I want to like this game, I really do. But as it stands currently I just can't bring myself to.

To make one thing very clear: this game is not Path of Exile. It is its own game entirely with different mechanics and a complete combat overhaul compared to PoE1, hence it is targeted at a different audience.
You may have a distinct advantage if you've played PoE1 but by no means does that mean you aren't going to struggle with this game.

It is hard. Brutally hard. I don't just mean from a "skill issue" stand point: I mean this game will tear you a new one countless times. And while I don't have a problem with a high skill ceiling or taking several attempts before beating a boss, I do have a problem with the game not giving you enough tools to reach a plausible goal without an unnecessarily high time investment.

Path of Exile has always been about creating a powerful build using gems and especially gear, that main principle is present in PoE2 as well. However in PoE1 you will find countless items scattered all around the place which help you overcome obstacles and if you're still struggling you can simply craft more. Here lies the problem with this game: The currency is scarce and so is the gear. In order to gain powerful equipment you will have to grind for an absurd amount of time. That's perfectly fine at the endgame, but who in the right mind wants to farm the campaign for that long?

Every enemy is a sponge, every boss a brick wall. Most enemies simply act as a body-block while a lot of bosses have attacks that seem borderline unfair suddenly ending the fight several minutes in. Combining that with the previously mentioned lack of upgrades makes this game an utter slog and at that point I have to wonder: why torture myself playing this when I could just go back to PoE1 and steam-roll the campaign a hundred times over? At least that's fun.



Here are some more notable things:

+ positive, - negative, ~ "eh."

(~) The combat is far slower and more tactical than in PoE1
This was to be expected, I just want to point out just how much different it is. Every enemy is now an obstacle, every boss is a roadblock. No more steam-rolling early game content, you are forced to actively engage with each and every entity. No matter how small. This is the Dark Souls of ARPGs in the most literal sense.

(+) Movement feels more fluid
Compared to the awful point-and-click controls I always hated (which you can still choose to use) the movement in PoE2 feels leagues ahead of its predecessor. Whether with WASD or a controller, having an active input in every step of your character is a decisive feature especially given the revamped combat of this title. It also features a dodge-roll which sadly seems to be more of a gimmick than anything else.

(++) Pausing in singleplayer
"Pausing an online game" is no longer a joke. You can actually fully pause the game at any time as long as you are playing solo.

(-) Bubsy? Bubsy.
The player character talks during combat. Way too much in my opinion. There are certain voice lines you can turn off in the settings but the ones that cannot be disabled are more than enough to drive me up a wall.


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After all that one thing remains to be said: This game is in Early Access
Things are subject to change and Grinding Gear Games is the kind of developer more than willing to listen to community feedback and make changes accordingly. Although I doubt they will ever make this game "casual friendly" since that's what PoE1 is for.


While I can't recommend the game in its current state I don't want that to perturb you. You might be the exact type of player this game was designed for. And if it sounds interesting to you don't hesistate to give it a try. You should get a pretty good idea of the game within your first 2 hours so if you don't like what you see you can always refund. Or better yet you might just win an early access key for free. There are plenty of giveaways going around.

I want to like this game, I really do. But as it stands currently I just can't bring myself to. To make one thing very clear: this game is not Path of Exile. It is its own game entirely with different mechanics and a complete combat overhaul compared to PoE1, hence it is targeted at a different audience. You may have a distinct advantage if you've played PoE1 but by no means does that mean you aren't going to struggle with this game. It is hard. Brutally hard. I don't just mean from a "skill issue" stand point: I mean this game will tear you a new one countless times. And while I don't have a problem with a high skill ceiling or taking several attempts before beating a boss, I do have a problem with the game not giving you enough tools to reach a plausible goal without an unnecessarily high time investment. Path of Exile has always been about creating a powerful build using gems and especially gear, that main principle is present in PoE2 as well. However in PoE1 you will find countless items scattered all around the place which help you overcome obstacles and if you're still struggling you can simply craft more. Here lies the problem with this game: The currency is scarce and so is the gear. In order to gain powerful equipment you will have to grind for an absurd amount of time. That's perfectly fine at the endgame, but who in the right mind wants to farm the campaign for that long? Every enemy is a sponge, every boss a brick wall. Most enemies simply act as a body-block while a lot of bosses have attacks that seem borderline unfair suddenly ending the fight several minutes in. Combining that with the previously mentioned lack of upgrades makes this game an utter slog and at that point I have to wonder: why torture myself playing this when I could just go back to PoE1 and steam-roll the campaign a hundred times over? At least that's fun. Here are some more notable things: [i]+ positive, - negative, ~ "eh."[/i] (~) The combat is far slower and more tactical than in PoE1 This was to be expected, I just want to point out just how much different it is. Every enemy is now an obstacle, every boss is a roadblock. No more steam-rolling early game content, you are forced to actively engage with each and every entity. No matter how small. This is the Dark Souls of ARPGs in the most literal sense. (+) Movement feels more fluid Compared to the awful point-and-click controls I always hated (which you can still choose to use) the movement in PoE2 feels leagues ahead of its predecessor. Whether with WASD or a controller, having an active input in every step of your character is a decisive feature especially given the revamped combat of this title. It also features a dodge-roll which sadly seems to be more of a gimmick than anything else. (++) Pausing in singleplayer "Pausing an online game" is no longer a joke. You can actually fully pause the game at any time as long as you are playing solo. (-) Bubsy? Bubsy. The player character talks during combat. Way too much in my opinion. There are certain voice lines you can turn off in the settings but the ones that cannot be disabled are more than enough to drive me up a wall. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After all that one thing remains to be said: This game is in [b]Early Access[/b] Things are subject to change and Grinding Gear Games is the kind of developer more than willing to listen to community feedback and make changes accordingly. Although I doubt they will ever make this game "casual friendly" since that's what PoE1 is for. While I can't recommend the game in its current state I don't want that to perturb you. You might be the exact type of player this game was designed for. And if it sounds interesting to you don't hesistate to give it a try. You should get a pretty good idea of the game within your first 2 hours so if you don't like what you see you can always refund. Or better yet you might just win an early access key for free. There are plenty of giveaways going around.