Path of Exile 2 is hard – there’s no getting around this simple truth. It’s a truth you need to understand before you play the game in order to get the most out of it, and to accept it, if you like. Like the Souls series, this is a game about relishing the challenge and overcoming seemingly impossible odds to move forwards. Through perseverance and trial and error, you will succeed, and you will feel all the more incredible for it.
Path of Exile 2 early access reviewDeveloper: Grinding Gear GamesPublisher: Grinding Gear GamesPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out now in early access on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X. Note: the game will eventually be free-to-play but there’s a ~£24 fee for early access, which also buys you some shop currency to spend in the game
I say this upfront because it’s clear that some players out there are a bit confused by what Path of Exile 2 is about. On PC, barely an hour goes by in the game’s general chat without somebody upending their proverbial table and declaring they’ve had enough. “That’s it, I quit! This game is s***!” they say, and then storm away from their keyboard, probably to return quietly an hour later. Chat’s favourite response? “Skill issue.” (I think you can tell a lot about a community and a game from its general chat.)
Their apparent surprise at the difficulty surprises me, not least because Path of Exile 1 is already a known quantity on this front, but you also have to pay to get Path of Exile 2’s early access period, so they’ve actively had to buy their way in – it’s not free-to-play yet like it eventually will be when it leaves early access. These players have deliberately made a choice. So where does the confusion come from? Diablo 4, it seems. People are flooding in from Blizzard’s ARPG expecting an experience like it – and it’s a path I myself have followed, too.
They’re not wrong to do it: Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4 look very similar and generally play the same way. They’re both action role-playing games played from a similar isometric perspective, and they involve smashing your way through hordes of enemies, looting them, levelling up, and doing it all again. Glance quickly at them and they could easily be the same game. But, importantly, their hearts are different.