Video Game of the Day is a daily show available on Amazon Alexa devices and here on this website. Each day, we briefly discuss the history of a single game, randomly chosen. If you would like to listen on your daily flash briefing, you can enable Video Game of the Day here: https://amzn.to/2CNx2NJ.
Transcript:
Hello and welcome! My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s Video Game of the Day!
Free to play games have a pretty bad reputation these days. Despite sounding like a great thing, these games often use predatory tactics to squeeze the player with microtransactions, often at the cost of the actual game. It’s great, then, when a game comes around that manages Free to Play correctly by offering a solid game and then offering microtransactions to provide even more content. Today’s game is one of the best I’ve seen that accomplishes this. Today’s game is Path of Exile, developed by Grinding Gear Games and released on PC in 2013.
Path of Exile is an action RPG, heavily inspired by Diablo 2. On its surface, it may even look like a clone of that game, with its dark, brooding atmosphere, undead enemies, and constant clicking gameplay. Digging a bit deeper will show an immensely complex game that far surpasses what Diablo 2 offers for those willing to learn its many arcane systems.
Path of Exile is best known for this complexity, with absolutely immense skill charts and several different equipment customization options. Unlike many games which feature individual skill trees for each class, Path of Exile places each of its seven classes on the same branching skill tree which contains over 1,300 different passive upgrades, although each character can only get a maximum of 123 throughout the entire game so planning is encouraged.
Path of Exile’s free campaign offers up several Acts to play through before offering paid expansions to the game which add more bosses, areas, and even game modes. There are currently 10 expansions released. Along with this extra content, Path of Exile also frequently features seasonal events, often coming in the form of special leagues or limited time bosses and items.
Path of Exile has received very positive reviews from critics and fans, with most touting it as the perfect model of what Free to Play should be. The game has been going strong for the last seven years with Grinding Gears ramping up for a sequel, Path of Exile 2. Path of Exile has also since seen release on Xbox One and Playstation 4, with a mobile version in the works as well. While not fully a criticism, most reviews have noted that the complexity can make Path of Exile tough to get into for many players. Skill trees often have to be planned out in advance, due to the many millions of possible ways to level up your character. This combined with the many different systems and item combinations can be tough for new players to get into but there are several sites and YouTube channels dedicated to helping people get started.
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