LogInPlayers are skeptical.
Blizzard
FromSoftware's games are so unique that they have their own, Soulslike, genre. It even has a Wiki page! Can't Diablo also be crowned as a defining staple of ARPGs?
That's what the series' general manager Rod Fergusson wonders in one of his tweets (exes?): "Feels like the genre of 'ARPG' is starting to mean a lot of different things. Much like 'Souls-like' and 'Rogue-like', I wonder if we could normalize 'Diablo-like' for ARPGs that follow the Diablo formula..."
This sentiment might have been received better if it was expressed by a simple fan, but players didn't like this take from Fergusson.
"I'd understand if someone like David Brevik [the co-creator of the series] would say that, but Rod, you didn't really have much to do with Diablo or ARPGs in general until you joined Blizzard, so it feels a bit off-putting to hear you trying to put a brand on a genre," commented Thomas Mahler, the Ori franchise maker.
"'Diablo-like' would almost certainly refer to Diablo I & II and not 3 & 4 which are much more arcadey APRGs," chimed in another X/Twitter user, and I have to agree – the first two games are definitely what comes to my mind when I hear the term.
"Does it include microtransactions as the only way to get cool armor? If so, no thanks," added journalist Jez Corden.
Blizzard
As you can see, people were not kind to Fergusson, which I find a little unfair. Yes, he has been with Blizzard for 4 years only, and the whole message might seem in bad taste, I believe the term Diablo-like does deserve to exist in the wider genre of ARPG, which means different things for different people. However, yes, it should be applied to games that follow the structure of Diablo 1 and for, in my opinion.
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