executing the so called sinners by flame and blade throughout sanctuary. So things have got pretty bad especially around the time the new Priest in town puts a hole through your chest like he was hole punching your coupon card. The story elements are your typical Blizzard lore heavy quests but something about the overall narrative feels incomplete. It kind of reminds me of when Zack Snyder releases a film and before it even hits theatres teases, there is a better cut coming. Vessel of Hatred is a set up to things as of yet to come, a looming unholy war waged by the returning lords of torment, one that is presumably a few years out. Not having a satisfying conclusion is about the worst thing this DLC does but still it does suck to fork out the money to continue the story only for that story to really end up being a prelude to something bigger.

After being stabbed in the back you awaken in Nahantu, a densely packed, swampy jungle area festering with demonic creeps and oversized bugs. Get that poison resistance up because you’re going to need it here. The areas are simultaneously beautiful and grotesque, as large trees and vines drape every facet of the world around you alongside veins of hatred and swarming bursts of bloodflies. The environments tell their own story of lost culture, religious zealotry and of a demonic hatred so deep it literally turns the ground slick with vile black goop. I love the Mesoamerican style they used for Nahantu and its cities, intricate designs decorate the buildings, armor and weapons found here. The foot-worn stone grounds and well trekked paths make for a visibly lived in world. They also managed to sneak quite a bit of variety into the new area between arid deserts and monstrosity filled bogs. Overall, this felt like a natural southern region of Sanctuary and that really speaks volumes to the focus on artistic design as it relates to lore.

We must have all complained at some point about there being too few hordes in Diablo IV because Blizzard clearly thought so. The games’ newest systems, at least to me, seem to be absolutely engorging the playable areas with a demonic glut of foes even on the lower difficulties. Which I have to say...Hell yeah! Finally, this feels like a world over-run with evil, one where there is little space for peace in the wild. Not to mention the new difficulty system sort of reset what I expected out of each level. This meant I had to experiment and explore my build more to deal with these onslaughts effectively. A change that may be a result of the revamped progression tools. As this subtle balance shift really encourages an exploratory approach to character building. Perhaps the best example of this is the new Spiritborn class. A dex based character with some insane potential and even more unbelievable levels of versatility.

The Spiritborn are the apex predators of this new meta, a swift and deadly class who offers an expansive suite of tools with which to build a suitable playstyle. They channel the four Spirit Guardians, the Jaguare who fast and ferocious dealing damage quickly, the eagle who offers swift wide range attacks allowing you to drop a great deal of damage at once and then retreat, the gorilla, a brute force on the battlefield focused on heavy hits and tanky armor, and lastly the centipede, a monstrous poison focused attacker who focuses on damage over time. Diablo could have easily locked our path to picking a single one of these guardians, but thanks to the incredible progression systems you can mix and match to your hearts content. I initially went for a full Jaguare build thinking I would just dash around burning claw marks across foes as I pounced from scrimmage to scrimmage. But this wound up being a little too glass cannon for me. So, I restructured as Jaguare/Eagle mix, allowing me to rush in for quick hits while also offering solid retreat options. The Razor wings skill ended up being the best set up tool in the game for me. After 30 or so hours with the Spiritborn, I’ve acquired some truly excellent legendary skills that allow me to drop eagle feathers for damage behind me, these also grant me increased movement speed. My evade cooldown is practically non-existent and I can effortlessly deal with massive hordes of elite enemies in seconds. So needless to say, this is my new favorite class.

While I found my rhythm in my build-craft, others may still struggle against some of the tougher foes out there. Luckily, vessel of hatred also features some highly requested returning features. The Pale Hand are the new companions, hirable mercs who have unique abilities. You can recruit them through sidequests found throughout Nehantu. These side stories fill out the world of vessel of hatred with memorable characters and well designed missions plus, the addition of a partner character is always welcome, plus there are some interesting unique characters at play here, such as a one armed blacksmith and a demonic child who wants to save humanity. I love this expansion on the companions, who in previous games felt like default avatars with standard classes and the occasional interesting ability. Diablo II had my favorite companions and I think these are more inline with those. Speaking of D2, Rune words are back and better than ever. Basically you can use sockets to create cause and effect words such as after 6 evades, you’ll automatically cast the sorcerers frost nova skill, insta-icing the surrounding monsters. This is a perfect example of why Vessel of Hatred is Diablo at its best. Think of all the satanic guts you can spill with the assortment of new skills at your disposal, granted you can only have two equipped at a time but still! My Spiritborn currently summons a spirit wolf to his side and can cast the barbarian’s earthquake skill giving me an extra set of claws and an AoE move on the battlefield. All of this is vital for the game’s new endgame content.

The new endgame content is surprisingly lacking for me. The new raid like dungeon is a ton of fun but does begin to lose its luster fairly quickly. Being able to match make for it is a welcome improvement though especially if you are typically a solo-demon killer. The Under City is another late-to-end game event that features you running a sort of time attack mode through randomly generated masses of creatures. This is a fairly fun way to test the limits of your current build while also earning great endgame loot.

I guess my only complaints here are that this DLC feels like a set-up, and a pricey one at that, that lacks a significant amount of new stuff to feel like the massive expansion it sells itself as. A lot of the new things I love were a result of the latest patch not something found in this content bundle. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Spiritborn class and watching the continued struggles of Neyhrelle as she attempts a Tolkien task, but it feels incomplete as a total experience. My second complaint is one that can not be appeased easily. Why is there no offline play mode still? I shouldn’t have to worry so much about server integrity when playing the story solo. I appreciate the MMO-lite elements of this game, World bosses and hell tide events are a ton of fun, but not being able to just not participate in this world alone is really annoying at times. There has to be a local mode or something we can do. Not everyone wants to or even can stay connected ALL THE TIME.  Also, side tangent here : hey Blizzard and Activision and I guess Microsoft too, I would be far more willing to invest in the cosmetic store if you weren’t charging $30 a skin pack! THATS ALMOST AS MUCH AS THIS WHOLE EXPANSION COSTS ARE YOU INSANE?! Inflation in the microtransaction space is nothing new but good lord is this a bad deal. $10 skin packs? Yeah I’m in. $30? I’m actively against your store existing. Fix it.

Diablo IV struggled with a lot of adjustments following its pretty flat reception to its early seasons of content. Vessel of Hatred and its corresponding patch are proof that Diablo can evolve and reach new heights still. I have never had more fun in a Diablo title blowing through an addicting loop of dungeons, raids and world events with such a satisfyingly designed character. Whether you choose Spiritborn’s Eagle or Gorilla you will find a move set that just feels right for you. I can’t stress enough how versatile the move set is. The ravenous poison of the centipede is a perfect partner to the stun-heavy concussive strikes of the gorilla. Choosing your guardian also allows you to gain that guardians buff from all types of move. This is easily the best new class introduced to the series since the Monk in D3. If it weren’t for the forced online nature and the story’s lack of resolution, I’d say this is the perfect Diablo expansion. Ultimately, this DLC is a set up for something grander and what a set-up it is. If you are a fan of Diablo, there has never been a better time to reignite that spark, because I’ll be spending the wait for the next expansion happily losing hours to the loot grind and seasonal content. Vessel of Hatred is a near perfect Diablo experience an easy 9/10. Now it’s back to the jungle for me, for Hardwired I’m Andrew Hamilton.

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