POE 2 review.

Context:

This is my review of the game after playing early access 0.3. I played through campaign on SC and HC without trade, with very limited end game. Largely using mace skills and characters in the bottom left of the tree. No build guide, but occasionally looking up information. I have played POE1 extensively, from early on in the development, though the majority of my play has been the last 5 years. I've provided my feedback to the early access sections, but this is my more general onions, that may be of interest to anyone who has not played it yet, or those that have and wish to discuss.

Overall reception:

The game is amazing. It still has a lot of work needed, but it is already a great game and has the potential to be a worthy successor to POE1. While the games have similar core concepts, there are a lot contrasting aspects, particularly with the different combat styles, which means the games can co-exist, for players who prefer one over the other or like to play both.

Readiness to launch:

It is not complete. How complete it needs to be before it is fully launched is up to GGG. Things that are missing include, final campaign acts, classes, weapon types, skill. They will also likely need to test those once added if they want them to be launched at the same quality of what is currently in the game, which I think they should do. What they have got complete, is quite good. My initial reaction when starting to play through, was that the game seemed ready. Though after playing more and seeing what was missing, and based on what looks to have been added, in the last year since early access launched, it seems they still have a lot of work to do. Depending on how far progressed that unreleased content is, it's hard to know how long it will take. The game is very playable now, but if they are going to complete those aspects before the official launch, I would not be surprised if it took another year.

Players will have their own opinion on whether that launch should be hurried up or not. Even in current early access state, there is plenty to play. It would be a long time before I interacted with everything, even before anything else was added, and that is without having done much post campaign play, which looks promising to me.

Performance:

Game was very stable for me. My system is starting getting a bit dated, so I was unsure I would be able to run the game, given POE1 sometimes tests it's limits. It ran very well. Occasionally the graphics get a bit blurry, but that was the complete extent of the difficulty. Probably any bugs were ironed out in the last year, but anything I encountered was quite minor in that regard.

Control Scheme and gameplay:

Watching vision before playing, it looked painful, particularly with the constant dodge rolling. However, while playing the game I did not find this to be a problem. The game play is more active and methodical, and can be more of a grind, which not everyone will like, but it was not as rough as I thought it would be, as someone who isn't mechanically gifted and focusses more on the build aspects rather than the gameplay.

I played with mouse/keyboard, which I found to be good for most the mace skills, though when I tried some other characters and skills, it seemed there may be some limiting aspects if not using WASD. Which I don't think is necessary in the design. If WASD is needed for some functionality, that would be a roadblock for non WASD users.

Core design mechanics:

Overall I think they are good. It's hard to judge against POE1 which sets such a high standard, but also coming from a game that is fully developed, to one where they are building a foundation in conjunction with the more active playstyle. Time will tell. I think they have made some interesting decisions, such are with the changes to crafting. Currently I would say that the differences make the games unique, and that in itself is interesting. For people who wanted more POE1, that may be disappointing, but POE1 is can continue to be developed without needing to be changed.

Biggest need for improvement:

The quest information. There are many aspects relating to this. It's all fairly minor, but there are a lot inconsistencies and unnecessary sources of confusion that interrupt the flow of the game, particularly on early playthroughs, which I think needs to be paid attention to. It is a highly repayable game, but sometimes I think the developers just expect players with understand things based on knowledge that the player does not have. Which often results in third party information needing to be sourced, which GGG reply on too much.

Most positive aspect:

Visually the game is very vibrant with all the different locations between the acts. The creative aspect of the game have been done well. I also like the UI, though there are some things that still need improvement, such as interaction with the skill menu.

Recommendation:

Not everyone is going to like it, even within the POE community, but I think it is certainly worth trying. For POE1 fans, I think you will have a pretty good idea from knowing the changes, if you will enjoy it or not, but make up your own mind after giving it a go, even if only to remind you of your love for POE1. I think most players with find it to be a good game, some will probably hate it, but I think they have managed to make another good one. For those who are waiting for free to play, I don't think you will miss much by waiting for the game to be complete, and may in some ways get a better experience when it is launched. Anyone who is hanging out for it, it might be worth paying for the early access and supporting the company, or else look forward to the upcoming POE1 league.

For as many times as you post, I am surprised you posed in the wrong forum.

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DoubleU#7266 wrote:

For as many times as you post, I am surprised you posed in the wrong forum.

He didn't. If you went to pathofexile2.com and go to General Discussion there it will bring you here.

It's very muddled the way they set these forums up,

Oh, well that's just silly then.
@Belegur, sorry mate.

Performance is stable? Alright I see you only completed the campaign.