At the halfway point of Diablo IV, we reach a crossroads. The narrative work here can be incredible, but more and more the game seems to be prioritizing the uneven gear grind and endgame. This episode explores some of the major tensions at the heart of the game. Maggie advances our ongoing discussion of power fantasies, difficulty scaling, and monotony in light of the tidal wave of boss fights peppered through this act. Some of our class builds have become completely nonfunctional, and in that defeat, we learn a humbling, Dark-Souls-esque lesson about dark fantasy. Tristan questions our new villain, Elias, and makes the case that he is neither narratively compelling nor — by the rules of this world — even in the wrong. This opens us up to a larger conversation about simplistic moral binaries and the lack of ethical complexity in Sanctuary. Cam goes full Faustus fanboy when the giant bloody wolf turns into Mephisto.

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