Diablo 5 is making a major genre shift, giving players a Sanctuary that is nothing like the past games. For nearly 30 years, Blizzard’s action RPG series has been all about preventing the end of the world. Demons are constantly threatening humanity, entire cities are destroyed, but no matter how bad things get, there’s usually still a chance to save Sanctuary. That’s been true of every mainline Diablo game so far, but Blizzard is changing things up with its next installment.
There’s an important difference between Diablo 1–Diablo 4 and what players will experience in Diablo 5. The previous games have always been dark fantasy adventures with apocalyptic stories, active apocalyptic stories. Sanctuary wasn’t a good place to live, but it has its fair share of heroes alongside its demons. Even Diablo 4, which takes place in a particularly bleak version of Sanctuary, follows this general formula of heroes stopping the apocalypse from happening. However, the next game is taking the series beyond the apocalypse itself.
Diablo 5 is Post-Apocalyptic Vs. Active Apocalyptic in Past Diablo Games
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Image via Blizzard -
Image via Blizzard -
Image via Blizzard
Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo 5 is embracing the post-apocalyptic genre, with the game taking place 100 years after the events of Diablo 4. Following Mephisto’s defeat in Diablo 4, Sanctuary entered a Golden Era, although the peace didn’t last forever. Diablo eventually returned, defeated the world’s heroes, and conquered Sanctuary, leaving most of humanity dead or under his control. In other words, the apocalypse has already happened by the time Diablo 5 begins. Instead of trying to stop Diablo from destroying the world, players will be exploring what’s left of it, with Blizzard specifically describing the new setting as post-apocalyptic.
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This also means Diablo 5 will approach its characters and side quests a little differently. With most towns destroyed and very few survivors remaining, players will travel with a caravan that gradually grows as they encounter people who have managed to stay alive. These survivors will become merchants, craftspeople, and other important characters throughout the game. Narrative director Jennifer Hepler explained that Blizzard wanted to give players a reason to care about the people they’re helping, particularly in a world where almost everyone is already gone. In a statement to Esquire, she said:
“We need there to be something you love about this world. Gathering survivors is one of the mechanisms of the story. We’re going through lands where almost everybody is dead or surrendered to Diablo. Now and then we meet a person who has held out, and they become part of the caravan. Your vendors, your craftspeople, everyone who is part of your journey are survivors. These are the people you’re fighting to protect and the source of all your side content.”
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Image via Blizzard -
Image via Blizzard -
Image via Blizzard
The caravan is an interesting addition to Diablo 5, especially when compared to how previous games handled their towns and NPCs. In Diablo 4, for example, players regularly return to established settlements to buy equipment, upgrade their gear, and pick up quests. However, Diablo 5 doesn’t have many of those places left. Instead, players will essentially be building their own community as the story progresses, with the people they rescue becoming part of their journey. It’s a different approach to the usual Diablo formula, one that fits naturally with Diablo 5‘s new post-apocalyptic genre.
Of course, Diablo 5 isn’t abandoning its dark fantasy roots or turning into a completely different kind of game. It’s still an ARPG at its core, but the circumstances have changed considerably. Previous Diablo games were largely about preventing the world from ending, even when it seemed like everything was falling apart. This time, Blizzard is exploring what happens when the heroes actually lose.
