Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection (Nintendo Switch 2) Review

Pros & Cons

- Excellent performance on Switch 2
- Includes the base game and both expansions
- Deep, highly customisable character builds
- Sanctuary is a fantastic open world to explore
- Still no offline mode

At its core, Diablo IV remains one of the most compulsive action RPGs around. The formula hasn’t changed: venture into dungeons, slaughter increasingly grotesque armies of demons, collect an absurd amount of equipment, return to town, dismantle most of it, and repeat. The difference between a useless sword and one that completely transforms your build can be tiny, but that possibility is enough to make almost every encounter feel worthwhile.

The class and build systems make this even more addictive. There are plenty of ways to shape each class, and the freedom to experiment without permanently ruining a build makes the process considerably less intimidating than it initially appears. By the time you’re deep into the endgame, however, the game becomes less about seeing what Sanctuary has to offer and more about optimising your character for increasingly demanding activities. That’s where Diablo IV is at its most satisfying.

The open world remains one of the game’s strongest elements. You might balk at the idea of an isometric ARPG having a massive open world, but once you spend some time within Sanctuary, you’ll see the vision. It is huge, atmospheric and packed with things to discover. Every town you visit is packed with side quests that entirely concern the denizens of that specific town, which is to say each of the game’s many small towns and bigger cities have their own self-contained side quest lines that are worth doing outside of the main story, if for no other reason, than to get a little more insight on what passes for “normal life” in Sanctuary.

The two expansions make the collection an even stronger proposition. Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred don’t simply add more story; they expand the game’s classes, regions and endgame systems, giving veterans considerably more reason to keep grinding. For anyone coming to Diablo IV for the first time, there’s almost an overwhelming amount of content here. But of course, so far so Diablo. If you’re reading this review, you’ll want to know how it runs on the Switch 2.

Diablo IV is a considerably more demanding game than Diablo III, and yet this version looks remarkably good in handheld mode. There are compromises, naturally, but the dark, gothic environments, dense enemy encounters and spectacular abilities retain much of their visual impact.

There are two graphical modes, with the performance-focused option being the better choice. The 40fps target makes combat feel considerably more responsive, particularly when you’re playing handheld, while the quality mode’s 30fps target can struggle to maintain consistency. The game requires a high-refresh rate display to achieve that 40fps target so if your TV is not capable of 120Hz, you’ll be stuck with the 30fps quality mode when docked. Regardless of your mode of choice, I found it nigh-impossible to get this game to drop frames, even in the late game and endgame encounters when the screen is full of enemies and particle effects flying all over the place.

There is one other significant caveat: Diablo IV requires an internet connection. This was the case in prior versions too so it’s not terrible surprising, but given that Blizzard managed to implement an offline mode for the Switch version of Diablo 3, I was hoping they’d do the same here. That makes the Switch 2’s portability slightly less liberating than it might otherwise be. This isn’t the sort of game you can necessarily take anywhere and play, despite how perfectly its pick-up-and-play structure suits a handheld.

Still, those limitations don’t change the bigger picture. Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection is an enormous, polished and extremely addictive action RPG that feels surprisingly comfortable on Switch 2. It isn’t the best-looking version of Diablo IV, nor is it technically flawless, but being able to take Sanctuary with you is a considerable advantage.

When I reviewed Diablo 3 Eternal Collection on the original Nintendo Switch, I cheekily said that the best thing about Diablo 3 on Switch is that it’s Diablo 3 on Switch. Now, we have Diablo IV on the Nintendo Switch 2 and – while the game has been playable on handheld for a few years thanks to handheld PCs – those honour-bound to Nintendo’s hybrid console now get to have their turn.

And it’s a great turn, to be clear, because this is Diablo IV after three years’ worth of iterations and updates to its core systems, and also includes its two expansions Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred. So those Nintendo users who have held out until now get the best, most complete version of Diablo IV yet.

Final Thoughts