Diablo 4‘s first DLC, Vessel Of Hatred, was due to launch at midnight, but it was delayed several hours. It also seems players aren’t having as good a time as reviewers did.
Critics are loving Vessel Of Hatred, perhaps in part because they were actually able to play the game, unlike many players who are now experiencing login and server issues.
PCGamesN wrote: “Vessel Of Hatred isn’t just more Diablo 4. It pulls the best parts of Diablo 2, combines them with the slickness of 3, and then expands and refines them.”
The site gave it a score of 9/10, and also wrote, “Vessel Of Hatred’s extensive list of new features makes up for the somewhat confusing curveballs in its narrative.”
TheGamer praised the game’s cutscenes, writing: “Vessel Of Hatred’s opening cutscene, first shown during the June Xbox Games Showcase, is one of the best cinematics Blizzard has ever produced.
“Not only is it breathtaking in its verisimilitude – the most human a CG character has ever looked – but it’s also harrowing and horrific in a way that feels quintessentially Diablo.”
However, over on the game’s Steam page, players are unhappy, and the game has mostly negative reviews, a stark contrast to its 85 on Metacritic.
“Vessel Of Hatred – instead of addressing the massive issues of D4, which had been under constant open heart surgery during the first 5 seasons, it just brings more of the same old mediocrity, just a big disappointment,” reads a review by ragnarok666.
“Good game but constantly getting “Unable to find a valid license for Diablo IV (Code 315306)” errors. WTF Blizzard,” wrote CervixSlice. A sentiment echoed by skotsmob, who said: “It Keeps telling me I have an invalid licence and I can’t play
I just bought the $90 version WTF?”
In other news, on Alien: Isolation‘s 10th anniversary it was announced it is getting a sequel.