Diablo 4‘s development history is quite interesting. After the release of Reaper of Souls and cancellation of King in the North for Diablo 3, development would be shifted to a “Project Hades.” This was, effectively, Diablo 4 until it was canceled and replaced with “Fenris.” Project Fenris was the originally code name for the form of Diablo 4 currently in development.
Fenris is clearly a tried-and-true follow-up to Diablo 3. How it lives up to its predecessor remains to be seen, but it fits into the standard formula, even where it has and is likely to deviate. On the other hand, Hades was such a far cry from Diablo 4 that it’s possible that’s why it was canceled. Notably, Hades probably couldn’t have launched and been titled Diablo 4, but it is the perfect premise for an eventual spin-off or new release in the greater franchise.
Hades would have been a game set in the franchise but in the style of Dark Souls. Notably, this was the main project from 2014-2016, which was a bit of a high for Soulslikes. Bloodborne released in 2015, and the years thereafter would see several takes on the Soulslike genre. Project Hades would have been Diablo‘s take on Dark Souls, described as a over-shoulder third-person dungeon crawler. Unfortunately, the project never manifested and was cancelled due to or because of a rough development cycle.
While exacts of the project never manifested, it’s an interesting idea nonetheless. Soulslikes have never quite hit the pedigree offered by FromSoftware, but Diablo is such an established franchise that the possibility of a lovechild between it and Dark Souls can definitely perk the ears. It’s possible some take on this is in the works at Blizzard, that’s if it didn’t completely abandon the idea, but that is just speculation and is admittedly unlikely.
Trying to guess where it might have went, it’s possible that Diablo 4‘s classes (the Barbarian, the Druid, and the Sorceress) could be manifested in such a game. This would likely combine Dark Souls-style gameplay and class approach, with Diablo 4 providing the overall flavor. It’s not hard to imagine approaching of one Dark Souls‘ notoriously difficult bosses, with the melee power of Diablo‘s Barbarian class, a unique tank build for the Druid, or the magical might of the Sorceress. It could have been a perfect pairing of power fantasy and involved, difficult, and punishing gameplay.
Ultimately, it seems unlikely that any semblance of Project Hades sees the light of day again. There’s a ton of reasons that Diablo may want to stick to its ARPG path, and it can’t be faulted for that. Nonetheless, a Blizzard-led Dark Souls-esque project may just sound like a pipe dream for fans of both franchise.
Diablo 4 is in development, with PC, PS4, and Xbox One as its confirmed platforms.
Source for Project Hades: Kotaku
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