Free-to-play games have gotten a lot better over the years. Just the term ‘free-to-play’ used to be synonymous with phone game shovelware. However, with games like Warframe and Path of Exile really starting to come into their own the last few years, that’s no longer the case.

Path of Exile is essentially Diablo II on steroids. Which is ironic because Diablo II made the original Diablo look like a tech demo by comparison. Path of Exile doesn’t make Diablo II look like a tech demo, but it’s one of the first games since Diablo II came out 20 years ago to really take the formula it established to the next level. Yes, even more so than Diablo III.

Path of Exile is deep and complex, but not so much so that it’s inaccessible. If you’ve played Diablo II or any other action-RPG like it, you’ll have a basic understanding of the systems and gameplay in Path of Exile. It does a good job of easing you in and providing tutorials and easy-to-access in-game guides for the game’s different systems and gameplay loops. Even when you’re still learning the game, nothing feels inscrutable or overwhelming.

Path of Exile’s aesthetic and story are less like Diablo and more like Baldur’s Gate. It’s Diablo II gameplay with a Baldur’s Gate story.

The story is bleak and sad. Much of the game seems to have a mournful tone to it. There are aspects that are dark, but the hellish, apocalyptic aesthetic that Diablo is known for isn’t present in Path of Exile.

Act I on the beach.

There are YouTubers who claim that Path of Exile is all about perfecting your skill tree – which is worrisome because, while the skill tree in Diablo II is important, it isn’t the end-all and be-all of the game. Your gear, and good old-fashioned grinding and character-leveling, are just as important.

Path of Exile’s running joke is that your first character will almost guaranteed to be garbage, and you’ll be lucky to even make it through the story mode on your first try. There’s recommended websites and free tools you can use to study the game’s skill tree to pre-plan your build for your character. Some hardcore players spend more time using these tools to plan their builds than they do actually playing the game.

That hasn’t been the case with my character so far. The most significant thing I’ve learned from my time with Path of Exile so far is that Blizzard better deliver with Diablo IV. Path of Exile has a legitimate chance to be the new king of a genre that Blizzard started with Diablo II, if it’s not already. Let’s hope Blizzard is up to the challenge.