IGN Gave Lord of Hatred an 8/10: What the Review Argues

IGN’s verdict is 8/10. A comment with 731 likes put it plainly: “for those who cannot be bothered to watch, they gave it an 8/10.”

That is a solid score for this series, and the reasoning is worth reading separately.

What it praises

• A short but tight campaign. The review calls it roughly eight hours and some of Blizzard’s best writing in years, pointing at the twists, the tragedy, the callbacks to older lore, and villains whose motives make sense.
• Skovos is worth walking through. The Mediterranean-style island is humanity’s birthplace in the lore, so it keeps stretches of scenery the mainland has already lost. The shift from Lovecraftian fog shores to volcanic wastes is noticeable.
• Both new classes have identities. Paladin is “pure nostalgic comfort food”, with the review singling out aura builds that clear screens almost without input. Warlock is about claiming Hell’s power: legion summoning on one side, a self-transforming Vanguard build on the other.
• So much endgame that you forget some systems exist. The review treats that as a positive and admits it did not dig into all of it.

What it does not cover

Because the review is weighted towards the campaign and the classes, it is a weak reference for:

• seasonal mechanics and endgame balance;
• how War Plans and Echoing Hatred hold up over time;
• cross-platform play and purchase limits.

Those are covered on the expansion page and reviews and reception.

How it fits the wider picture

Public aggregation puts the expansion at “generally favorable”, with about nine in ten critics recommending it, which is exactly where an 8/10 lands.

Player disagreement is mostly about endgame repetition, not the story.

Before buying, check price and editions: Lord of Hatred includes the first expansion.

Sources

• IGN, “Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred Review”: source
• OpenCritic aggregation (recommend percentage): source
• Public release record used for the review summary: source