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. ryanone142
    Jun 14, 2023
    10
    I have 10k hours in this game and love it. Best game I have played in 5 years. Played D4 for a couple weeks and it shows, the gap on how much better this game is large. Cant wait for next season.
  2. 7chease
    Jun 16, 2023
    10
    The best arpg out there. Has a mode for all sorts of prefered play styles
    Solo
    Group
    Hardcore
    Ladder
    Item scarcity
  3. NLForkNL
    Sep 10, 2023
    10
    Absolute beauty this one. Not even Metacritic can silence me here. Get wrecked.
  4. Nevez
    Aug 10, 2023
    10
    + Replayable
    + Constant learning
    + Free
    + Passionate devs

    - Toxic community
    - Some nerfs may feel unwarranted at times
    - May be too complicated for new players.
  5. IPAITH
    Jul 9, 2023
    10
    Without a doubt the absolute pinnacle of ARPG genre.
    Complex character builds & crafting systems, can spend hours upon hours just planning your character and what gearing you should be aiming for.
    High character power cap, you can min-max until you're deleting whole screens of mobs and feel like a literal god. Huge and working economy. You build your wealth and spend it on the gear you    Without a doubt the absolute pinnacle of ARPG genre.
    Complex character builds & crafting systems, can spend hours upon hours just planning your character and what gearing you should be aiming for.
    High character power cap, you can min-max until you're deleting whole screens of mobs and feel like a literal god.
    Huge and working economy. You build your wealth and spend it on the gear you need. Dropped an awesome item you don't need for yourself? Go sell it, you just got rich, congratz.
    Incredible music.

    These devs release content every 3 months. Completely free.    … Expand
  6. Luciela
    Jul 19, 2023
    10
    It's a fragmentary but beautiful story. Full of rich content. Fluent gameplay. An excellent crafting system. You can feel yourself getting stronger and making progress. Although it is not included in the in-game system, there is a trade system. Regardless of the system, there is an excellent internal trade structure. Almost every item in the game can be traded. It has a wide variety ofIt's a fragmentary but beautiful story. Full of rich content. Fluent gameplay. An excellent crafting system. You can feel yourself getting stronger and making progress. Although it is not included in the in-game system, there is a trade system. Regardless of the system, there is an excellent internal trade structure. Almost every item in the game can be traded. It has a wide variety of builds. Yes, there are meta builds in this game, but there are also builds that you can be strong independent of meta builds. The game gives you that opportunity. You don't have to play all of the content. The game has given you an atlas tree, and thanks to it, you can eliminate the content you don't like and increase the rewarding of the ones you like. The game becomes much more enjoyable. Endgame is very good. The missing part of the game is that the game engine is old and the graphics are insufficient today. But a big expansion is coming soon. It's called Path of Exile 2, but it's actually a big expansion. The game engine was recoded and the graphics were renewed. This expansion will offer us a more fluid and optimized gameplay. With this expansion, the gem skill system will become independent of items. In this way, the variety of items that we can reach in the early game will be enriched. We will also be able to reach more gem skills. In this way, we will be able to navigate the maps fluently with more than one skill. What a game. The ARPG Legend. We can call it the souls game of isometric ARPGs. It's not for everyone.… Expand
  7. DartPancake
    Jul 21, 2023
    10
    PoE took Diablo 2 as a base and became a new standard of the genre. Not everything is great - handling of character can be better. But it is best almost at everything else - a lot of interesting mechanics, build and skill diversity, huge potential of customizing your character (passive tree, jewels, skill gems and skill support gems), trade and economics, great crafting system.

    In PoE    PoE took Diablo 2 as a base and became a new standard of the genre. Not everything is great - handling of character can be better. But it is best almost at everything else - a lot of interesting mechanics, build and skill diversity, huge potential of customizing your character (passive tree, jewels, skill gems and skill support gems), trade and economics, great crafting system.

    In PoE you can do everything you want - you just need to learn how

    About Free to Play - I prefer PoE over Diablo model of monetisation. With equal money that you pay for Diablo you can buy here everything you need a few times. In reality you need around 30-40$ for tabs and you're very comfy, without them it's ok to play as well - I played at least first 500 hours without them. In Diablo I quit 70$ game after 300 hours. Also I personally like what PoE designers can do with shop skins. And skins for skills are just too tier. You can play the same build for years but feel it different just by buying other skins.

    PoE have one of the best development teams. They release a lot of content very often and with minimum bugs. Maybe GGG managers and designers make wrong decisions some time, but overall they hear players most of the time and doing good job at supporting one of the biggest and complex games of RPG genre.

    PoE may confuse you sometimes, but I think that it's better when it's not easy to master the game. I prefer to learn something new after 1000 hours of the game. Good job, GGG. Just listen to your players a little bit more and all will be great    … Expand
  8. ForstenRAY
    Jul 22, 2023
    10
    The best sandbox for the hardcore gamer. There are plenty of opportunities to do something interesting. Of course, I would like to see more opportunities to play content on long-forgotten and nerfed builds, but that's what we have.
  9. quintincford
    Jul 23, 2023
    10
    The best game that has ever been created, Chris Wilson made a literal masterpiece and he will be remembered as the god of arpg genre. 10/10
  10. skyincow
    Jul 26, 2023
    10
    Best ARPG ever made on earth, and most complete / deep game you can find on the universe. If you have time to lost, Exile yourself in the biggest journey u've ever had
  11. Kalandra
    Jul 26, 2023
    10
    Its just the best game in its genre. So much content, so interesting to create your own build and path.
  12. rodericrinehart
    Aug 7, 2017
    9
    Obviously, this is an ARPG for fans of Diablo III, Torchlight II, and many others. But it is FREE (legit F2P), and equals Diablo 3 in quality in almost every way. Huge community, playerbase, and continued support makes you feel good about playing it. It was a lot of fun, and I'm sure I will return to it again, and again.
  13. Dangles
    Nov 5, 2013
    9
    A much deeper, more balanced ARPG compared to Diablo III and certainly a better spiritual successor to Diablo II. The vibe is dark and griity much like D2 and the skill tree is vast and intertwining across every class. Currency is now dealt in useful items, eliminating player generated markets (such as the SoJ) and no god awful auction houses.

    Best of all, it's F2P and not P2W    A much deeper, more balanced ARPG compared to Diablo III and certainly a better spiritual successor to Diablo II. The vibe is dark and griity much like D2 and the skill tree is vast and intertwining across every class. Currency is now dealt in useful items, eliminating player generated markets (such as the SoJ) and no god awful auction houses.

    Best of all, it's F2P and not P2W (micro-transactions only give you cosmetics and stash tabs). Definitely worth your time if you feel jaded by the disappointment of D3.    … Expand
  14. Ozimandeus
    Oct 25, 2013
    9
    I love this little game. It brings much to the genre and really rewards the player. It lacks an Epic feel to most encounters that Diablo 3 delivers and the story is rather poor and cliched. But it plays well and the skill tree is very impressive indeed. Value for money is off the scale.. Get it.
  15. SquishyEye
    Feb 13, 2014
    9
    This game is what Diablo 3 should have been like. I played Diablo 1 when it first came out and for the next several years if anyone asked me what my favourite game was - I would have answered without hesitation - "Diablo". And then the sequels came out, neither one of which could compare to the original. Path of Exile takes what was great about the original Diablo and actually uses it,This game is what Diablo 3 should have been like. I played Diablo 1 when it first came out and for the next several years if anyone asked me what my favourite game was - I would have answered without hesitation - "Diablo". And then the sequels came out, neither one of which could compare to the original. Path of Exile takes what was great about the original Diablo and actually uses it, unlike its sequels, while at the same time adding cool new features.
    It's a pretty short game, experienced players can go from start to finish on the first difficulty level in 2-4 hours. That is a bonus in these types of games because it contributes to replayability - you can easily try out different character builds while not wasting 10 hours going through the game. Some other games try to solve this by letting you completely re-spec your character, and well - those games I will not be replaying, since there is no motivation to do so. And remember - in this type of game the gameplay IS mostly character customization, since there isn't exactly an amazing story or skill and precision-required combat like in action-adventure or fps games. It's all about the combination of abilities you pick and your inventory.
    The best aspect of this game is, of course, the skills and abilities. This is where Diablo 3 failed, and Path Of Exile very much succeeded. Giant passive abilities tree, every class has access to every other class' skills. Some people complain that the freedom is illusionary and you're still stuck within your class boundaries if you want to make a playable character - and that's not true. If you're playing casually and are not trying to make a hardcore character to last all 3 difficulty levels - you can make viable builds of all kinds and still have fun. Combining skills with other skills is an amazing feature too, and is something I really wish I saw more of in other games. I'm still finding new fun combinations using skills I've overlooked in the past, (spell totem + spark + multiple projectiles + fork = you got your own mini boss from one of the areas!).
    At a first glance this game appears to have the same "trash" problem as Diablo - useless (non magic) items all over the ground that you'll never bother picking up. Except this issue has actually been addressed in Path of Exile. There are skills that let you use up non-magical weapon and armor items lying on the ground to create a companion, who actually inherits the properties of those items (for example, if one of those items had energy shield - the companion will have it too). And these items can also be converted to magical if one so desires, for example in case of an optimal socket configuration (which sometimes is impossible to find).
    Music and art assets are good too. I read in someone's review that "music was crap" and honestly have no idea what they are talking about. (they probably don't either).
    Unlike any other game of this genre, Path of Exile also has end-game content: once you reach a certain level you start finding "maps" that give you access to stand-alone high-level areas.
    The one thing I would not praise is the story, but then again this is not the right genre to expect a great story from, (that's what Bioware RPG's are for).
    Although of course, if you're one of those people who will hate on this game just because it's a Diablo clone and/or doesn't have a Blizzard stamp on it - then don't bother playing it, because no matter how good the quality of the game is you'll blindly hate it anyway.    … Expand
  16. Krehlmar
    Oct 23, 2013
    9
    There's some people complaining about the economy in PoE. Let me tell you why they are wrong in short and simple terms.

    Diablo 3 (yes, ofcourse it has to be mentioned) had the Auction House, problem with this was if you didn't play for a week or two all your stuff usually fell in price drastically making you useless. Having to stay up at night or set alarms to try and win auctions. PoE    There's some people complaining about the economy in PoE. Let me tell you why they are wrong in short and simple terms.

    Diablo 3 (yes, ofcourse it has to be mentioned) had the Auction House, problem with this was if you didn't play for a week or two all your stuff usually fell in price drastically making you useless. Having to stay up at night or set alarms to try and win auctions.
    PoE economics are based on a lot of currencies, the thing about these is that they are ALL USED in the crafting and usage of everyday items/maps in the game. What results is that there is hardly any inflation. Where in Diablo 3 your 1 million gold was worth a lot at launch and now useless, my items and currencies I got over half a year ago in this game are still largely the same in worth.

    What this evolves to is that PoE has a stable economy that lets people play for a few hours, days, or whichever, leave the game, and return later and still feel engaged and fresh! You always feel like you are making progress towards the bigger hole.

    As for the gameplay, remember in Diablo II how people could come up with these quarky builds and make them work?! I remember a duel-wield potion-throwing barbarian. Now in Diablo III there was nothing of the sort, pretty much every class had a "best" build (at least in HC).
    In PoE there are nearly limitless builds and combinations, every class can do everything.

    Want to be a two-hand melee witch (the frail magic caster)? You can make it work.
    Want to be a huge maurader specialized on traps or minions? Go for it!

    HOWEVER; There are some drawbacks to this, you usually need some tips on how to build a good character (the forums, reddit etc) and you should be prepared that during some levels of your build you will be pretty bad, just like in Diablo II there is a dead zone before your plan goes into fruition.

    That said, this is the spiritual and evolved successor to Diablo II in my opinion.
    Is it perfect? Not at all. But it's worth giving a try, especially with friends     … Expand
  17. Mudpuppyuk
    Jan 20, 2014
    9
    Having played a lot of hack & slash - lots'o'loot games namely Diablo 2 & 3, Torchlight 1 & 2, Van Helsing, Titan quest and a few more - Path of Exile is one of the better ones. The classes are fun, the passive tallents and the way you can create any build is simply unique and amazing as well as collecting gems and leveling them up as your skills. And to top it all off... IT'S FREE! TheirHaving played a lot of hack & slash - lots'o'loot games namely Diablo 2 & 3, Torchlight 1 & 2, Van Helsing, Titan quest and a few more - Path of Exile is one of the better ones. The classes are fun, the passive tallents and the way you can create any build is simply unique and amazing as well as collecting gems and leveling them up as your skills. And to top it all off... IT'S FREE! Their microtransactions is not pay to win and they don't hold any content back. One play through from level 1 on normal mode should give you about 25 to 28 hours.… Expand
  18. untested1
    Oct 28, 2013
    9
    Man, this game this game so good.

    The visuals are good enough to enjoy the game. They're not the best, but they make it so that the game runs even on older PC's well enough. The music in the game is extremely good. The sound effects are good and they'll remind you of the good, old Diablo 2 games. On top of that you'll come across the same addictive potential Diablo 2 had to offer.    Man, this game this game so good.

    The visuals are good enough to enjoy the game. They're not the best, but they make it so that the game runs even on older PC's well enough.
    The music in the game is extremely good. The sound effects are good and they'll remind you of the good, old Diablo 2 games. On top of that you'll come across the same addictive potential Diablo 2 had to offer.
    The atmosphere is top notch, the enemy variety is there and there is even a great story behind, if you pay attention at the game. Talk to the NPC's, learn more about them. You won't regret it.

    And the best thing about the game: It is totally free. Download it, play it, enjoy it.

    There is only one "problem" I have with the game and that's the difficulty factor. The game can be merciless to newcomers. You will probably have to delete your character sooner or later, because you will realize that you messed the skill tree up, which can be quite overwhelming at the beginning. You will realize that some classes like the summoner or a good specced marauder have it easier than other classes. To avoid frustration I would recommend you to start with the summoner as the first class and concentrate on your demons to do the work for you. It will make it a lot easier at the beginning and you will learn the game better.

    Enjoy!    … Expand
  19. nomemory
    Feb 9, 2015
    9
    It's 2015, and I still play this game. True, I am not playing with the same intensity as I did back in 2013, but from time to time I allocate some time to finish a high level map with old characters.

    Why ? It's fun, and playing the game on Hardcore (permanent death) gives you a feeling of pressure and attachment to your character. Others have said this is the spiritual successor of    It's 2015, and I still play this game. True, I am not playing with the same intensity as I did back in 2013, but from time to time I allocate some time to finish a high level map with old characters.

    Why ? It's fun, and playing the game on Hardcore (permanent death) gives you a feeling of pressure and attachment to your character.

    Others have said this is the spiritual successor of Diablo 2. I do not agree. There are too many innovations and mechanics that are original and specific to PoE, that's hardly a D2 clone. The only things that can remind of you D2 are the graphics which are gloomy and less cartoonish than for example Torchlight and D3.

    What I love about the game:

    - The skill tree : in theory it's immense. Unfortunately you won't be able to pick everything you like, so in order for your build to be viable in the end game you will need to make "sacrifices" and "decisions", for example sometimes you need to sacrifice a little bit of your damage in order to increase your life.

    - Items: There's a nice synergy between the items and the skills. Basically you can have builds that only work if you posses a specific Unique item(s). Also there are builds that can be augmented by possessing items with certain stats. So when you create your build you need to think in anticipation.

    - Crafting: The game currency in the game are Orbs (there's no money in the game). Orbs can be used to augment your items: add new properties, increase the number of sockets in your items, etc.

    - End game: This is one of the few RPGs that have a nice end-game: Maps. I won't explain in detail how Maps works, but trust me, they add a lof of content after you will finish all the chapters in the game.

    There are a lot of things that make PoE shine, but I let you discover them.    … Expand
  20. TankGeorge
    Nov 5, 2013
    9
    No doubt, this is actually the best ARPG in the market and here is why:

    cons: - Connection issues aka de-sync. - Hostile to new players. No tutorials, no guides. pros: + Bones, bodies, gore, blood. No rainbows and voice acting. + Very high difficulty, even if you know the game and have solid character. Yet still, skill and knowledge helps overcome this difficulty. Not luck and    No doubt, this is actually the best ARPG in the market and here is why:

    cons:
    - Connection issues aka de-sync.
    - Hostile to new players. No tutorials, no guides.

    pros:
    + Bones, bodies, gore, blood. No rainbows and voice acting.
    + Very high difficulty, even if you know the game and have solid character. Yet still, skill and knowledge helps overcome this difficulty. Not luck and gear.
    + Complex game mechanics. You have to decide, how to solve mobility, survivability and damage from multiple possibilities. Therefore, you have to decide your way in skill tree, active gems usage, flasks, equip.
    + Endgame.
    + Events, leagues, ladders.

    The "problem" with Path of Exile is, that GGG developers are miraculously awesome. They are fixing and improving things so fast, that's scary to think, where all cons can be in few weeks, or months. They fixed major disconnecting issue during one weekend! I believe, they can fix de-sync over time. They are planning to add content. Improve graphic, sound etc I was blown away, how they improving specifically this during beta! Being witness of the scale and speed of improvements, I'm starting to think, if a new World of Warcraft was born? Since Path of Exile killed Diablo 3 oneshoot crit over 9000.    … Expand
  21. 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
  22. Metrogirl
    Mar 3, 2014
    9
    Path of Exile is an excellent game and I make that statement at 100+ hours played. It isn't without its flaws, so the bad news first:

    -I've had a few issues with de-sync, but it isn't so consistent to detract from the game. -There's also a bit of a learning curve figuring out the skill tree and currency system, but I honestly enjoy that in a game. Though to some this is a big    Path of Exile is an excellent game and I make that statement at 100+ hours played. It isn't without its flaws, so the bad news first:

    -I've had a few issues with de-sync, but it isn't so consistent to detract from the game.

    -There's also a bit of a learning curve figuring out the skill tree and currency system, but I honestly enjoy that in a game. Though to some this is a big detractor.

    -The game is also for all intents and purposes a clone of Diablo. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a redesign of the health/mana globes and potion belt are long overdue.

    -This is a grind for gear game just like all the other titles in the genre, so don't expect it to break the mold in that respect.

    Now for the good news.

    +It's completely free. No catch. No advertisements, no pay to win, no trial run. This should be THE model that free games follow. You can show your support for the game by purchasing weapon particle effects, non-combat pets, and alternate spell animations from the website. There's also supporter packs that give you real world goods like hats and shirts.

    +The leagues and ladders are an interesting way to keep the game fresh. Joining a league server means you're entering a fresh game economy. Each league also adds different challenges for the player to overcome.

    +I also really enjoy the twist on game mechanics. The skill tree, refilling potions, and the use of skill gems are all interesting variations on the style.

    +Though story always takes a backseat in this type of game, there is one being told. It's nothing earth shattering, but I've enjoyed the pieces of story put into the game. I also love the voice actors for the game.    … Expand
  23. JRPGmaniac
    Nov 8, 2013
    9
    The "TRUE" successor to Diablo 2, this other game Blizztards name Diablo III is a sh1ty game with cartoon graphics & washed out colors it's nothing like the past 2 original Diablo games, D3 was made for WoW fans not Diablo fans, PoE have unparalleled depth when D3 have not even char builds, u can learn all the skills & change them anytime u want, so in D3 they remove attribute points, theyThe "TRUE" successor to Diablo 2, this other game Blizztards name Diablo III is a sh1ty game with cartoon graphics & washed out colors it's nothing like the past 2 original Diablo games, D3 was made for WoW fans not Diablo fans, PoE have unparalleled depth when D3 have not even char builds, u can learn all the skills & change them anytime u want, so in D3 they remove attribute points, they remove skill points, they remove char builds, they change the visuals to WoW-like cartoon graphics & strip the game from Gothic/horror atmosphere, in comparison PoE have the right atmosphere amazing Gothic dungeons, it's full of gore & blood, it have nice gritty/more realistic graphics, there is hundreds of possible char builds & customization that never seen before on any ARPG ever, yep PoE is truly the real successor to Diablo 2.

    This is the game all old school Diablo fans asked for & the most crazy thing? it doesn't cost a penny to start playing right NOW! so what u w8 for if u r an old school Diablo fan or ARPG fan in general that's the best game of this genre ever made by far!    … Expand
  24. theirrelephants
    Sep 6, 2016
    9
    This game is basically what Diablo 3 should have been. I really shouldn't need to say anything else. If you enjoyed the diablo series by blizzard, you will like PoE. If you didn't, you won't.
  25. 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
  26. birdman3
    Mar 13, 2015
    9
    Best free-to-play game I've ever played. The unique skill and currency system that the game offers takes some serious getting-used-to, but it provides the game with an interesting flavor that makes it truly unique. When all is said and done, it's what I'm going to remember most about this game. I found that using the currency (these gems and whatnot) to try and improve my armor and weaponsBest free-to-play game I've ever played. The unique skill and currency system that the game offers takes some serious getting-used-to, but it provides the game with an interesting flavor that makes it truly unique. When all is said and done, it's what I'm going to remember most about this game. I found that using the currency (these gems and whatnot) to try and improve my armor and weapons was fantastic (when I got what I wanted!) and frustrating (when I didn't). I also enjoyed making choices about what weapons I wanted to use based on what skills I wanted to use- sometimes it almost became a puzzle to coordinate my skills, my sockets, and my weapon types so that I could use Cleave even though my weapon was socketed with all green sockets. That was enjoyable.

    I played this game with friends all the way through, and I don't see myself getting into the endgame or becoming active in the community or PVP or anything like that- I really enjoyed the PvE aspect and the fact that on a whim I said to my friends "Hey, let's try Path of Exile". It's free, so we all already owned it, and each one of us enjoyed it immensely. Is it perfect? It was a perfect experience for us.    … Expand
  27. Artinuis
    Oct 11, 2013
    9
    Anyone who enjoyed Diablo 2 (especially the Median XL mods) will find the game they have been looking for in Path of Exile.

    There are many things that make PoE great, but the one that stands out the most is build diversity. You can make literally dozens of characters that all have real, functionally different play-styles. If you get bored of one character, there's always another build    Anyone who enjoyed Diablo 2 (especially the Median XL mods) will find the game they have been looking for in Path of Exile.

    There are many things that make PoE great, but the one that stands out the most is build diversity. You can make literally dozens of characters that all have real, functionally different play-styles. If you get bored of one character, there's always another build to try (whether based on Keystone passives, or unique items). Finding combinations of passives, skill gems, support gems, and unique items that work well together is the core strategy aspect of this game. Oh, it's also FREE and (starting October 23) will be available (for FREE) on Steam. The game will continue to receive meaningful updates (skills, uniqes, new playable areas, etc.) *frequently* for the forseeable future (1 year+ guaranteed).

    The negative aspects are as other reviewers have mentioned: non-negligible desynchronization issues sometimes causes unpreventable deaths, and issues with item crafting feeling more like gambling than upgrading. The developers have already stated that they do not like the current crafting system, and have hinted that the system will be changed or even overhauled, whereas the desync issue is their biggest headache and may not be entirely fixable based on how their server/client system currently operates. These problems, among a small selection of minor issues, are why I did not give it a 10/10.

    Regardless, as a long time ARPG player, I can safely say that PoE has set the bar higher than all who have come before.    … Expand
  28. Snivonim
    Nov 13, 2013
    9
    Excellent game and the best Diablo Clone out there. Way Better than D3. Outstanding flexible and variable skill development combined with above average graphics and nice game play. If you enjoy hack and slash game play this is a must-have. Oh, and can't beat the price.
    main criticism at the moment is rocky server stability which I am sure is being worked out. However, although I like    Excellent game and the best Diablo Clone out there. Way Better than D3. Outstanding flexible and variable skill development combined with above average graphics and nice game play. If you enjoy hack and slash game play this is a must-have. Oh, and can't beat the price.
    main criticism at the moment is rocky server stability which I am sure is being worked out. However, although I like the random maps (ala D2) I don't think they should be rest on a timer. As long as you are logged in, what you have explored should be remembered; this is one aspect I would change.    … Expand
  29. teemu92
    Feb 2, 2014
    9
    If you enjoyed Diablo 2, this game will feel like a true sequel, i can see myself playing for years, definitely try it out.

    It is free to play, with a really fair micro-transactions!
  30. gedrevn
    Oct 29, 2013
    9
    It's a shame that the indie developers of Path of Exile, Grinding Gear Games, doesn't have the name and brand recognition that got Blizzard a bunch of inflated scores for Diablo 3. The fact that Path of Exile's game mechanics, world creation, and story writing are ages beyond the lackluster Blizzard release are telling of what game developers can accomplish with the right focus ratherIt's a shame that the indie developers of Path of Exile, Grinding Gear Games, doesn't have the name and brand recognition that got Blizzard a bunch of inflated scores for Diablo 3. The fact that Path of Exile's game mechanics, world creation, and story writing are ages beyond the lackluster Blizzard release are telling of what game developers can accomplish with the right focus rather than a huge budget.

    While the lack of currency may throw off some Diablo veterans, the ease at which Grinding Gear brings you into the world and the story make the transition a short learning curve. And the payoff is quite good.

    Path of Exile is a beautifully crafted world with one of the most complex and elegant character building designs seen in recent memory. The monsters, the bosses, the items all are wonderfully reminiscent of Diablo 3, with a little extra flare that makes them both unique and engaging.

    No other free-to-play game gives such a wide range of content and depth with as little interference from their microtransaction store. Definitely worth a try.    … 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.
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  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.
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