Diablo 2 creator David Brevik lambasts modern-day ARPGs in recent interview

In an interview with Videogamer, David Brevik, creator of the legendary Diablo and Diablo 2, shared some thoughts about the current state of ARPGs. His work spawned an entire genre of games, some of which boast of six-digit player counts even today. He had the following to say about some unspecified titles:

I think that ARPGs in general have started to lean into this: kill swaths of enemies all over the place extremely quickly. Your build is killing all sorts of stuff so you could get more drops, you can level up, so you can like, and the screen is littered with stuff you don't care about. I don't find that as kind of personal and realistic as like Diablo 2.

While not explicitly mentioned, the above quote very likely refers to Diablo IV and Path of Exile 2. Both games prioritize mob clear over everything else. Before the Vessel of Hatred expansion, Diablo IV was notorious for littering the ground with an ocean of useless items, making it especially frustrating for console players. And, for reasons best known to Blizzard, the game still does not have a loot filter despite it being one of the most heavily requested features. He adds:

The pacing on Diablo 2, I think, is great. That's one of the reasons it's endured. I just don't find killing screenfuls of things instantly and mowing stuff down and walking around the level and killing everything, very enticing. I just don't feel like that is a cool experience. I find it kind of silly.

Diablo IV's storyline has its moments despite the repeated nostalgia baiting. Too bad the same can't be said for Vessel of Hatred. Based on what we've seen so far, Path of Exile 2 might end up with a fun story, especially with the time travel shenanigans. But, it is painfully obvious that both games have been hyper-optimized to squeeze all the fun out of them, and this is why people will still go back to Diablo 2.