Path of Exile 2 offers a deeply immersive dark fantasy experience with a responsive combat system that rewards precision and strategy. Its visually stunning art style, diverse environments, and engaging character progression make it a standout in the action RPG genre. Despite some technical issues and balance concerns, its rich world-building and extensive endgame content promise hours of replayability.
Better than 93% of games for World-Building
Better than 83% of games for Replayability
Better than 80% of games for Controls
Top Aspects
The game excels in its world-building, presenting a well-developed otherworldly culture and history that is both immersive and engaging. Assessment 1 highlights the game's ability to offer unique insights into its lore and setting with each act, suggesting a thoughtful and intricate narrative structure. Assessment 2 complements this by emphasizing the richly detailed environments, such as medieval villages, desert ruins, and jungles, all imbued with a dark fantasy aesthetic. Both assessments agree on the richness and depth of the game world, though they focus on different aspects—one on the narrative and lore, the other on the visual and thematic elements. Together, they paint a picture of a game world that is not only visually stunning but also deeply immersive and thoughtfully crafted.
The game demonstrates strong replayability due to a combination of factors highlighted across multiple assessments. There is a consensus that the game offers a robust endgame, procedurally generated maps, and unique class playstyles, which encourage players to explore and experiment. The variety in environments and enemy types, along with extensive customization options, further enhances the game's replay value. While the first two assessments emphasize the richness of content and the diversity of gameplay experiences, the third assessment points to the potential for future content updates, including new classes and skills, as a significant factor in maintaining player interest over time.
Controls are well-implemented for both keyboard and mouse and controller, with a separate UI for each. The game caters to both input methods without feeling forced or awkward.
The game's art style is widely acclaimed for its beauty and variety, aligning with the action RPG genre. Reviewers highlight the dark fantasy setting, which is praised for its visual diversity, with each area and enemy type offering something new and distinct. The environments are detailed, and the enemies and bosses are visually striking, contributing to the game's overall aesthetic appeal. While there is strong agreement on the visual quality and variety, some reviewers may differ slightly on the specific elements they find most captivating.
Characters like Alva and the Marth are highlighted for their compelling backstories and personalities, adding depth to the game's narrative.
The combat system is widely praised for its weight and responsiveness, with a particular emphasis on the parry system that rewards timing precision. Reviewers agree that the addition of a dodge roll adds tactical depth, encouraging players to consider positioning and strategy over brute force. However, there are points of contention regarding the reliability and balance of the dodge roll mechanic and certain class abilities. While some reviewers highlight the variety of classes and their unique playstyles as a strength, others criticize specific classes for being overpowered or underpowered, leading to imbalance in gameplay.
The game is free-to-play, which is a common concern for players. However, the developers have a history of fair monetization practices, and the in-game store is expected to follow suit.
The game runs well on PC and feels highly polished for an early access build, with few noticeable bugs or issues. However, there are some minor immersion-breaking elements that are expected to be fixed.
Endgame content has been improved with bug fixes and new interactions, making it a better experience for players.
The game will be free-to-play with Early Access available for supporters at a cost of $30. Microtransactions so far have been reasonable, but the reviewer plans to monitor them closely.
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How It Compares
Like Rainbow Six Siege, but stronger in Microtransactions, Replayability, Combat System
Like Escape from Tarkov, but stronger in Replayability, Art Style
Like 7 Days to Die, but stronger in Endgame Content, Technical Polish, Replayability




