The Darkening of Tristram needs to come to Diablo 4

Diablo 3’s annual nostalgia trip needs to migrate to Diablo 4 after the 2025 Darkening of Tristram event this January. Stay a while and listen to the reasons why.

I’m both surprised and excited about the Darkening of Tristram 2025. If I’m being honest, I thought the 2024 event would be the last one Diablo 3 held. That’s because since then, Diablo 4 has firmly established itself as the flagship Diablo game, and Blizzard has (understandably) pulled the plug on Diablo 3 receiving new seasonal content.

2024 felt like the year when Blizzard would gently start winding down Diablo 3, but as we know, the game is still very much alive and has a passionate community of players. So, in many ways, the Darkening of Tristram is a nice reward for their commitment. But I’d like to play Diablo’s advocate and argue that this can’t go on forever.

Returning to the beginning

I still play Diablo 2 and 3 as often as I play Immortal and 4, so I understand, and I appreciate Blizzard’s support for each game. However, I now feel like the Darkening of Tristram’s continued annual appearances in Diablo 3 may be detrimental to Diablo 4’s growth. Love it or hate it, Diablo 4 needs to be the priority in 2025, with Immortal being a (relatively) close second.

For those who don’t know, the Darkening of Tristram essentially re-creates Diablo 1 within Diablo 3. It uses gameplay and an art style that’s reminiscent of the original, but one that takes advantage of Diablo 3’s mechanics. It’s a dream come true for long-time players and it’s utterly beloved – even by those who are too young to have played Diablo 1.

As someone who is old enough to remember the first game, and who sank many, many hours into it, I have a tremendous appreciation for the event and I genuinely can’t wait to play it when it returns on January 3, 2025. I’ll be firing up my ridiculously overpowered Diablo 3 Necromancer, who I’ve had since 2012, and diving right in.

Yet I already can’t help thinking the same thing I thought last year during the event: Imagine if the Darkening of Tristram came to Diablo 4.

Diablo and Tristram will be forever entwined

We visit Tristram in some form in every mainline Diablo game, not just the original where it served as our hub. In Diablo 2, we go through a portal to find the town infested by demons and many of the characters from Diablo 1 are either slain or corrupted. We manage to rescue Deckard Cain, battle the now-possessed blacksmith, grab Wirt’s wooden leg for some reason, and flee back to safety.

In Diablo 3, the game starts in New Tristram, a second settlement located west of the original town. We can visit old Tristram by exploring the wilderness to find that it’s still crawling with zombies, but the old fountain, buildings, and other things we remember are still there, just decayed, broken, and abandoned. Still, exploring old Tristram is a poignant moment for long-time players and a nice touch by the devs.

However, in Diablo 4, we’re taken to a nightmarish version of the town by Mephisto. It’s all a vision and the Wanderer doesn’t understand the town’s significance, but we as players do. It would be amazing to have more time to explore this creepy version of Tristram – so if only Diablo games had an annual event that made this possible.

Essentially, the assets for Tristram already exist in Diablo 4, so now all the game needs to do is to add the dungeon with several levels we can work through until we get to Hell, and potentially, a retro version of Diablo himself. When it comes to the art style, Diablo 3 adds a classic-looking style that’s akin to Diablo 1 when the Darkening of Tristram takes place, but Diablo 4 wouldn’t need to do this.

Time for change

That’s because the art style in Diablo 4 is more realistic and grimdark. It’s closer to the aesthetic of Diablo 1 and 2, rather than the more vibrant and cartoonish style of Diablo 3 and Immortal. Essentially, the Darkening of Tristram is way more suited to Diablo 4 than it ever was to Diablo 3 in that sense.

Of course, fighting Diablo as a boss at the end of a Diablo 4 version of the event might cause issues. After all, Diablo has not appeared in the fourth game yet, so introducing him this way may not sit right with some players. But the Darkening of Tristram is just a bit of nostalgic fun, there’s no reason this version of the villain needs to be the same one we get when Diablo eventually arrives in full.

As much as I love the Darkening of Tristram in Diablo 3, I’m hoping the 2025 event is the last one. While I’ll periodically return to the game, like I do with Diablo 2: Resurrected, I think it’s time for Diablo 4 to inherit beloved events like this. Not only would it be amazing to play in the new engine and more in-line aesthetically, but it would also help tie Diablo 4 to its roots in the best way possible way.

Diablo 4 needs content and the Darkening of Tristram would be an ideal way to add some every year, but more importantly, it would help players to embrace this new era of the franchise. Diablo has never been bigger, and it’s time to move on from Diablo 3, but that doesn’t mean we ever need to move on from Tristram.