PATH OF EXILE 2 EARLY ACCESS Quick Review: The New King
Intro and Gameplay
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 years, Grinding Gear Games out of New Zealand has slowly but confidently been taking the ARPG world by storm with their free-to-play title Path of Exile. A gold standard in free-to-play games with quality, polish, and fair microtransactions that are mostly cosmetic. Now with Path of Exile 2 here, we got a chance to play the alpha build of the Early Access game over the past week or so. While the build isn’t indicative of the actual Early Access version going live on December 6th, the content is the same.
So, if you like ARPGs, you are going to absolutely adore Path of Exile 2. ‘Nuff said. This feels like what Diablo IV should have been even in Early Access. It feels slower and methodical than Path of Exile and that is a massive compliment. Everything about the game and gameplay just drips with quality, polish, passion, and much more welcoming to new players. Even though the massive skill tree is still present, the skill gems and support gems make it a breeze. Lastly, the loot I found in just Act I of the game was incredible between art and design. I can’t wait for years of a stellar loot chase.
From the very opening scene of the game, you are surrounded by a dark and brooding atmosphere that just rocks.
Graphics and Sound
Absolutely stunning. That is one way to describe this moving piece of art. From character and armor models to dark shadowy caves to flowing rivers to incredible spell effects this game is a dream come true. In both artistical and technical sense, it’s already a masterpiece.
The audio is equally if not more impressive. A huge upgrade from POE, Path of Exile 2 has punchy sound and skill effects with sublime music and voice acting to boot. What a fantastic surprise to see and hear such a big improvement from the first game.
The lighting, effects, and overall mood are on point. This is what dark fantasy should look like.
Feedback and Verdict
What’s more to say? If the Early Access version of the game is already this good, I can’t imagine how amazing the final version will be hopefully in 2025. Either way, I am pleased to say Path of Exile II is the new king of ARPGs. It not only exceeded my already high expectations, it absolutely smashed them. LOGIN!