Blizzard has allegedly kicked off a Diablo 4 ‘Friend and Family’ Alpha and from the looks of it, early impressions appear to be favorable.
At least, that’s what Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier wrote on Twitter yesterday. As expected, this alpha test is underway under strict NDAs, but Schreier writes that he’s been hearing “mostly positive buzz” about the upcoming game.
“Another fun but minor Blizzard tidbit that I haven’t seen reported anywhere yet: a bunch of people are playing an early build of Diablo IV right now thanks to a friends-and-family alpha test”, the former Kotaku writer tweeted. “Players are under NDA, but I’m hearing mostly positive buzz.”
Diablo 4 is slated to release next year for PC and consoles with the title supporting cross-progression and cross-play across all platforms. As covered last month, a beta for the highly-anticipated game was seemingly added to the Battle.net launcher, and a Diablo IV test version for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 was added to the PlayStation database as well.
“We can’t wait to open the gates of Hell next year—the talented team behind Diablo IV puts gameplay first in everything they do, and they have built the biggest and most ambitious vision of Sanctuary yet”, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra said back in June of this year. “This sprawling world draws deeply from the dark well of the franchise’s 25-year history and is designed around the philosophy of player choice, offering an adventure unlike anything Diablo players have experienced before.”
Joining the battle alongside iconic classes Barbarian, Sorceress, Rogue, and Druid is the legendary Necromancer, the fifth playable character class, which returns with newly designed undead mechanics. Players will be able to utilize the Necromancer’s Book of the Dead, an all-new ability for the class, allowing them to dominate the battlefield with deeper customization of their undead army than ever before. Fight with aggressive skeleton Warriors, fast-attacking Skirmishers, sword and board Defenders, or scythe-wielding Reapers. Unleash a litany of spells with Skeleton Mages, imbuing them with shadow, cold, and sacrificial magics. Deploy tanking Bone Golems, health-stealing Blood Golems, and charging Iron Golems. Or sacrifice them all to absorb their power.
