Never played the original enough to remember it; I'm basically a new player through-and-through for this IP. I'm playing on Standard (CA-US) as a monk.

Final Edit: Do not play this game right now if you care about your sanity. The 10% exp loss on death is absurdly unfun and unfair and needs to go - instant deaths are not uncommon and the glitches and bugs make it worse. I do not feel like being Sisyphus anymore at level 92. I have finally decided to uninstall and move on. It completely ruins the enjoyment of this game for me right now - especially playing a melee class.

Overall, it's hard to really give this a solid good recommendation to a new-comer, but perhaps this does hit a particular vein for the original POE fans. It's hard for me to say. As for me, I'll keep playing for the fun of the combat, but when that's overcooked, I'm tossing this game in the recycling bin section of my Steam account.
Edit: But here I am with now 100 hours in the game, and actually have no intention to stop, so hmmmmmmm... It's supposed to go Free-To-Play on release, so maybe wait until then if you're curious enough? I really wouldn't recommend putting much money into this game though; it ain't worth that kind of investment.
Edit 2: Some commentary about endgame has been added. Not great remarks, unfortunately, and the grind is truly unforgiving and unrelaxing. You'll probably get frustrated a few times towards late game - especially if running solo. Drop rates are horrendous for stuff you would really want, and the EXP loss after level 70 is devastating for numerous reasons.

The combat and loot system is extremely addicting and awesome and the main reason I have 40 hours in this game at review time. Like - strongly addicting. Literally went from Elden Ring to this, and it's been a nice change of pace to getting my teeth curbstomped by a lobster.

The skill tree is huge and complex - leaving a lot of room for unique builds. Gear can be sold, disenchanted, or recycled for upgrade parts, making some of the most useless gear drops still have value. Moreover, less valuable gears can be upgraded using those aforementioned upgrade parts. I do wish I could break down stuff on the go though.

Yeah, that's where the good stuff I have to talk about ends. If you can enjoy what I've listed above without letting what's below taint your experience too far, then it's a great time-sink and pretty cathartic Player-VS-Environment gameplay.

Not a fan at all of the predatory microtransactions because they actually sell actually useful stuff that gives players an advantage like inventory expansions - if it was solely cosmetic, I'd be less keen to talk. There aren't any cosmetics as drops in the game 40 hours deep from what I can tell, so it seems cosmetics are purely a show of how much you spend on this game. To that end: gross. At least drop rates for things aren't abysmal, and it gets easier the further you get in the game to get high-value items. (Edit: just kidding - the high value things when you're starting are different than the truly high-value items - screw endgame. Drop rates are sh*t. I'm sorry for even suggesting otherwise.)

Moreover: the character inventory is, like, two or three rows too shallow at minimum. I have to teleport to town way more often than I'd like to stash, sell, and otherwise dump gear. It'd be fine if I were doing it maybe once or twice per instance, but nah it's like every 5 minutes lol. Also don't AFK in town - your portal will close and you'll have to restart the entire instance. I've lost a lot of progress from silly sh*t like that.

So, the entire player trading market system is still browser-based (same as old POE). Why the heck couldn't GGG, with this new upgrade, actually put the whole market in the game??? I do not understand this at all. Brothers, it is 2024 going into 2025 - a game market should be fully accessible in game, and I should NOT have to tab-out to a browser page to access a critical function of the game; searching for items for sale should be able to be done with a merchant NPC like the rest of the functions. Trading is arguably the most important part of this game later down the line as well, so maybe HOPEFULLY they can jam that sh*t into the game before it hits full release, because otherwise the POE IP is gonna be stuck in 2009 for another 10 years. And heck, while I'm still on it: Where tf are the emotes? This is a dang MMO when you play standard... This is feeling like I'm playing a modernized 2009 game. Kinda wack.

This is a problem point that has emerged towards endgame: one-shot deaths become common from all kinds of sources, be it stacked puddles of super damage-over-time erasing your HP faster than your reaction time, exploding mobs that explode nearly a whole 3 seconds after you killed them, and more. It wouldn't be such a big problem if you didn't also lose 10% of your level's experience on death after level 70... You could be geared to all hell and still get absolutely screwed over in a tier-12 map if you're not careful (and maps go up to tier 16). And if you aren't stacking rarity, you're getting next to jack-sh*t in terms of useful drops. It feels utterly terrible to invest time into this game only for it to kick your shins in left and right. Hell, I'd be more forgiving if there were better SFX and more clear visual cues when something that was going to absolutely KICK your face in is about to happen/is happening. Some kind of vocal when on fire or something for example... I fear for the guys that have eye issues; this is gonna be a doozy for you. GGG - if you're gonna make this game unforgiving, then at least make it clear when something's gonna f*** your s*** up.

Playing in groups is another issue: try to play with a Stormweaver that spams projectiles everywhere and you can't see what's friggin' goin on. No option to turn off other players' effects. It's rough. And the level scaling can really end up getting you completely punked. I don't recommend playing with anyone else when you get up to tier 15 maps unless you're just there for looting or using a spam-build yourself; it can be a real tough time. And speaking of tier 15 maps: there needs to be one guaranteed drop of a same-tier map generated somewhere in the map. It's annoying just to run tier 12-14 maps just to find one tier 15 map for some decent experience.

At this point, I also really wish there was a character creator for this IP instead of a selection of random no-name NPCs to play; I actually hate the design of the monk I'm playing and moreover don't really want to play a male character - but if I'm going to play the monk playstyle - this is what I get. It's such an outdated execution for a game like this - an MMO with social features and cosmetics. Granted, you can turn off your character's volume to forget about it as much as possible, and maybe there'll be visual mods to aid that issue down the line for the client, but for now, you're stuck with old-asian-dude monk. If character customization is something you look for in a game, then even with the predatory $40 cosmetic selection, it's gonna be hard to get a look that is satisfying in this game.

This game seems geared towards multiple playthroughs (the stash and your total gold is linked between characters), but you only get a certain amount of character slots before you have to pay. Again - ugly monetization practices against players that want to play the damn game. If you want to play different classes, you have to make a whole "new" character as well... It's frankly a very predatory setup.

TL;DR: Worth the money full-price, even if development came to an end right now - the fun is there already even if it isn't fully flushed out. Definitely worth the money with a sale. There's definitely Early-Access aspects still, but it's definitely a banger for Early-Access with plenty of polish already present. Bought it on Friday and reviewing it Sunday night-Monday morning.

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The GOOD:
- If this sh!t had mods, it would be making news headlines right now. Jaw-dropping release for its current state; the gameplay beats several full-release AA-titles I've played full-stop. Especially giving consideration to the combat system; it feels AWESOME once you have some skills. The skill tree could use some reorganizing in places though and the enemy AI is a bit silly sometimes, but for the most part it delivers - especially for how I play. (see note on my playstyle below; I am not playing with default difficulty settings.)

- The Building system is better than expected after using it for awhile; you figure it out as you go along, and definitely later in the game it feels very versatile. It's a cuboid building system, but with tinier cubes than you'd think, and you can build preset groups of them at once with different shapes. Pro-tip: you can use the rake tool to rake a road around your building/house, and the raked road gives on-road bonuses.

- The map design is LOADED with plenty to find and do at this point, and both the natural erratic distribution of materials and the nature of the crafting system keeps you on your toes for new materials. I haven't run into a dull point in 50 hours of gameplay, and I haven't even explored half of the map yet. The areas are leveled (and certain areas are extra deadly depending on your progress), so if you go running deep into the map without any perks on your world flame, expect some pretty intense setbacks. The verticality adds a level of challenge and wonder to the map that can only be experienced; there's a lot of ways to go up and down.

- Custom game difficulty settings let you control the experience you want to have pretty dang well, with a solid array of options to modify player stats, enemy stats, enemy behaviors, total loot drops, and other options related to NPCs and building. Not a completely extensive list of modifiers, but definitely a step up from the average game's custom difficulty settings.

The BAD (right now):
- The story and dialogue in particular needs some heavier work done, but it's serviceable for what it's worth right now as an Early-Access state. Not a fan of how the blacksmith in particular will say "Get out!" rather rude-like after some dialogue, which is pretty weird and immersion-breaking. I am fully expecting a dialogue and even a bit of a story rework upon full release.

- Where the heck is the gamma/brightness slider? This sh!t is moody af without adjustments; if you don't like dark-screen gameplay, turn the amount of time night-time lasts wayyyy down in the game settings.

-Character Creation is really meh for customization options right now, and those faces are especially 2012-lookin' and give off a low-poly vibe due to poor shading or skeleton, but mods would fix that no problem...

- NPC AI for pathing needs a bit of work. Mainly: when I walk into them, they should move away from me like Moses parting the Red Sea, but I see them get stuck in places often, and even worse it's often in my personal bedroom or some sh!t next to the doorway. When I am building or using the rake tool, they will often walk in front of me and obstruct my building, which can be EXTREMELY infuriating. They should buzz out of my FOV anytime I have a building block/object in my hand or when build mode via the hammer tool is enabled. I'd also love it if I could place character-specific static markers to give them places they prefer to be while still roaming on occasion.

- Shroud Roots need protection and shielding to spawn when they are first struck as a countermeasure to cheese - I've cheesed so many roots already it's dang silly at this point - and the skill points are gold from them making them a prime target to go after. Ideally, they should have a set of rune-mobs (like some that appear in certain dungeons; they have a glowing rune above their head that unlocks a force-field in the dungeon when killed) that need to be killed to lower a shield around the root.

- There's no FPV - I kinda wish there was because building in FPV is a lot less annoying of a perspective; aiming where you want to place things is rough in 3PV IMO - I grew up building in Minecraft not Fortnite lol. FPV is also a must for future VR support, and this game would be SICK in VR, so definitely hope they add it down the line.

The INTERESTING:

- All terrain is destructible one way or another, which makes for some absolutely hilarious workarounds and methods of navigation if you're a power-leveler and have the time to whack some things for awhile. Have you ever found yourself at a place that needs a key to get in? Beat that door down with an axe. Ain't nobody giving a dang in this post-apocalyptic world, and you know the loot is good on the other side. Might even sneak around a boss fight or two with this tactic lol... Have a slope you need to ascend that is a bit too steep? Use your pickaxe and mine pockets into the wall to climb on! Boss run off into the red shroud river and can't get back into the arena? Pickaxe out a pathway for him to get back and continue facing off like nothing ever happened! It's pretty neat tbh and could be used for a LOT.

- The glider is funny and definitely tech-able. Especially after learning double-jump (a practically mandatory skill), you can use it to ascend certain slopes and cheese uphill sometimes as kind of a triple-jump. It will also get you killed more than once (careful about holding W by accident and hitting a wall face-first just shy of your mark).

- It be day. Until it's night. Then it be night. You get 2 seconds of warning. That's it.

(Note on my playstyle:) I play with these custom difficulty settings:
Player: 300% Max Health, Mana, Stamina, 200% Body Heat. 100% EXP Gain. Survival ON. 150% Time in Shroud. NO Inventory loss on death. Day: 1Hr, Night: 8 mins. Time until Starvation: 20 minutes. Harsh weather: Often. Glider Turbulances ON. Weapon Upgrade cost 50%, Weapon Recycling yield 100%. Mining Damage 200%, Loot amount 200%. <Many of these settings are for QoL so I don't spend hours on end gathering resouces from farming; others are to balance out surviving the hoard mode below; others yet to balance out the fact that I play in sessions of 8-12 hours with this game; night-time is a reminder to get up and stretch lol...>
Enemy Stats: Normal enemies have half-health, damage, and perception range. Simultaneous enemy attacks: Very Hard. Enemy Attack Freqency 300%. Enemy Amount: Many. Bosses are 150% health and damage. Obviously no pacify enemies mode (hoard mode setup).

Not everyone opts to play this way, so experiences are going to vary given your difficulty settings upon starting up your game. I highly recommend playing this way if your PC can handle processing a ton of NPCs during combat as it's a blast fighting and darting through hoards of enemies and still feel like you have to manage your dodging and blocks well enough to survive.