Diablo III (2012)
Diablo III is a 2012 role-playing (rpg) video game made by Blizzard Entertainment and Square Enix.
Twenty years after the defeat of the Prime Evils, a fallen star strikes the cathedral in Tristram and a stranger is found in the rubble with no memory of who he is. A hero arrives to investigate and is pulled into a war between heaven and hell fought through catacombs, desolate moors, and corrupted jungle ruins. Diablo III is a dungeon crawler built around relentless forward momentum, constant loot escalation, and the particular satisfaction of cleaving through hundreds of enemies with abilities that grow more spectacular the further you progress. Hardcore mode raises the stakes by making death permanent.
Quick answers
What is Diablo III about?
Twenty years after the defeat of the Prime Evils, a fallen star strikes the cathedral in Tristram and a stranger is found in the rubble with no memory of who he is. A hero arrives to investigate and is pulled into a war between heaven and hell fought through catacombs, desolate moors, and corrupted jungle ruins. Diablo III is a dungeon crawler built around relentless forward momentum, constant loot escalation, and the particular satisfaction of cleaving through hundreds of enemies with abilities that grow more spectacular the further you progress. Hardcore mode raises the stakes by making death permanent.
When was Diablo III released?
Diablo III was released on 15 May 2012.
Who made Diablo III?
Diablo III was made by Blizzard Entertainment and Square Enix.
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Explore Diablo III guides
Diablo III in our writing
- Companion guide: Angels & the Divine
- Companion guide: Blizzard Entertainment: StarCraft, Diablo, Warcraft and the Art of Polish
- Companion guide: The CRPG: The Complete Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games
- Companion guide: Epic Fantasy
A few thoughts on Diablo III
Diablo: Storm of Light expands the lore directly, following a fallen angel in the same war between Sanctuary and the Burning Hells. It fills in mythology the game gestures at, written for players who want more of this specific world.
Stories about an actual, ongoing war between heaven and hell
Diablo III opens with a fallen star and a stranger who might be an angel waking a war that's never really stopped, the same literal heaven-and-hell conflict running through Diablo: Storm of Light, Supernatural's angels and demons fighting through ordinary towns, Fullmetal Alchemist's monstrous homunculi, Cradle of Filth's hellborn IX Equilibrium, and the epic dread of the Return of the King soundtrack.
Dungeon crawls and monster hunts built for endless loot runs
Diablo III is built around the loop of clearing catacombs and jungle ruins for the next upgrade, the same escalating hunt-and-loot rhythm that drives The Witcher 3's monster contracts, Skyrim's dungeon delving and dragon fights, God of War's boss-to-boss momentum, and Mortal Kombat II's brutal one-on-one spectacle.
Horror-tinged dark fantasy where hell keeps finding a way in
Diablo III never lets you forget that something demonic could crawl out of the next doorway, a dread shared by Junji Ito's Tomie and its creeping body horror, Lee Cronin's take on The Mummy, FROM's small town that something won't let go of, Death's corroded Leprosy, and King Crimson's ominous In the Court of the Crimson King.