Diablo is a dungeon Crawler RPG. God of War is a cinematic hack n slash more akin to devil may cry and bayonetta.

I'm sorry but I find this very debatable. Diablo's identity has changed so much through games and expansions it borrows many elements from A-RPGs, Dungeon crawlers, Hack n' slash and lately MMOs.  I can't rule Diablo out simply because journalists covers hack n' slash as a distinctive genre of 3D TPS like Bayo or Darksiders. It does borrow a big chunk of that sub-type adventure genre, with heavy emphasis on combat with hand-to-hand weapons.

Look up the game Champion of Norrath. I played that on the PS2 with friends and that is an example of a dungeon crawler arpg. Diablo is more akin to PC dungeon crawlers (usually viewed from above and has action rpg tactics). God of War is the culmination of development which evolved from the arcade/ console realm. The evolution of 2D side scrolling beat em ups and hack n slashes (Streets of Rage/Golden Axe)which in 3D spawned Devil May Cry from capcom.

I see where your comparison is coming from. Yes, many types of games in action rpg's use hack n slash elements, but god of war is merely a linear action/adventure hack n slash like devil may cry (its just slower and has very high production value). Darksiders is not in the same genre as God of War though, even though it has taken some elements. I dont believe Darksider is an RPG because you dont level up, but it does have soft hack n slash elements.

True beat em up arcade style hack n slash games (which is the best way to put it) have elaborate button commands. For instance:

xxo (three hit combo)

xxoxo (Five hit combo)

XOTriangle X Triangle O  ( Six hit combo)

For instance in god of war there is a trophy for a getting a high combo juggle count, much like Devil May Cry,

Arcade style hack n slashes are more about quick reflexes and combo.

But I find dungeon crawl kind of a type of scenario found within fantasy role-playing games, in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment. Hack n' slash style of play is much appreciated in these cases by players who focus on action and combat.

Though Diablo, especially since D3, is all about progression and building a character, and numeric values and account unlocks are more important than the plot, and no choices like classic roleplay. It's more of a action-leveler hack n' slash RPG. It doesn't really have big RPG elements involved in it. But then again, the adventure part is rather small, because of no much finding stuff and exploration and no puzzle to solve. I believe leveling does not make a game a RPG, as seen with the Castlevania games, because you have little meaningful leveling choices in Diablo 3. Therefore, when the only RPG elements are level-ups without choices and equipment - it's an action adventure game, like Symphony of the Night or Ocarina of Time.

Genres are so blurred nowadays that you have to put together a series of 'tags' into it to classify a game properly. But being the best selling beat 'em up arcade hack n' slash franchise isn't as sexy as straight hack n' slash. But I can't shake the fact that Diablo is also a hack n' slash, in a certain way.

It was fun, but we digressed so much that neither of us are talking about Horizon or Zelda . But thanks for the enlightenment.

Edit: Double post. Fuck VGC and its lag issues.

I wonder if Zelda beats Horizon in metacritic, whether or not some of the people in this thread will start beating the "media is bias" drum like they have in the past.

As for the topic, I say Zelda will beat horizon in meta and sales. Graphics is obvious cause ps4 = 1.84TF, pro = 4.4TF vs wiiU/Switch is rumored to be less than 500Gflop. Art wise, it is dependent on the individual.

First review for breath of the wild is out in the latest issue of EDGE magazine.

Reviews
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [10] / both Wii U and Switch versions tested

Other reviews include

Horizon Zero Dawn [9]
Nioh [9]
Sniper Elite 4 [7]
Torment: Tides of Numenera [8]
Aaero [7] / PC
Dexed [6] / PSVR
Dandy Dungeon [9] / iOS

Looks like Edge thinks otherwise lol, but seriously you're high if you think The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild will score anything less than a 90 on metacrtic.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [10]
Horizon Zero Dawn [9]

Great start for Zelda! Hopefully it keeps it up!

I know the feeling. Switch is mobile so I feel I'll be able to fit more gaming on it than I can on console nowadays.