Last Epoch Review (von Peso)
One thing Last Epoch does better than any other aRPG on the market is letting you truly create your own build. You don’t need guides—developers actively encourage respeccing and experimenting. (For context, I’m a veteran who’s played D1, D2, D3, PoE, Grim Dawn, Torchlight 1 & 2, Victor Vran, WH40k Inquisitor Martyr, and most recently, PoE2)
Last Epoch also has one of the best, if not the best, crafting systems in the genre and is incredibly user-friendly in terms of QoL.
After three miserable acts of QoL-deprived torture in the slog that is PoE2, I gave Last Epoch a shot. The difference was night and day—I felt genuine, physical relief while playing it.
Give this game some love and support it so it can continue to grow and improve.
P.S.
I also have a family, a career, and a life now, so I value my time—and I appreciate companies that value it too. No-lifers can call me casual, but the only thing they’re really flexing is how cheap their time is.
EDIT
I wrote the above words after 40 hours in the game. After another 60 hours, bringing my total to 100 hours, I have some additional thoughts:
- The game still rocks for me. The aforementioned crafting system is even more impressive in the endgame. I’m now far from creating perfect Exalts and even further from obtaining Uniques with Legendary Potential to merge with those Exalts, so there’s plenty to look forward to. There’s this constant feeling of progression—every game session, every hour feels worthwhile.
- I’m still on my first character and not yet feeling bored, but creating a second one and leveling it to the endgame would be a breeze. You can craft powerful leveling gear as an endgame character, choose paths that omit the campaign almost entirely, or bypass just half or three-quarters of it.
- Missions in Monoliths are repetitive in themselves, but this is a gear grinding game (pun intended), and it pulls you in like a slot machine. (Though I’ve only used a slot machine once and won, so I can only assume!) You’re always pushing for another level or another piece of the puzzle to create better and better gear yourself.
- One thing I completely and unjustly omitted before is the graphics. I totally love it! Maybe it’s my lack of expertise, but I find itfar superior to the grey, yellow, and brown slop that PoE2 presents (and is so highly praised). The style feels surrealistic or like magic realism, with breathtaking backgrounds, impossible colors, and a cosmic scope. This is a game that sometimes makes you stop and simply marvel at the sights.
- There’s a full offline mode for those with poor latency or who just don’t care for online interactions. There are also two exclusive factions—one that lets you use an in-game auction house, and the other that prevents auction house use in exchange for much bigger and even targeted loot options. This level of freedom in playstyle is unmatched in any other aRPG.
- Having been pulled into the game, I watched some content regarding the future Cycle (season) and the positive changes coming. Even WASD movement (the only good thing PoE2 implemented) is being tested, though it won’t be available for some time. After some disastrous early access experiences and preorders in recent years, I’m not one to give credit for promises, but I can’t help being excited.
- Lastly, the community in this game is something else. There’s an in-game global chat, and usually, I turn that off. But I’m glad I didn’t in LE. Not only is the community helpful, but it’s also laid back, respectful, and has a healthy amount of banter. Even though I NEVER used any form of global chat in other games, this atmosphere encouraged me to contribute to the discussion. Funny enough, a lot of the discussion involves PoE2 refugees expressing their shock at how an aRPG can cater to the player and enable so much fun without asking for endless chores (before, during, and after gameplay, and some web searches to even know what you’re doing). I never had to alt-tab out of the game to learn something—it’s all there.