Diablo Immortal VS Elden Ring
▸ WHICH ONE HOLDS UP BETTER
Elden Ring holds up better here: it's rated PLAY IT, while Diablo Immortal is SKIP IT.
Verdict🔴 SKIP IT🟢 PLAY IT
The RealityIndependent analysis by Bellular News found that fully maximizing a single character's gear -- specifically its highest-tier Legendary Gems -- could cost up to $110,000, since those gems cannot be purchased directly but only obtained through real-money loot boxes called Legendary Crests with low drop rates. Multiple other outlets independently corroborated figures in the same range. A real, documented case emerged of a player who spent approximately $100,000 on a single character, only to become too powerful for the game's own matchmaking system to place him in matches. The core progression bottleneck -- gem upgrades gated behind paid loot boxes rather than being earnable through gameplay alone -- was the specific mechanic driving these costs.Independent critics overwhelmingly confirmed the game delivered on this specific combination. It achieved Metacritic scores of 97 (PS5) and 95 (PC/Xbox Series X|S), and became OpenCritic's highest-rated game of all time with a 97 Top Critic Average. Reviewers specifically praised the open-world execution as living up to comparisons with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild while retaining FromSoftware's signature difficulty and design depth, describing the combination as living up to the pre-release hype 'with casual, almost contemptuous ease.' The game went on to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022.
SHORT ANSWER
Diablo Immortal: Independent analysis found fully maxing a Diablo Immortal character's gear could cost up to $110,000, since top-tier upgrades are only obtainable through real-money loot boxes rather than gameplay -- and a real player documented spending roughly $100,000 on a single character.
Elden Ring: Elden Ring's pre-release pitch of fusing FromSoftware's Souls-like difficulty with a genuinely open world is confirmed by independent critics: it became OpenCritic's highest-rated game of all time, with reviewers specifically praising the open-world execution as living up to the hype.