I played Path of Exile a while ago when the game was just gaining notoriety. I was really locked into some others at the time so I didn't get too far into it. It just recently released some new content and with all this talk of loot, boxes I figured I would start it up again to see what the game has turned into. Since it has evolved so much I wanted to take in as a new game. I set my watch for 1 hour and played Path of Exile by Grinding Gear Games.
The Experience:
One thing about Path Of Exile that has not changed is it is still free. It has survived over four years with this model only selling items like increased inventory space and vanity items. That is it. No loot chests, no boosts, just items to make your character look cooler.
This game is our top-down action RPG. You will pick from six heroes all with different moves and stats. You have been exiled to an island and in the first hour of the story you don't get too much more than that and the people on the beach are struggling to survive while being attacked by enemy factions and zombies. You get to kill a lot of zombies.
With your hero, you are given 3 attacks with your mouse buttons and five more skills slot with for skills you will unlock as you level. You will also be able to spend skill points on a massive skill tree when you level. Each class starts out on a section and you are able to work your ways to other sections if you so choose. This adds to an extreme amount of customization and variety in characters. There is a meta for each class but honestly, you can ignore it and build the character you want.
As with an RPG of this type you are able to equip gear that you meat the specifications of. In this game, you are able to socket items right away and those gems that you place in your items also level up as you kill enemies. This makes those items super valuable and requires you to really pay attention what you are using and equipping. You also want to pay attention to the vials you keep in your inventory because on top of healing and refilling mana they sometimes come with special attributes. Even better is these refill by themselves, which is important because the game will punish you for not paying close attention to your health. The game has some depth.
One of my favorite aspects of this game is when you trade you don't really get the money you get items. Items that can make your weapons stronger or scrolls that can identify weapons. There is an orb in late game seen as currency but you really don't have to worry about that early on. In early game Scrolls of Wisdom are some pretty valuable loot as they will allow you to buy some nice early game content.
The graphics for a game 4 years old has held up nicely and it still runs really well on my computer, locked in at a solid 60 fps. (I need a better monitor) The animation style is a cartoon realism that falls more on the realistic side but isn't going to fall into the category where time will kill it. The enemies are unique and plentiful and combat really gives you a sense of satisfaction when you are able to bring one down.
This game four years later is still great and this time I really want to make it through the single-player campaign. It's crazy to think that this game also does not have a price to entry or barrier to finish. By the good graces of gamers with extra cash, this game has survived and continued to release more content. Only a good game could ever do something like that and this is one.
TL;DR:
Path of Exile is a free-to-play RPG that has not aged a day. The game still feels up to date and allows for an immense amount of character build flexibility and skill customization. If you are a top-down action RPG player or you like them, there is no reason to have not at least tried this game at this point.
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