Marshall Swinburne

2022 was a big year for RPG fans with numerous big hits like Elden Ring , which won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022 because of its sprawling open world filled with many secrets and hidden details. Triangle Strategy was also one of the biggest RPGs released in 2022 , thanks to its complex, strategic combat system accompanied by a masterfully crafted story and memorable characters. Although 2022 set a high bar, 2023 could be another strong year for RPG games, especially with these upcoming AAA titles that have been in development for many years, but will finally launch in 2

Similar to Diablo 4 , Chaosbane works brilliantly on PC and consoles, with both sides bringing different positives and strengths to the table. The game's grimdark aesthetic is also very similar to Blizzard's franchise, and Chaosbane 's thrilling boss fights would not feel out of place in a Diablo proj

All the numbered entries in the franchise have sold well and are highly regarded in their own right, and the universe has been expanded through toys, novels, and comics. The series has become a cultural phenomenon over the years, and Diablo 4 is no exception. Still, fans of the genre can entertain themselves with some good games like Diablo 4 that embody the RPG elements and hack-and-slash goodness of this popular ti

Hogwarts Legacy will be set in the late 1800s and follow the story of an unnamed protagonist who is granted late admittance and enters Hogwarts as a fifth-year student. Although there is limited information regarding the game's plot, it has been confirmed that the game will touch on a goblin rebellion. The goblin's leader, Ranrok, seems to be collaborating with dark wizards to obtain the key to an ancient secret that the protagonist ho

Even if Diablo 4 had hiccups, its long-term success will hinge on how Blizzard reacts to one of its most treasured series of games. If players see that the company is as quick to abandon the next game to a similar state as Diablo 3 , no number of interesting features will mat

At its core, Diablo games are enjoyable because of the never-ending search for upgrades to a character’s gear and weapons. Even the most marginal increase to power level is often well worth the time needed to acquire it. With that said, a major criticism of Diablo 3 lay in how the class sets took up too many gear slots, leaving little for other legendary items to provide diversity in builds and play. Of the twelve gear and weapon slots available to a player, six would often go towards completing a class set, or five if using the Ring of Royal Grandeur. While gear sets are a fundamental aspect of diablo 4 trading games, it would be great to see the required numbers reduced to provide greater diversification and personalization of builds with other legendary it

The combat of this game is certainly a stark departure from Diablo 4 's swift hack-and-slash goodness, but the cerebral goodness of depleting a character's Physical and Magical Armour before wreaking havoc on their health is something that fans love. The loot-driven gameplay is also quite reminiscent of Diablo 4 and something that will help fans of this game slowly ease into the rich, layered goodness of Original Sin 2 's RPG goodne

Another highly-anticipated title is Starfield , which caught RPG fans' attention in 2018. The game will allow players to customize their ships, build planetary bases, converse with NPCs, and perform space combat as members of Constellation, an organization of space explorers. __ Starfield will also feature over 200,000 dialogue lines , making it one of the biggest Bethesda titles, with the game having a bigger line count than Skyrim, that only has 60,000 lines, and Fallout 4 , with its 111,000 li

Grinding Gear Games, the developers of Path of Exile , have updated their game for over 6 years now with constant additions to their game. New skills, items, and Acts have beefed up this aRPG to compete with Blizzard's anticipated g

Reading the above ideas about Diablo 4 may come off as pessimistic, but again, the point is to consider how a design for the next game would look with a revenue model that would satisfy Blizzard’s expectations, and that of its shareholders. Gone are the days of putting out a game with a single DLC pack and calling it a day. Blizzard, and many others, seek to produce games as a service, and Diablo 3 simply did not cut it. Let us cross our fingers and hope for the best, that Diablo 4 both meets our expectations and Blizzard’s - though it’s hard to imagine such an ideal landing spot for the next game.

Following the disastrous announcement of Diablo: Immortal at BlizzCon 2018, players were somewhat relieved to learn that Diablo 4 is finally in development. Recently here at TheGamer, we discussed how the failure of the Real Money Auction House (RMAH) was a catalyst that shifted how Diablo 3 was developed, and subsequently abandoned long before its original vision was fulfilled. This included the cancellation of a second expansion called The King of the North, and the rumor of a cancelled Druid class.