Even though Diablo 4 only launched in 2023, it feels like it has been around for ages. We’ve already had two major expansions (with no more to come, sadly) and a handful of additional classes and areas. The full story now across the main campaign and the Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred expansions is gargantuan, particularly for the genre. I can’t imagine coming into Diablo 4: Age of Hatred Collection fresh on the Switch 2 and having such a vast amount of game to get through.
That said, the entire campaign is excellent, with a great story that now ends on something of a cliff-hanger that won’t be resolved until 2029’s Diablo 5 – if it gets resolved at all, given Blizzard’s commitment to jumping forward in the Diablo timeline and changing huge chunks of the established template.
The story follows your beleaguered hero, chosen from one of eight diverse starting classes, as they face down the Lord of Destruction, Mephisto, and his daughter Lilith. With strong characters, surprisingly good writing, and a huge, varied world to quest through, there’s a lot to like in Diablo 4 as a whole.
Changes made to the skill system with Lord of Hatred still feel a little limiting to me, as I miss the sprawling skill trees of old with all the dozens of passive skills. As it stands now, you may not quite hit the level cap by the end of all three campaigns, but you will certainly run out of interesting new skills to employ long before, regardless of your chosen class.
You’ll only have to complete the campaign once though, and then you’ll unlock the excellent Adventure Mode version of the world and be able to simply explore Sanctuary at your own pace, grinding for levels and gear across multiple difficulty levels and an array of challenging activities that have been added since launch. New Seasonal content drops every 3 months (ish), bringing a mini storyline, new activities, and a host of new loot and Season-specific mechanics.
The current season, Season of Hell’s Legacy, is a celebration of Diablo’s storied history, bringing back the three Prime Evils in Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, as well as fan-favourite Deckard Cain with a series of missions that revisit areas and elements of the franchise. It’s a solid season for welcoming new players, particularly those jumping in for the first time on Switch 2.
If this is your first foray into Sanctuary, you’re in for a treat. Diablo 4 is not only huge, but it’s pretty deep, too, with a wide variety of character classes to suit any particular playstyle. If you favour brute force, the Barbarian or Spiritborn can’t be beaten, while spell-casters will prefer the Sorcerer, Necromancer, or Warlock. Druids, Rogues, and Paladins occupy the hazy middle ground between magical trickery and high DPS. There really is something for every player here.
Major issues on the Switch 2 are the same as everywhere else: Blizzard’s unnecessary and intrusive always-online policy has plagued Diablo 4 since launch, forcing you to deal with their awful servers and constantly have your immersion broken by other players tearing around the map. It’s a ruse to generate FOMO and sell more of their overblown premium skins and it outright makes the experience worse.
All that being true, Diablo 4: Age of Hatred Collection runs very well on Switch 2. As with almost everything I’ve played so far on Nintendo’s console, it looks much better in handheld mode despite having a better framerate when docked. You can also use console-specific features like the touchscreen when it’s in handheld mode, which is hardly essential but it’s a nice touch. I will say that Nintendo’s tendency to change standard buttons around is as irritating here as it is in any of their ports, so I had to alter some of the key-bindings, but that’s a “me” problem.
Everything else remains as it is on other platforms. Leaderboards and seasonal changes will be the same, and if you have accounts on other platforms you can link them here and import your characters and world-state to Switch 2, which I always appreciate. Overall this is a fine package, with a huge amount of content and only a few minor negatives when compared to other formats. I wouldn’t call it the definitive way to enjoy the game, but Diablo 4: Age of Hatred Collection on Switch 2 is still solid value for people who have never experienced it elsewhere.
