Bul-Kathos Guides My Hand! ⚔️

After 11 years, gamers worldwide rejoice in the release of Diablo IV, which launched earlier this week to great acclaim. So, today we’re celebrating Dorian and his iconic contribution to the marathon of fierce Barbarian lore we’ve come to expect from the Diablo universe. After all, Dorian was the voice of the Barbarian (male) in the video game franchise’s third installment, Diablo III, as well as its expansion, Reaper of Souls.

Whereas Diablo IV provides a versatile character creation feature and seeks to dial back on the player’s origin story, Dorian’s nuanced performance in Diablo III evokes, by design, a very specific Barbarian, one who is weathered and heavily battle-tested, whose presence petrifies not in spite of being a bit long in the tooth but because of it. The gruff, imposing depth and timbre of Dorian’s Barbarian communicates a smoldering power in moments of quieter dialogue before exploding from potential to kinetic energy on the battlefield with every war cry, every roaring swing of the axe, every fury-filled brandishing of blade. Indeed, Dorian’s background in technique (he studied opera at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati) equipped him with the requisite endurance for meeting the grueling demands of voicing a main player character in an epic action/adventure role-playing game of Diablo III’s ambitious scope.

With the highly anticipated Diablo IV now available after over a decade of development (the game’s story takes place 50 years beyond the events of Diablo III’s expansion, Reaper of Souls), the memory of Dorian’s Barbarian belongs beside Bul-Kathos atop a pantheon proudly placed where Mount Arreat once stood, bestowing inspiration upon the next generation of Barbarian warriors to whom they’ve passed the torch… guiding their hands.

P.S.

Hey Blizzard, maybe Dorian’s Barbarian (a.k.a. The Nephalem) from Diablo III can make a return appearance as one of the “Ancients” to be called upon by all Children of Bul-Kathos? He did, you know, rescue Sanctuary and the High Heavens from certain doom that one time… just sayin’! 😉