Path of Exile

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2202 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,641 out of 2202
  2. Mixed: 258 out of 2202
  3. Negative: 303 out of 2202

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  1. mustafa2812
    Feb 23, 2014
    10
    Pros:
    1. Best itemization of any ARPG. Hands down.
    2. Build diversity is incredible 3. The game is very deep and complicated which leads to really rewarding decisions and tons of diversity and excitement 4. FREE 5. Currency/crafting system is very innovative and fun 6. Endgame is very varied and as fun as an ARPG's endgame can be. 7. Developers are seriously amazing. This    Pros:
    1. Best itemization of any ARPG. Hands down.
    2. Build diversity is incredible
    3. The game is very deep and complicated which leads to really rewarding decisions and tons of diversity and excitement
    4. FREE
    5. Currency/crafting system is very innovative and fun
    6. Endgame is very varied and as fun as an ARPG's endgame can be.
    7. Developers are seriously amazing. This point can not be stressed enough. They often speak directly to the playerbase. They are very transparent with their goals, are very open to feedback, and work with the community as a team better than any other game that I've seen.
    8. Ethical microtransactions, no pay to win.
    9. Very fun combat, especially in the late game.
    10. Replayability is very high due to the build diversity and RNG.
    11. Game rewards players for having a high level of knowledge and strategy. Learning and applying the mechanics and strategy can be very rewarding.
    12. Community is really helpful and there are tons of community created tools and guides.
    13. Atmosphere is very dark and fits the hardcore vibe of the game. You don't rush out of the game screaming and killing everything. You have to work your way up in a world that is out to kill you.
    13. Changes and new feature come so often that the game never gets stale. Things are always being added, tweaked and perfected. Just when you thought the game couldn't get better, another big patch comes and reinvigorates your passion for the game. The 4 month leagues add tons of replayability and allows for the game to not grow stale and get dissected min-maxed to tedium.

    Cons:
    1. Desync. It's not always noticeable or a big deal but when it is a big deal it will kill you if you do not do something fast. Developers are constantly combating it but it is one of the big flaws of the game
    2. Early game can be a little boring combat-wise. Skills are augmented by support gems and that is when combat get's more fun. In the early game without support gems most skills can be kind of underwhelming. There is something to be said for the atmosphere of the game being but that doesn't mean that GGG couldn't do something to make the early game more exciting.
    3. Pretty damn complicated. Your first character will probably fail, especially if you don't read any tips about how to build your skill tree.
    4. Since trading is a big part of the game, people who prefer to play self-found will have a pretty hard time. I find trading rewarding but not everyone feels that way. You can meet some really cool people when trading and people will give you stuff for really good deals or for free sometimes. Other times a trading partner might be really un-ideal and will piss you off.
    5. It's a hardcore game. This can be good or bad depending on who you are. If you don't want to invest time and thought into a game and you don't want to learn how to trade then you aren't going to experience a lot of the most fun parts of the game imo.

    Overall this is the best ARPG on the market. It is a harcore game made by hardcore gamers. The developers are amazing. The community is great. The gameplay is deep and exciting. The loot is sexy. You can get lost in the breadth of this game and it only keeps getting better.    … Expand
  2. Bobster123
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    Aboslutely insanely godly game, but it takes alot of effort! be warned. The development team is the best, constant updates of new content, absolutely free-to-play and a fantastic design philosophy and community interaction from the devs. What more could you want.
  3. SlySherZ
    Oct 31, 2013
    10
    Blizz fanboys pls stop giving negative ratting to PoE. The game is awesome!
    Sure it has his flaws as any other game, but you enjoy every minute you play.
    Best ARPG, free to play, NOT pay to win. What else do u want?
  4. NoMore
    Nov 10, 2013
    10
    (+)
    -free to play
    -no pay to win (you can buy stash tabs but no big deal)
    -pay for cosmetics
    -challenging game in harder difficulties
    -so much customization options
    -race events/leagues
    -coop with friends

    (-)

    -trading is hard
    -no cinematics
    -little laggy sometime(Its bad if die because of lag in hardcore)

    I give a 10 because its free.
  5. poisonedyouth
    Jan 7, 2014
    10
    Has everything Diablo 3 wishes it had. And its free. What are you waiting for? Save your money on other uncertain purchases and download this immediately. It will keep you entertained for ages.
  6. siso_0
    Mar 10, 2014
    10
    I'm so fully committed to Path of Exile that I've spent a bit of coin myself, and my witch is only one of many wayfarers I intend to guide through Wraeclast. Many mysteries still await me, even in the savage regions I've already charted.
  7. Dexyt
    Nov 3, 2013
    10
    A spiritual successor to Diablo II, a creative masterpiece, and probably the game with the best character customization ever made. While the graphics are a bit dated, and the servers are currently suffering from the sheer amount of players, it's hard to fault a game of this quality that is free to play (do not worry, it's not pay to win).
  8. blackbrrd
    Jan 2, 2014
    9
    I am a arpg-fan and started out playing Diablo 2 some years after release. Have also played quite a lot of Titan Quest and some others. I also played Diablo 3, but I never got hooked on it.

    I think Path of Exile does a really good job as an arpg, better than Diablo 3. It's really fun to level up a character. The fights are fun, with a good variation of mobs, cool boss packs and plenty    I am a arpg-fan and started out playing Diablo 2 some years after release. Have also played quite a lot of Titan Quest and some others. I also played Diablo 3, but I never got hooked on it.

    I think Path of Exile does a really good job as an arpg, better than Diablo 3. It's really fun to level up a character. The fights are fun, with a good variation of mobs, cool boss packs and plenty of good loot. The itemization is really good, with multiple properties being important and you regularily find a good item. For a noob to the game (it's pretty deep with loads of customization options), but familiar to the genre, the game is just hard enough. I died a couple of times and ran around like a headless chicken multiple times. Nothing is as fun as nearly dying, but getting away in a game like this.    … Expand
  9. Hereticus
    Nov 24, 2013
    10
    PoE is the Greatest action RPG ever created... bar none!, It starts off very simple and gradually becomes more complex as you level up and plan your path on the massive passive skill tree. The skill tree while only affecting passive traits is complex and requires much thought as to where you want it to take you, the flash and bang part of the game lies in the gem system and how you linkPoE is the Greatest action RPG ever created... bar none!, It starts off very simple and gradually becomes more complex as you level up and plan your path on the massive passive skill tree. The skill tree while only affecting passive traits is complex and requires much thought as to where you want it to take you, the flash and bang part of the game lies in the gem system and how you link gems on an item for more devastating effects. PoE is not perfect there is some occasional De-sync and the grouping system is only ok imop. The graphics are not as smooth as say D3 but still very nice. All this and its F2P but not at all P2W!! I have over 100 hours in this game and it is currently one of my most favorite games ever.… Expand
  10. Harmil
    Jan 27, 2014
    10
    Path of Exile is one of the finest of its action RPG genre to date. The depth and complexity of gameplay ramps very smoothly over time, but by the end, you're dealing with multiple overlapping and complex special abilities on enemies which you need plenty of tricks in your bag to overcome. The frequent special events are also quite a draw, and the amount of attention paid to the communityPath of Exile is one of the finest of its action RPG genre to date. The depth and complexity of gameplay ramps very smoothly over time, but by the end, you're dealing with multiple overlapping and complex special abilities on enemies which you need plenty of tricks in your bag to overcome. The frequent special events are also quite a draw, and the amount of attention paid to the community and the frequent updates are definitely a huge plus when compared to other F2P games!… Expand
  11. SeveredWing
    Nov 1, 2013
    9
    Diverging from most of the online micro-transaction games you find these days, Path of Exile takes a refreshing turn and opts to have a pay system that is purely "Pay to Awesome" rather than "Pay to Win". That is the real money market is all about cosmetic upgrades and a few utility upgrades (such as increased storage and the like). It is refreshing to find that there is such an attitudeDiverging from most of the online micro-transaction games you find these days, Path of Exile takes a refreshing turn and opts to have a pay system that is purely "Pay to Awesome" rather than "Pay to Win". That is the real money market is all about cosmetic upgrades and a few utility upgrades (such as increased storage and the like). It is refreshing to find that there is such an attitude in the online gaming community. That being said the game itself has a few issues. Most notably is the ability to connect and stay connected to the servers. I routinely have found myself "timed out" for no particular reason and then waiting in a queue of anywhere from 200-2000 people trying to get back in. High latency also can be an issue and as it is an ARPG such things can get you killed, this is a really big deal in the higher end Leagues where death is permanent or carries severe penalties. Aside from that is also the issue of graphical optimization. While the game runs great on a current gen PC (anything with 512MB video card and a decent CPU) it suffers on portable systems such as laptops with integrated GPUs (it even ran sluggishly on my laptop with an nVidia GTX 760M with 1GB dedicated RAM). This is only an issue for those who like to play on a mobile unit like a laptop, but the graphics settings are sparse with little in the way of "low quality" for graphical settings (the lowest texture package is medium). It is hard to draw a comparison from this game to Diablo 2 as much of the game seems to be taken straight from Diablo 2, especially the overhead map and Life/Mana bubbles. That aside it has a refreshing progression system that literally has hundreds of possible avenues of progression and with the socketed skill system the customization of a specific character is practically limitless. This alone makes the game endlessly fun.… Expand
  12. Kryonix
    Jan 6, 2014
    10
    Best game of the last 10 years for me.

    If you like loot, this game is for you.
    If you played D2, this game is for you.
    If you like unique builds, this game is for you.

    Truly F2P, truly amazing.
  13. TzarBuba
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    Path of Exile Diablo 3, Path of Exile have so much potential this game mean ARPG/Hack n' Slash. Potential of this game will be what will lead ARPG/Hack n' Slash genre forward. i'm really fascinating about what future will give us.
  14. memyself22
    Oct 26, 2013
    9
    This game is by far way better than diablo 3 or other games out right now, amazing graphics and tons of choices to customize with throughout the experience. There is one big downfall that a lot of gamers have noticed lately, when playing through if you run out of portals your stuck wherever your at. for a few people this is absent minded but when you have to back track taking half an hourThis game is by far way better than diablo 3 or other games out right now, amazing graphics and tons of choices to customize with throughout the experience. There is one big downfall that a lot of gamers have noticed lately, when playing through if you run out of portals your stuck wherever your at. for a few people this is absent minded but when you have to back track taking half an hour or longer it can get really bad. Other than this the game is incredible and worth playing and spending major time on!!… Expand
  15. fraMe1983
    Oct 29, 2013
    9
    Better than Diablo III -
    Gameplay 10
    Design 8,5
    Bugs only a few
    item rarity 9 -
    skill tree 10
    complex 8,5
    tuning mod for items 10

    so all in all for a free to play 9 91%
  16. sirkel
    Dec 1, 2013
    9
    Wow amazing game and it is free? Are you kidding me, yes that is right, they make money off of the item store sales and that is it. You would think that would mean the game is some cheap Chinese junk, well it isn't, this isn't, and it isn't Chinese at all, it is western. Dare I say this game is better than Diablo 3? Yeah I would say it is by a long shot. The graphics, music, and atmosphereWow amazing game and it is free? Are you kidding me, yes that is right, they make money off of the item store sales and that is it. You would think that would mean the game is some cheap Chinese junk, well it isn't, this isn't, and it isn't Chinese at all, it is western. Dare I say this game is better than Diablo 3? Yeah I would say it is by a long shot. The graphics, music, and atmosphere is nice, as is the gem skill system. The map randomization is good as well. Is the game 100% perfect, no, but it is good. If you are a Diablo type fan, definitely check this out. You may have a few issues at first getting it to install, some do and don't.… Expand
  17. Cpt_Brutality
    Nov 15, 2013
    10
    The depth of this game is unmatched. The greatest Arpg since Diablo 2. Pretty high learning curve but all worth it once you pass that! Im playing the game for over a year now (closed beta) and loving every single minute of it. Also the development team is epic as can be!!
  18. Gurgl
    Dec 31, 2013
    10
    An ARPG in the spirit of Diablo II with even more depth and complexity and thus infinite replay value. This is a game for people who like to customize their characters, plan out builds and then try them out. Choice matters in this game, you can't just change your mind and alter your build at any point without cost.

    This game brings many revolutionary innovations to the genre. The potion    An ARPG in the spirit of Diablo II with even more depth and complexity and thus infinite replay value. This is a game for people who like to customize their characters, plan out builds and then try them out. Choice matters in this game, you can't just change your mind and alter your build at any point without cost.

    This game brings many revolutionary innovations to the genre. The potion system is brilliant, health and mana potions that replenish charges when you kill enemies. The potions can also have magical affixes that make them gain charges on critical strikes, dispel frozen effects on use or increase armour on use to name a few.

    The game has optional special events that run several times each day where characters compete in leveling as far as possible in a set amount of time. These events alernate between different rulesets that keeps them fresh and interesting. The game has no traditional currency system, instead it uses different orbs and scrolls as currency that are used for crafting gear in the game.

    Path of Exile is free to play done right, you can not pay real money to become more powerful. You can pay for cosmetic items, pets, weapon effects, spell effects and more stash tabs where you can store items.    … Expand
  19. Fawlcon
    Dec 30, 2013
    9
    Path of Exile versus Diablo III

    Path of Exile has more in common with Diablo III than differences; i.e. game play, view, combat, weapons, leveling, etc... But as much as they are alike, they are also different. Diablo III is a more polished game in the realm of graphics, game play, storyline and ability to trade items and buy items…but you also pay a price. I liked Diablo and would    Path of Exile versus Diablo III

    Path of Exile has more in common with Diablo III than differences; i.e. game play, view, combat, weapons, leveling, etc... But as much as they are alike, they are also different. Diablo III is a more polished game in the realm of graphics, game play, storyline and ability to trade items and buy items…but you also pay a price. I liked Diablo and would give it an overall B+. The same can be said about Path of Exile, which I would give a B+; but for different reasons.

    I like or Love; It is free…no risk. Graphics and story-line for this game are very good, not great, but for a free to play I am pleased enough. Weapon and amour system is similar to everything else, but different enough you find yourself tweaking and tweaking. Cool and abundant character selection with mind blowing ways of leveling up and fighting and spell tweaks. Making your own amour & weapons is fun, easy and interesting, but not so easy that you will get awesome amour or weapons without effort. As I am sure most of you know, the skill tree is huge…but if you take a little time to really study it; I believe you will enjoy the system they developed and ways you can level up. Like the currency system of barter, but it can become frustrating; read below. Great and easy co-op if you want to play with a friend.

    I don’t like or hated. Small character inventory which has you running back and forth to town WAY TOO often to unload treasure. I hate having to pick up gobs and gobs of useless stuff, but in order to have plenty of identification and portal scrolls and build up an inventory of needed stones and orbs for later use; you are forced too. The bad part is all they would have to do is add a feature that allowed you to instantly scrap a normal or low level magic item for the required scroll scraps OR to go ahead and hall it back to town if you think it might bring in a better price. This way when your inventory fills up with items worth bartering, you could make the trip back to town; but if you want top dollar for everything, you can still hall everything if you want.

    Towards to end of Act II I began to tire just a little, but about that time the difficulty and abilities of amour and weapons changed a little and “support” stones began to make an appearance. This freshened up things a bit and shows they put thought into the long term evolution of your characters…kudos.

    Recommendations for a better game:
    Have 10 to 20 percent of the story line quests be some type of problem solving, riddles or Tomb Raider type puzzle; versus just finding the key or killing the next boss.

    Fix the inventory system and figure a way you can cut trips to town selling crap by 75%!
    If possible, an auction house similar to eBay’s “Buy it Now” would be awesome, but keep it simple. Each person (free account) can post 5 items for sale and can state what stones, gems etc. they will take for said item.

    Final thought. In some ways I feel like this game is a rip off of Diablo III, in some ways better and in some ways worse. But after playing it for 48 hrs, Path of Exile is just different enough and fun enough that I do feel like I am playing a unique game that is just similar to Diablo III and not a copy of it.    … Expand
  20. Cuecuemore
    Jan 27, 2015
    10
    This is the best ARPG since Diablo II. This is actually the spiritual successor to D2, since Blizzard didn't bother to try with D3. The passive skill web is brilliant, the active skills are incredibly customizable, the game mechanics are rock solid. The only thing wrong with this game is the desync. Yeah, you'll die to some desync. Minus a quarter point for that, but that leaves this gameThis is the best ARPG since Diablo II. This is actually the spiritual successor to D2, since Blizzard didn't bother to try with D3. The passive skill web is brilliant, the active skills are incredibly customizable, the game mechanics are rock solid. The only thing wrong with this game is the desync. Yeah, you'll die to some desync. Minus a quarter point for that, but that leaves this game at a solid 10.75/10. Oh yeah, and it's free.… Expand
  21. nymm
    Jan 2, 2014
    8
    This Free 2 play game consists of some excellent and simple gameplay, that will without a doubt keep you entertained for hours on end. It is also worthy of mentioning the game's original skill tree, which lets you decide however you want to play your character. It's a great game that i worth mentioning and free stuff is always a joy.
  22. Charan
    Nov 1, 2013
    8
    There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as a free ARPG, unless it costs you money to download the client, in which case don't bother, because there are very frequent patches too.

    Path of Exile is worth every cent you'll spend on it.
  23. Wordenskjold
    Jan 3, 2014
    9
    PoE is a highly addictive Diablo-style game. Extremely simple at first glance, it has a surprisingly complex skill and item system, which makes for hours and hours of fun free gameplay. There is no Pay-To-Win in PoE, as all In-game purchases are almost entirely cosmetic with item stash slots as the exception. I bought them mainly to support the developers.
    Kudos to you guys at Grinding    PoE is a highly addictive Diablo-style game. Extremely simple at first glance, it has a surprisingly complex skill and item system, which makes for hours and hours of fun free gameplay. There is no Pay-To-Win in PoE, as all In-game purchases are almost entirely cosmetic with item stash slots as the exception. I bought them mainly to support the developers.
    Kudos to you guys at Grinding Gear Games!    … Expand
  24. Arcane_Ape
    Apr 18, 2019
    8
    Looking for deeper game play and class options than Diablo then try POE. Oh plus it is free to play. One of the few free to play games done right.
  25. Iateyourcookies
    Mar 7, 2016
    10
    This game is pure art, it's mechanics, it's atmosphere,music just gold. I started playing this game because I saw that my cousin played for about 700 hours, so I thought that it is probably worth playing this game if he played it for so long .Oh boy,was I right. For three days brilliant Path of Exile was the only game I played.
    This game is really worth playing , and don't believe people    This game is pure art, it's mechanics, it's atmosphere,music just gold. I started playing this game because I saw that my cousin played for about 700 hours, so I thought that it is probably worth playing this game if he played it for so long .Oh boy,was I right. For three days brilliant Path of Exile was the only game I played.
    This game is really worth playing , and don't believe people that say it is full of micro transactions because it is not it is purely optional.
    I love this game and you should definitely play it .    … Expand
  26. Rosenbajger
    Jun 25, 2017
    10
    Extensive and fun MMORPG game for our time, although it is free to play, is better than other big companies (Blizzard). Nice graphics, nice game mechanics, new arrivals, new games, great game for PoE Orbs. It is worth adding information about the new Fall of Oriath add-on that will double the PoE content. For all beginners players I recommend reading the PoE Orbs guideExtensive and fun MMORPG game for our time, although it is free to play, is better than other big companies (Blizzard). Nice graphics, nice game mechanics, new arrivals, new games, great game for PoE Orbs. It is worth adding information about the new Fall of Oriath add-on that will double the PoE content. For all beginners players I recommend reading the PoE Orbs guide
    https://odealo.com/articles/path-of-exile-beginners-guide-to-orbs

    With a clear conscience I'm setting a 10/10 rating, because until now PoE is setting standards    … Expand
  27. Reverse_U
    Dec 6, 2019
    8
    Best in class game with perfect monetization system, regular updates, constantly growing playerbase, large variety of builds and good replayability. 8.5/10.
  28. The_Janitor
    Dec 6, 2019
    10
    The best alternative to Diablo you can get.
    While the entry barrier of the game is a little bit high and the ridicolous amount of systems the game has accumulated over the years will take some time to get used to, the game as a whole offers the player a lot to sink their time into.
    GGG keeps on developing new and interesting ways to optimize your character and slash through insane    The best alternative to Diablo you can get.
    While the entry barrier of the game is a little bit high and the ridicolous amount of systems the game has accumulated over the years will take some time to get used to, the game as a whole offers the player a lot to sink their time into.
    GGG keeps on developing new and interesting ways to optimize your character and slash through insane amounts of monsters while the community keeps an elaborated trade economy going that allows even new players to get their fair share of good loot.
    The community has two faces, an ugly and borderline toxic one which is filled ot the brim with black humor and politically incorrect inside jokes and one that will welcome new players with open arms.
    The Mods aren't going to outright crush players for being a little bit rough around the edges but will let the player know if they go too far.

    Now to the spicy part of the review,
    THE MICROTRANSACTIONS!

    The MTX of this game are purely cosmetic for the most parts, but there are also some QoL microtransactions to be found which are fortunately not needed to enjoy the game to the fullest.

    The Pricing of the MTX is a little bit high but since the game is Free to play it is somewhat understandable that GGG is a little bit demanding here. There are Supporter packs that can cost up to 500 Dollars but will clutter evental buyers with Ingame and Real life goodies like artbooks figurines and more... I guess this is the obvious option for hardcore fans of the game that want to keep on supporting the game they love.

    I let you know that there are ways to obtain Cosmetics during the so called "Leagues" which bring new content on a regular basis and will demand some skill to unlock everything during the average lenght of a League (3 Months).

    I really recommend this game if you are into this genre. Bring some time to get used to it's many many systems and you'll find a lot to do. It's good for the casual player and freakingly awesome if you can invest some time into the leagues.    … Expand
  29. LinkThePast
    Feb 18, 2020
    10
    The best Hack'n Slash ! Gameplay, endgame, The skiil tree, gamedesign et performance are just amazing.
  30. Mastodon
    Jun 8, 2015
    9
    In my humble opinion, this is the TRUE successor to Diablo II. While POE falls off a bit in the late late game there is a major expansion coming out this summer to address that.... and thus far I have never seen Grinding Gear Games release even a small patch that didn't improve the game. These developers are unbelievable. If only other games shared the same attitude and strategies asIn my humble opinion, this is the TRUE successor to Diablo II. While POE falls off a bit in the late late game there is a major expansion coming out this summer to address that.... and thus far I have never seen Grinding Gear Games release even a small patch that didn't improve the game. These developers are unbelievable. If only other games shared the same attitude and strategies as Grinding Gear the market would be a much happier place right now.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best PC Game of 2013
18
#18 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
14
#14 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. RPGamer
    May 9, 2014
    100
    Grinding Gear Games has created something special here, and given it gratis to the world.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 11, 2014
    88
    Hack & slash games are addictive because they follow a simple formula: kill, kill and kill some more. Path of Exile is no different in this regard. During your quest in the perilous continent of Wraeclast you need to slay thousands and thousands of monsters but it never gets boring because there are a plenty of fresh ideas like the very vast skill system and barter-based economy that differentiate it from other similar games. But it's not a perfect game. The story is weak and the difficulty level is too low in the beginning. [Dec 2013]
  3. PC Gamer
    Jan 13, 2014
    84
    An exceptionally generous free-to-play action-rPG. What it lacks in punch it makes up for in depth and value for money.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »