Path of Exile

Developer: Grinding Gear Games
Steam Release: Oct 2013
Usual Price: Free
Hours Played: 25.8
Similar To: Grim Dawn / Torchlight II / Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

Quite possibly due to its free-to-play status, but most definitely down to its pure excellence, Path of Exile has bound onto the scene while obliterating all other indie action rpgs around it. It is the "go-to" game not only for those curious in the genre but for seasoned veterans alike. Moreover, as practically anyone reading this has probably played it already, it needs very little introduction. Let's just say that it's the Diablo III of the indie action rpg genre. Yes, it is its equal in quality of gameplay; yes, it is its equal in graphical quality; yes it is its equal in fluidity of movement and; yes, it is its equal in its addictive nature. You'll crush and destroy enemies in the same satisfyingly gripping hack & slash manner - and you'll not really want to stop. As the two games are in a league of their own, comparisons are unavoidable.

 

BALANCE & PACE

Like practically all games of this ilk, after creating your character from one of five classes, you'll be thrown into a world torn asunder by evil creatures of all varieties. In this case, in the usual isometric view, you'll first make your way along a beach after being involved in some kind of shipwreck. As you go, you'll realise that apart from the gameplay being ridiculously close to D3, there are some key differences. Abilities are conferred upon you by finding gems and slotting them into your equipment so instead of being given them, you choose which ones to use. Secondly, there is no currency. Useless items are exchanged at vendors for various orbs and such which can then be used to modify weapons and armour. Finally, depending on how deep you wish to study, adding points to your skill-tree can be a much more involved process. 
 
   

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

So when I said that Diablo III was its equal in every respect, if you cross-reference the two under a fine microscope certain attributes do differ. For one, I found the graphics to be a tad more polished in POE - you can even zoom in and out freely as opposed to D3. The shadow effects, detail and the overall fluidity of movement also came out top in favour of POE. Additionally, the environments seemed more varied and just a bit more awesome to explore. Finally as enemies would often bunch together to form large clusters different types of attacks, especially those of the AOE variety, just seemed all the more satisfying to pull off. With all these pluses it still seems odd to me that, unlike developers of Victor Vram, there is still the refusal to incorporate controller support.   
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM

At the risk of this review sounding just like a straight-up comparison between the two games, the progress system is very similar to D3. 10 Acts split up your journey. Each has its own map where about 10-15 dots (signifying a visited area) link together on a path. Some, but not all, have waypoints in them that act as checkpoints and all areas are separated by loadscreens. You'll level up as per usual and add points to to your skill-tree as you go, thus becoming forever stronger. The skill-tree itself is notoriously complicated meaning the more dedicated players will research different builds to get that optimum value from their character. I am nowhere near reaching the end-game as yet but from what I have read it is far too diverse to cover in a mere 600-word review.  

CONCLUSION

While arguably not quite the Diablo-killer many people may have been waiting for, Path of Exile remains a giant of the action rpg genre and D3s only true competitor. To put it in context, as far as the player-base goes, while Grim Dawn and Torchlight II attract the same crowd as the Morecombes and the Accrington Stanleys of this world...at over a regular 50K+ players, Path of Exile is the Manchester United or the Arsenal. Personally, as far as decent gameplay goes, I'd rank Grim Dawn as a West Ham but that's another issue. Anyway, at the cost of precisely zero pence, Path of Exile is an absolute no-brainer. Indeed, if you have yet to try the game, the only question you should be asking yourself is why you are reading this and not downloading it right now!