Path of Exile is a solid free-to-play game. It has more depth than most PS4 games at full price, and it is astonishing how much potential for character variety this game has with its multiple characters and intimidatingly large skill tree. This depth can be a big draw for some, but also wildly intimidating for more lax players. Combine this with an underwhelming and tiresome endgame, aPath of Exile is a solid free-to-play game. It has more depth than most PS4 games at full price, and it is astonishing how much potential for character variety this game has with its multiple characters and intimidatingly large skill tree. This depth can be a big draw for some, but also wildly intimidating for more lax players. Combine this with an underwhelming and tiresome endgame, a bevy of technical issues, and microtransactions that seem wildly overpriced, and you have yourself an initially gripping experience that drops the ball spectacularly once you reach the endgame.
When I began Path of Exile, there was this nostalgic thrill that brought me straight back to some of the highest highs of Diablo 2 (and even some great moments of Diablo 3), but with a modern flair and style. There is variety among each of the six (eventually seven) player characters, who each fill some niche of the Warrior-Rogue-Mage trinity that has been done to death in fantasy RPGs: The Duelist is the fast warrior; the Shadow is the magical rogue, and the Templar is the mage-warrior, to put it simply, alongside the Marauder, Ranger and Witch, who respectively fill the pure warrior, rogue and mage niches. Eventually, you also unlock the Scion, who is versatile enough to fill any one of these roles with ease. Within each of these 7 classes, too, there are Ascendancy classes that can allow you to specialize your role even more, making for a character that truly feels like it's "yours."
I would not personally call Path of Exile's main game excessively challenging - it present a manageable challenge if you gear your character adequately and learn its more complex aspects. New players may find this difficult, but if you put in the effort it asks you too, the game will be significantly more manageable. Of course, this is asking a lot, but I believe the game merits the time investment it asks of you... That is, in everything leading up to the endgame, or as it is called within the community, "mapping."
Path of Exile's endgame, if I were to be extremely generous, separates the casuals from the hardcore. It demands you know the game's mechanics head-to-toe, meet a consistently and ever-rising skill ceiling, and grind endlessly to increase your HP and damage to astronomical levels in order to progress. My generosity fades, however, when the game demands that you slay hundreds of on-screen enemies while the framerate plummets below 5 FPS, then proceeds to play catch-up with its own lag (Caused by both faulty connectivity and graphical limitations) while you helplessly watch your character die to causes that are difficult enough to discern when the game isn't chugging. Furthermore, the experience penalty upon dying makes grinding to level up (after the game has already made the level-up process much slower by the endgame) much more cumbersome and nauseating than it needs to be. To top it all off, the game does not lend itself well to individuality or excessive customization among its player base - in almost all cases, reaching the final bosses requires you to have a very large health pool and high damage numbers that can only be achieved by building your character the right way. And since the ability to re-distribute your passive skills is next to impossible (often only granted at specific times by the developers), reaching the endgame sometimes requires you to play through the entire game one more time. To me, this choice is one of obstinacy on the part of the developers, not a methodical choice that benefits the player's experience - it is frustration for its own sake, rather than for any sort of purpose.
Finally, the game possesses microtransactions that are mostly cosmetic in nature. However, if you wish to use the game's trading system to sell your unwanted gear, it asks you to pay $7.00 for in-game tokens to buy a Premium Stash Tab. You can buy gear from other players without spending a single in-game dollar, but the in-game currency required to buy certain gear is not easy to come by. In addition, cosmetics for your character easily cost upwards of $20.00, which seems egregious to me.
What you get with Path of Exile is an enjoyable action RPG with a strong early and mid-game, but drops the ball hard in the endgame. Frustrating technical issues, massive difficulty spikes and unreasonably-priced microtransactions make it hard for me to recommend playing the game after completing the main campaign (the story, by the way, may be interesting, but I found no reason to pay any attention to it). Play it through once, beat the final boss, play a few maps, then set your controller down and leave it behind. Only immense frustration awaits you after you reach the epilogue.… Expand
Path of ExileYour Score0 out of 10User Score
