So I played through Act IV, continuing the tradition of the game's fourth act being the shortest of the lot. Course, there's still acts 5 and 6, but it's jarring here - I'd say Act IV is about as long as the prologue, so shouldn't this be a, I dunno, interlude?
Of course, I didn't just go through Act IV, did plenty of side quest stuff as well (and disconnects are still irritating as hell, especially when they occur in a dungeon, and worse still when it kicks me out entirely), but anyway, general thoughts:
-Staying true to form, I planned out my route to get from Kehjistan rather than simply warp back to Kyovashad, in order to do side quests/strongholds/whatever. Going by said route, I ended up in Nevesk - y'know, the first town you encounter in the game. Only three people in the town, none of whom seem to be native to it, and the town itself is still in ruins. While minor, it serves as a nice reminder of where your character's journey began, and really reinforces how screwed the world is. As in, this far into the game's storyline, and Nevesk is still in ruins, and unlike other places, hasn't been repopulated, because literally everyone who was in the town originally is now dead because, y'know, you killed them.
-Going along said route, I cleared out the Nostrava stronghold/town. From an aesthetic/ambience standpoint, this is probably the best stronghold in the game. Basically, the town's taken to worshipping Lilith, so you need to kill the corrupted villagers, fight through endless tides of demons, and destroy demonic effigies, which even by the standards of the game, are grotesque (the way their flesh writhes as you damage them). That in of itself isn't worth mentioning, but what adds to it as you make your way through, fires spread, night falls (as opposed to the usual day-night cycle), snow picks up, and culminates with you fighting a trio of succubi at the end. And while unlike Nevesk, in that a portion of Nostrava's population survive, no-one's really happy, and some clearly resent you, while acknowledging the necessity of your actions. I mean, soon as you kindle the Wanderer's shrine (thus completing the stronghold), the very first thing you see are two young girls are their mother's grave.
-Made it to Kyovashad, stumbled into the inn (don't know how I missed it thus far). Not much to say, but the innkeeper's devout, got a smirk when she expressed her hope that her cat would join her in Heaven.
-Entered the Cathedral of Light, where Inarius himself is giving a sermon. Love how the camera angle pans to convey how much space Inarius's wings actually take up. So much so that even though he's a lying git, there's still a sense of majesty to him.
-Also talked to Prava, and yep, she's horrible. Ask her about Vigo? She doesn't care. Point out Inarius killed Rathma? She deploys a version of the "anything God does is good by definition" argument.
-So finally...FINALLY...after speaking to Donan, I got my horse (which you can't name, but if you could, I'd name him Binky, and brownies to anyone who gets the reference). Having finally got said horse, I've got to say, it's a letdown. The controls are stiff, the regular pace is far slower than it should be IMO, and while you can get quick bursts of speed, they're just that - quick bursts. Not to mention that by this point in the game, there's little reason to use a horse since most of the waypoints are unlocked. I rode to the Horadric Vault to get a sense of horse riding, but really, it's a letdown (though I did get a better experience later on, as I'll explain).
-Made it to the Horadric Vault, and Neyrelle, who's been holing up, is still adorkable with her geeking out over scrolls and stuff (seriously, I don't get the dislike for her). This may sound strange for an ARPG, but honestly, it was nice to be able to go through new sections of the Vault and not have to fight anything, but rather just let the story play out. As in, we finally get explanation as to what Lorath, Donan, and Elias were doing, how Tyrael left (though there were plenty of Horadrim by the end of D3, yet there's no mention of them, nor any mention of the Nephalem), but as a whole, it's well done. Also key revelation is how the Prime Evils have animal aspects (a wolf, a bat, an owl), so if Mephy is the wolf, which is Baal and which is Diablo? Dunno, but we'll see how things play out.
-Made it back to the Forsaken Chapel, where the whole gang (such as it is) is together - the PC, Lorath, Donan, Neyrelle, and Taissa. More on this dynamic later, but already, the act ends, as we have to fight Andariel. I'm honestly mixed on this. First, that Elias can use Taisa as a waypoint conduit rather than have Andariel possess her feels like a cop-out. As in, they wanted to get Andariel into Sanctuary, but didn't want to knock her off, so convoluted a way to have Taissa survive, whereas in previous games, characters like Albrecht, Aidan, and Leah most certainly didn't survive demonic possession (I know, Prime Evils vs. Lesser Evils, semantics). Second, and arguably more importantly, it really doesn't work well in terms of story. A significant portion of Act III hypes up Elias summoning Andariel, which you thwart, only for her to be summoned in the end of Act IV, and pop her off as soon as the summoning occurs.
-All that being said, the actual fight in of itself is quite good. From a mechanical standpoint, it's reasonably tense, since you're forced to fight in a smaller area with each phase. Second, Andariel is appropriately grotesque, and her appearance likewise shifts with each phase as well. Nothing much to say beyond that, but it's well done.
-So Andariel is defeated, Act IV is ended, and the company is ready to set off to Hawezar. Dad!Lorath is nice, and there's a sense of comraderie in the group, though Taissa is still a cipher at this point in time. I've commented on this before, how D4's open-world nature arguably restricts the group dynamic, but I can't help but think of D3 for instance, where by the end of Act II, there was a party of nine (narratively, not mechanically), all of whom had been established as characters. Here, we have a party of five, with far less fleshing out. That's not to say that there's no dynamic at all (for instance, Lorath and Donan are their own thing, while the PC and Neyrelle feel separate, in part due to their ages, in part because Lorath still doesn't trust the Wanderer), but even by the standards of the series...well again, D3 did it better. And look, not every Diablo game needs the group dynamic, but even so...
-Anyway, I was at the end of my play session, so I actually took time to ride Binky (that's my horse's name and you can't tell me otherwise) west across Kehjistan, and here, the riding was better, only in as much that I was able to actually explore the map rather than retread old ground, it was easier to evade monsters (being over level 50, there's far less incentive to kill them at this point in time), and make it to the Iron Wolves' camp. Can't comment more on that, had to log off.
