'Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred' Review: Return of the ARPG King

Author's Note:The author was provided a PlayStation 5 code by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Admittedly, I do not have a long history with the Diablofranchise. I remember the stories from friends and families of them staying up until 4 a.m. to search for legendary loot in Diablo 2, and I played Diablo 3 years after its initial release. When Diablo 4 was initially released in 2023, I enjoyed the core game but saw several small fractures that stopped the game from reaching true greatness, such as the abundance of microtransactions and reliance on seasonal content.

Three years later, Lord of Hatred, a massive expansion to Diablo 4, is here, and not only has Blizzard Entertainment completely turned around the initial fan reception to the game, but Lord of Hatred also marks a new era for Diablo 4: the return of the ARPG king, and returning to hell to fight endless amounts of demons has never felt so good.

Two new and fun, unique classes, an expanded skill tree for all classes that genuinely expands build opportunities to another level, excellent new bosses, stellar music, and a surprisingly well-written and risky story. Paired with endgame additions, like War Plans, that stop the endless grind for loot from feeling like a grind at all, Diablo 4 is back and better than ever, and it may be one of my favorite gaming experiences of 2026 so far.

Return to Hell

Lord of Hatred picks up where Vessel of Hatred left off, and that's all the setup that can be described without massive spoilers. The opening cinematic sets the tone for the destruction, hatred, political discourse, and risk that the game's story presents, and it tells the player, "We're back, and we mean business."

The surprisingly well-written story is full of twists and consequences. Lorath and other NPCs are more present than they ever have been (being with the player character the mass majority of the time), which makes Lord of Hatred's story feel like it takes itself just as seriously as the endgame content.

Traveling to the new, beautiful Greece-inspired continent of Skovos, the player character and the band of NPCs must figure out how to stop Mephisto, the titular Lord of Hatred, from unleashing his wrath on the human world. That premise sounds tired and predictable in concept, but in execution, I have never been more engaged with a narrative in an ARPG than the one present in Lord of Hatred. The roughly 15-20-hour expansion story feels like a culmination of everything Blizzard has learned about Diablo 4 since its initial development.

Lord of Hatred is a grand (seemingly) final conclusion for the story arc that has been in progress since the initial release of Diablo 4, and if this is the end of major story content for Diablo 4, the satisfying conclusion left me feeling a strange sense of peace. If this is the end, Blizzard chose to throw everything at the wall, and almost everything stuck. Coupled with arguably the best video game soundtrack since last year's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Lord of Hatred has a grand cinematic scale that usually isn't found in ARPGs.

It's not completely perfect, though. I do feel like a certain subplot involving the Amazons was a little underdeveloped. I wish there had been a few more quests to expand on that, but with so many plot events, I do understand why that aspect takes a backseat to the Mephisto main plotline.

Angels and Demons

Lord of Hatred sees the introduction of the Paladin and Warlock classes. I chose to play through the game with the Warlock, and the heavy-metal-inspired class is a standout. Being able to throw demons through portals, create demon wall barriers, spit hellfire everywhere, step into shadows, summon greater demons, and cast debilitating sigils makes Warlock feel like a hybrid class of Necromancer and Sorcerer, and it is very, very metal.

On the opposite end of the morale alignment spectrum is the Paladin, a returning class from Diablo 2. Featuring four oaths to play the game with, the Paladin also offers a huge degree of versatility that wasn't present in the classes featured in the original release of Diablo 4.

The expanded skill trees offer versatility and player customization to a degree that hasn't been achieved with Diablo 4 until now. For example, Warlock has a skill called Wall of Agony, which summons a literal wall of demons that blocks areas and does damage to enemies that are close to it. It uses the Warlock's Dominance resource. There is an upgrade for the Wall that turns a perpendicular wall into an enclosed circle. Combine that with another upgrade that puts Wall of Agony on a cooldown instead of using a resource, I could then have a massive sword-swinging ultimate demon, two rampage demons, the lesser demons the skills spawn, the wall, and be able to throw an endless barrage of portal demons all at the same time, while also controlling space.

The result was a screen-filling bloodbath. That's just one example and definitely wasn't optimal, but there is a lot more creativity for builds now in Lord of Hatred.

Endgame Overhaul

Following the completion of the outstanding narrative, players will have access to a new feature for Lord of Hatred called War Plans. War Plans are essentially a "playlist" of activities that let players choose what they want to do, instead of relying on one specific piece of endgame content for leveling and loot, like Helltides. Once the playlist is complete, players are awarded with a lot of loot, modifier progression, and experience.

This change sounds so simple, and it is, but it now makes all pieces of endgame content, like Lair Bosses and Nightmare Dungeons, just as appealing as the Helltides. The degree of customization lets players play the game exactly how they want to play it, do the activities they find the most fun, and not miss out on crucial endgame loot.

There wasn't any seasonal content available to play through during the review period, so the jury is out on how effective War Plans will be with the game's live service infrastructure. I have high hopes for this new feature, and it finally gives players a reason to try other endgame activities and see everything Diablo 4 has to offer.

Redemption

Diablo 4 was a relatively controversial game at release, but three years later, Diablo 4 is in the best spot it has ever been. Lord of Hatred is a heartfelt apology and course correction for the series, and it is an easy recommendation to Diablo fans, and I would argue it is the perfect time for ARPG players to jump in.

Lord of Hatred provided me with everything I wanted out of an APRG experience, and with a seemingly never-ending stream of seasonal content in the pipeline, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, at least as a core experience, is arguably the best ARPG experience I have had in recent memory--one that had me up to the wee hours of the morning, mesmerized by a great narrative and the never-ending desire for legendary loot.