IGN reviewed Diablo 4 at a Blizzard event. On Blizzard hardware. It got a 9.
The Original Review
“Diablo 4 is close to being the best in class of the action-RPG genre.”
Mitchell Saltzman gave Diablo 4 a 9/10 based on a review build played during a controlled Blizzard event, on Blizzard hardware, presumably while Blizzard employees gently fanned him with palm fronds and whispered 'masterpiece' into his ear. The review dropped before the servers were even stress-tested by actual humans. This is like reviewing a restaurant based on the smell from the parking lot.
The endgame — you know, the part where you actually spend 90% of your time — gets one paragraph. ONE. Meanwhile, the atmospheric lighting gets its own soliloquy. Priorities, Mitchell. Nobody rage-quit Diablo 3 because the candles weren't flickering correctly.
Within two months of launch, the community was in open revolt over the endgame grind, the battle pass, and seasonal content thinner than gas station toilet paper. The 9/10 still stands on IGN's website like a monument to premature evaluation. This review aged like a banana in a sauna.
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