Path of Exile Review (Strickonaut)
Path of Exile is an incredible game written by New Zealand developer Grinding Gear Games. The game puts you into the role of one of seven possible characters, each with their own story, that has been exiled from their homeland and is forced to try and survive in the harsh and unforgiving terrain of Wraeclast.
Graphics: 7/10
Graphically, the game isn't absolutely spectacular. In fact, it's dark, gritty and quite gruesome. It sets the mood extremely well and really gives the image of a dark, foreboding land where the people are oppressed and monsters and bandits are rampant. Some of the areas in the game can be quite disturbing and really set the mood of the game itself. Although, as stated, it is far from graphically superior, the graphics and the design work really mesh well with this game and set the tone the whole way through.
Music: 9/10
The score of this game is incredible. It really works alongside the dark, foreboding land of Wraeclast and meshes extremely well with the environments that the player is tracking through to give the game an atmosphere that is really quite gloomy, yet aesthetically pleasing.
Story: 9/10
The only reason that this wasn't marked a Tye Dillinger is due to the fact that you kind of have to really find the story elements by talking to NPCs, finding stories and graffiti engraved on rocks and walls throughout your travels and really listen to the interactions that are taking place on the screen in front of you. If you do take the time to learn the story, you'll find an extremely engaging and in depth masterpiece, with an extrordinary amount of fluff for those of you who want to learn the history of Wraeclast and what has happened prior to the land being in its current state.
Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is absolutely fantastic. With a passive tree reminicent of Final Fantasy X's sphere grid, hundreds of skill gems, hundreds of different monsters and enemies and insane amounts of differing equipment, the cusomisability of this game is second to none that I have ever found. Although there are only seven character/classes to choose from to begin with, that by no means locks you into a certain style of play.
On top of all of that, new content is released consistently from GGG. Approximately every three months, a new league is created, trialling a new mechanic and potentially adding complete new areas, enemies and bosses to the game. That league will then usually be incorporated into the game in some way or another, eventually joining mechanics from previous leagues and making this game truly challenging.
GGG are currently also hard at work on POE, creating their biggest content update so far. The game will be expanded to ten acts, up from the previous five. Apparently, there will also be only one difficulty throughout the entire game, making it far less grindy to get to the end game.
The only reason I have deducted points from the gameplay is that it can be extremely daunting for newer players and the learning curve is quite steep. This is offset by the community however, which I will go into more detail next.
Community: 10/10
The POE community is one of the best I have ever seen. People are always happy to help out if players are having trouble. Trolls seem to be few and far between. The POE community is home to some of the best and nicest streamers I have ever had the opportunity to talk to including Ziggy D, LiftingNerdBro, Zizaran and Pohx. These guys are always happy to help if they can and will generally take the time to help new players. They each have several build guides that are perfect for players that are just starting out and will help you get a hang of the mechanics for the game and eventually learn to stand on your own.
Cost 10/10
F2P!!! There is nothing else that needs to be said here. The game in no way, shape or form is pay to win. The only slight advantage you can get from spending money is to buy extra stash tabs for all of your loots, which are quite cheap anyway at about $2 or so each. This game is easilly worth any money that you will spend on the stash tabs. Other things you can buy to support the game are mainly cosmetic changes to skills and items, basically making your character look cooler. That's it.
Overall: 9/10
An absolutely solid game, well worth a shot for anyone who is a fan of ARPGs along the lines of Diablo, Titan Quest or Grim Dawn.
I hope to see you in Wraeclast Exiles!