What kind of game is Diablo 4? Explained

Diablo 4 is now available on the PlayStation Plus free games catalogue in July 2025. There is no doubt many people will be playing it for the first time, wondering what kind of game it is. Even if you have played the previous Diablo games, 1-3 or Immortal, there is some common DNA, but also quite a few differences. D4 is one of the games I play most frequently right now in the online space, as it gives me exactly what I want: powerful characters, tons of damage, and mountains of loot.

I don’t always want a rich, story-driven narrative like Final Fantasy XIV, and sometimes I simply don’t want the intense challenge of Clair Obscur. For the times I just want to turn my brain off and blast through enemies, I look at Diablo 4, but what kind of game is it, really?

What type of gameplay do you get with Diablo 4?

Though Diablo 4 has changed a great deal since its June 5, 2023 launch, especially its leveling and difficulty systems, it remains an Action RPG MMO blend. D4 takes the combat and action-based gameplay players are familiar with from Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 and brings them into a more online format. I’d argue that D4 is closer to D2, with D3 having more arcade-style, fast-paced action.

Diablo 4 brings a new, fantastic story surrounding the daughter of Mephisto, Mother Lilith (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

You can still get that in the current game, especially as a Spiritborn. That said, I feel like this title offers a more dramatic story and far more challenging gameplay compared to Diablo 3. It’s very easy to get into, but certainly has a wealth of challenging gameplay options, thanks to the difficulty rework.

The story ultimately follows the same theme as the rest of the series: the forces of Hell are on the rise, and it’s up to the players to put them down and keep the regular citizens of Sanctuary safe. The fourth entry brings Lilith to the forefront as she does battle with Inarius.

The daughter of Lilith and the Rogue Angel are duking it out across the main story, and while I won’t spoil it or the expansion, it’s a very engaging story with a lot of depth and storytelling possibilities for the future.

The story continues on with the Vessel of Hatred expansion (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

The general plan for this game is for it to be supported for around 10 years, with several expansions and story updates along the way. Right now, there’s only one, Vessel of Hatred. The game’s current level cap is also 60, with 300 levels of Paragon. Originally, it was 100 levels, but reaching the level cap was a truly miserable experience.

Instead of being bound to two actions at a time, like in D2, players have a whole skill bar with six total buttons. It’s perfectly playable with a controller, and honestly, I think it’s better with a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse.

Players have to smash their way through the Main Story Quests, side quests, dungeons (and the more challenging Nightmare Dungeons), as well as a ton of side content to level up and gear up.

Nightmare Dungeons got a real shot in the arm with Horadric Strongrooms (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Content in the game so far:

Helltides: Open areas filled with objectives, as well as Helltide Chests to open
Nightmare Dungeons: More challenging versions of regular dungeons, with special affixes added for greater challenge. Season 9 added Horadric Strongrooms and Escalating Nightmares to this content.
Infernal Hordes: Waves of increasingly challenging enemies, culminating with powerful bosses at the end.
Undercity: Available in the expansion, it’s a time challenge where players rush to the end to fight a boss, resulting in rewards based on what tribute you offered at the beginning.
Raids: There is currently just one raid, and this is group-only content, where players push through a unique, challenging area, similar to what you might find in other MMOs, with that Diablo flair.
World Bosses: Available at specific times, huge bosses that players across Sanctuary come together to battle.

Each class in Diablo 4 has a lengthy skill tree, and upon reaching the level cap, can start expanding their power even more with the Paragon System. This adds up to five boards, filled with stats and slots for glyphs, allowing tons of customization. Each class also has a wide assortment of builds you can work towards, even if some are better than others, as each season comes and goes.

What classes are playable in Diablo 4?

The classes of Diablo 4 are mostly familiar ones but designed in fresh, new ways. Every class is available when you boot up the game, with one exception. Here’s everything in the game right now:

Personally, I think Necromancers are the easiest class to start with, but your mileage might vary (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Available classes

Barbarian: Four weapons, lots of war cries, tons of damage.
Druid: Shapeshifting between normal form, Werebear, and Werewolf, with awesome nature powers.
Necromancer: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Bring back swarms of undead and command unnatural powers.
Rogue: A cool blend of D2’s Rogue and D3’s Demon Hunter
Sorcerer: Harness the power of arcane, elemental forces, pop lots of defensive cooldowns, and teleport around the map.
Spiritborn*: The Spirits of the Jungle are theirs to command to access a wide array of hard-hitting powers. Think Trolls in the various WoW raids.

Unfortunately, Spiritborn can only be played if you have the Vessel of Hatred expansion. This expansion also unlocks other content, like Rune Words and the Mercenary system, but the Spiritborn is the big winner, as it’s a wildly powerful class in almost every seasonal update.

Should you play the previous Diablo games before Diablo 4?

You don’t need to play the other Diablo games first. There are some familiar locations from Diablo 3, for example, but that doesn’t mean you absolutely must play through it before you enjoy this. It’s easy enough to dive into and start slaughtering demons alongside other players.

It’s very much its own self-contained experience despite having connections to the greater Diablo storyline. That is one of the great things about the game. It fits into the narrative nicely, but you really can enjoy it as its own experience, and then, if you enjoy it, are free to play the other games and learn more.

Do you need to pay any kind of subscription to play Diablo 4?

The Reliquary System is not as good as I hoped it would be (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Once you’ve bought Diablo 4 (and perhaps Vessel of Hatred), you have everything you need! There is no subscription, optional or otherwise. However, the game has other monetizations. The Reliquary System, which replaced the Battle Pass, is often said by many players to feel incredibly predatory. It’s an optional system for unlocking a variety of cosmetics, mounts, and more.

None of it has stats or is pay-to-win, but the prices are outrageous. There is also an in-game shop with lots of amazing cosmetics as well, but again, the prices are exorbitantly high. Some of the pets, for example, have been as expensive as the game itself. This is all stuff you can completely skip, though. It has no benefit to you other than looking very cool.

Difference between Eternal and Seasonal characters

When you create a character in Diablo 4, you’ll be able to choose between Eternal and Seasonal characters, as well as another option to make them Hardcore. Eternal characters receive updates when the various seasons kick off but lack the special mechanics and powers that come with a season.

Each season tells its own story, with powers that may or may not be a hit with you (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Seasonal characters are played on a separate server and have special rules and powers to take advantage of. As of this writing, Diablo 4 is on Season 9, and the previous seasons have been “borrowed power” seasons. This means that the powers, abilities, and often gemstones you unlock go away at the end of the season.

When the current season ends, these characters lose those powers and are transferred to the Eternal Servers, and a new season begins. There’s hope that the seasons of the game will offer something new and unique in the future. If you aren’t into borrowed power gameplay, this isn’t for you, but I enjoy them.

Some seasons have flopped, though, while others have been heralded as truly incredible, transformative content. Occasionally, seasonal content adds new gameplay modes, like Infernal Hordes or Helltides. This kind of content does come to the eternal server at the same time, only without the special powers the seasonal content would confer.

General tips and hints for enjoying Diablo 4

Diablo 4 is a very open game where you can play pretty much any class and succeed. Some are certainly stronger than others, but that doesn’t make one class better or worse. I recommend figuring out which one you want to play first and researching which builds are doing well.

This will teach you something about the class, as well as the general power fantasy it has. I also recommend playing through the campaign first before going into the seasonal content.

Take the time to do all the tutorial quests, find the Altars of Lilith in the various zones, and build your renown. You only have to find the Altars of Lilith once, so do it on one character to gain all the benefits and permanent stats from this.

Take your time and figure out what speaks to you the most (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

I also think it’s important to have a clear idea of what you want your build to be in the endgame of Diablo 4. Some builds require lots of Uniques and specific Legendary Aspects on your gear, so that adds farming. If that’s not a big deal for you, then by all means, go with whichever route speaks to you.

I also highly recommend taking advantage of the group function in the Social menu. The game has changed quite a bit since launch, and people are pretty friendly about working together and grinding for exp, levels, and loot.

Finally, don’t let anyone tell you that you’re playing the game wrong. It’s your time, so enjoy it however you see fit, as long as that doesn’t involve ruining someone else’s fun with toxicity. Play whatever build you want, and have fun at your own pace. You don’t have to rush to the end if you don’t want to.

Check out our other Diablo 4 guides and features

About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 12 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

Jason places high value on accuracy and relevance in his write-ups. He achieves this with thorough research to sift facts from rumors. One of the biggest highlights of his career is his interview with Canadian pro wrestler Kenny Omega about his inclusion in the Like a Dragon game series. He is also good friends with journalist Kazumo Hashimoto, who he admires for the kind of stories he works on and his deep ethics.

A true cinephile, one of Jason’s primary hobbies involves enjoying cinematic experiences. He also loves reading, be it fiction or manga, when not working. Additionally, he streams on Twitch and posts his gaming insights on YouTube.

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Edited by Jason Parker