Path of Exile Review

Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s Adam Smith has decided to chime in with his opinion on the free-to-play action-RPG Path of Exile, and, despite some reservations, I wouldn’t say I’m making a controversial choice by calling it a rather favorable one. Here’s an excerpt:

I almost forgot to mention that it’s free to play. That’s because it hasn’t once begged me to spend money, cap of +6 freemium fuckwittery in hand. In fact, the monetisation is so slight and invisible that I couldn’t even tell you what it’s possible to buy without looking it up. Extra character slots and stash space that sort of thing. Considering how easy it’d be to exploit the randomised drops of the genre by adding premium petards and poleaxes.

Like Card Hunter, Path Of Exile does free to play the right way, as far as players are concerned. I worry about how the profits will arrive though, and whether this is the right way for developers and publishers. Updates have been regular and impressive though, so it seems Grinding Gear have found their market. I always find something to worry about. I’d happily have paid for the game as it stands if there’d been an offline mode. I suppose the fact that it’s an online game with multiplayer that was peripheral to my playtime is another worrying point, as is the zoom level of the camera, which is far too close for my liking and means I tend to play with my eyes on the overlaid map most of the time rather than looking at the scenery.

Oh dear. I seem to be ending on a negative note, which is silly because if anyone were to skip to the end they might think I’d been grumpy throughout. Go and read the rest if that’s the case because Path Of Exile is a smart and content-rich ARPG. It doesn’t rewrite the click-for-loot formula but it does tweak just the right parts to make the repetitious hacking and casting a more involved and intricate experience. Those interested in the multiplayer and scientific analysis of character builds could spend hundreds of hours happily enthralled. I’m just happy to have found a conventional ARPG that managed to hold my interest for more than a couple of hours**.

…

** Interested in Reaper Of Souls despite myself.