Summary
Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant brings a whole new story to the world of Sanctuary following the defeat of Lilith in the game’s main campaign. With the Daughter of Hatred out of the way, a new threat has emerged in the form of Malignant Monsters, corrupted creatures that boast higher-than-average strength with the potential to spread this infectious affliction. While these Malignant Monsters are new toDiablo 4, they share a lot in common with another type of foe from a recent rival release, the Akashic enemies ofFinal Fantasy 16.
Although the two games were considered to be directly competing with each other as both were released in June 2023,Diablo 4andFinal Fantasy 16have a surprising degree of crossover with their themes and the lore of their two worlds. Both of these titles deal with the dark side of the medieval fantasy genre, with death, grief, and corruption playing prominent roles in both of their stories. However, the introduction of Malignant enemies inDiablo 4’s Season 1 draws the clearest line of connection between the two games to date as these enemies mirror the Akashic encountered throughoutFinal Fantasy 16’s main quest.
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Diablo 4’s Malignant Have a Lot in Common with FF16’s Akashic
One of the first new charactersDiablo 4players will encounter in theSeason of the Malignantis Cormond, a former priest of the Cathedral of Light who tells the player of the danger the Malignant pose and whom they will strive to help defeat this evil throughout the course of the seasonal quest line. Cormond explains that the residents of Sanctuary are half angel and half demon being created by the union of Lilith and Inarius and that the Malignant is the result of the demonic half overpowering the individual. Players following the seasonal quest line will help Cormond uncover why the Malignant are spreading and how to stop this plague from destroying Sanctuary.
Final Fantasy 16presents a similar concept toDiablo 4’s Malignant in the form of the Akashic, which share a similar origin story to that of theirDiablo 4counterparts. Players will first encounter the Akashic duringThe Crystals' Cursemain quest inFinal Fantasy 16which takes players into the crystal mines below Drake’s Head where the Imperial Cannonier boss' second phase sees it transform into an Akashic monstrosity. After the battle, Cid explains that the overwhelming amount of Aether from the Mothercrystal has caused those unfortunate enough to be working in the mines to become Akashic, losing control of their mind and becoming primal.
Both theMalignant ofDiablo 4and the Akashic ofFinal Fantasy 16 act as corrupted forms of their original selves, becoming much more powerful and unhinged in the process. From a gameplay standpoint, both of these types of enemies offerDiablo 4andFinal Fantasy 16players an increased challenge compared to the standard enemies of their respective titles, coming later in the game to throw a twist on what the player has become comfortable with. However, there are some distinct differences between these two types of corruption-based enemies as well.
Diablo 4’s Malignant differ fromFinal Fantasy 16’s Akashic in that their corruption comes from within, given that each inhabitant of Sanctuary contains a demonic half that is usually kept in balance by their angelic half. In contrast,Final Fantasy 16’s Akashic transform based on external forces, namely exposure to a high concentration of Aether. Both the Wanderer fromDiablo 4andClive fromFinal Fantasy 16seem to have an immunity to this corruption, stemming from Clive’s status as a Dominant in the latter and the consumption of Lilith’s blood petals likely the reason for the former.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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