Thinking way back to Blizzcon 2019, I remember playing the demo for Diablo IV and thinking to myself, "I really need to buy this when it is released."
Well, I didn't buy it for the PC when it was released. And then I didn't buy it when the Battle.net launcher was tempting me with 25% off a few weeks ago.
But then Best Buy kept reminding me of rewards certificates I had that were about to expire, and of course you cannot use those on gift cards or any virtual products that might be useful to me in the games I play. I could, however, use that funny money on a physical game.
I looked over to the Xbox One that has been sitting and collecting dust on the coffee table we use as a television console, and then I went to the internet to make sure that 1) Diablo IV was released for Xbox One and 2) that it would play at least somewhat decently on this now ten-year-old console. After watching a few videos of gameplay on YouTube, I decided this purchase was as good as any to spend money not to lose the fake money.
The Xbox Cross Gen version of the game was even on sale. I believe this is what they call winning.
By the way, has anyone else noticed that Best Buy locations just seem to get more and more run down with each passing month? My local store looks like it's about late stage KMart at this point.
I think my total time spent in the store was five minutes - four of which were waiting for the store associate to figure out how to apply the rewards certificates.
Once I returned home, I blew the dust off of the Xbox One console. The installation process took a while because (of course) there was an update that needed to be downloaded.
I passed the time by playing some Warcraft Rumble and I finally defeated Cairne Bloodhoof.
The Blizzard gods were truly smiling upon me this day.
When I finally launched the game, I was greeted with that gorgeous cinematic all over again. (Seriously, seeing that cinematic live at Blizzcon 2019 was crazy. People were losing their minds.)
I decided to be a druid, Fergal.
This class is super fun, smashing enemies as a giant bear man, calling down lightning, having some wolf companions. And I'm only level 12 at this point.
The story is compelling. I like the cult vibes, and the omnipresent threat of Lilith and her forces is palpable.
The isometric camera angle is classic and signature for the series. It is at times difficult to maneuver along the map with this set perspective, but I have acclimated quickly to working with it.
Later in the evening (after my husband went to bed), I figured out how to link my Discord account to my Xbox account. I had no idea this was a possibility. I was happy to be able to chat with some friends playing Conan Exiles as I traversed the towns, landscape, and world events of Sanctuary.
I look forward to further adventures. I'll continue to update you all as I progress.
Thanks for reading. For... er... Sanctuary!