Recent reviews by OoThatGuyoO

I will try to refrain from using "early access" as an excuse. Even though it is very much an excuse and a precaution, the game has left lasting impressions.

Early Access (So Far):
TL;DR: Game is fun, challenging, and long. You will get more out a $30 Early Access than you would a $30 DLC of Sims 4. Game will be free on release so you can wait if you don't feel like buying Early Access (which comes with 1:1 $30 ingame MTX currency).

Thoughts:
The Game and Campaign are accessible for new players (fresh to POE). Campaign is very long, but is intended since the gameplay (when played how GGG wants) is equally slowed down. So far my average per character is about 25 hours with nearly 70 deaths. If played slower the death counter would go down and the timer up, at this point the only way to lower the numbers is system adjustments and good ole fashioned "git gud." Story so far is solid and End Game gives a glimpse of what is to come from the lore. Maps can be huge and expansive, but follow the same formula on formation. Learning this formula boosts your clear time since you know where things will be as well as what bosses to kill for permanent upgrades. Anticipate your first time playing being full map clears rather than rushing from entrance to exit to get to end game.

The End Game is there, model and content all, but currently needs to be tuned and adjusted. You clear Maps to traverse a large (infinite) open world map (I assume it uses procedural generation). In the Maps your goal is to kill Rare (yellow) quality mobs, while also dodging Normal (white) mobs that can one shot you (mobs in their current form are very dangerous, adjustments are anticipated). Each map can be accompanied by different themed side-objectives (termed as "content") that you can complete for rewards. Content like this each has specific player power boosts as well as a passive tree (points earned for completing the main boss behind each one).

By this point in the game, you should be accustomed to dangerous mobs (at least I believe that's what GGG was thinking), however a lot of people who get to Endgame want to mentally switch off for the grind while watching videos, casually pressing their build's button(s). Currently the game does not allow this and requires player engagement, which puts the "everything is a dark souls boss" into every map and the punishment for not locking in is Death. If you lock in and focus, it's still fun (so long as you weren't BSing your build to the end), but can be exhausting when you're grinding for hours and want to switch between monitors for a quick glimpse. I anticipate GGG will adjust this in the future.

Build variety is there, you can make any class do anything (to some level of success), but everything is being adjusted, fixed, and ultimately nerfed. Skills and items are broken in spirit, yet their appearances to GGG are fine and working as intended. We (the players and the skilled build crafters) are here to break that veil and their game so they can make everything work as intended. Anticipate your favorite builds, your favorite streamer's builds, even all the obscure ones to get nerfed, especially if they can casually walk through a map.

Speed isn't everything in POE2. You can gain lots of speed and they allow mobility with the new casting system (move while casting), but a lot of aspects are still slower than one would like. There are bosses that play in cinematic fashion so you can't just one shot them (they can't truly die until it happens and some get major damage reductions while they do their little song-and-dance). Meanwhile your base movement speed without any modifiers is very slow, so anticipate worshiping your first pair of movement boots. Currency and loot are being tuned so that the more "essentials" are dropping rather than all the fluff bases and "garbage no one will ever use" (the ones intended to "not" trick players). You shouldn't go into this with the anticipation that you can blow through the game in 6 hours on your first try. Hell, even with proper training you may not even blow through it at 15 hours. While people love POE 1 for the map clearing speed and ridiculousness of builds (the omega "fill the screen with seizures" builds), this game currently isn't there (yet). Even dying will make the entire map respawn (and all drops be lost to the void). This is to the tune of Dark Souls where you sit at a bonfire to reset the map. Speed should be utilized defensively and players should develop means of slowing/stopping enemies if they have no intention of killing. If you can't out run them, you have to out gun them.

I think the game is fine, even with all the BS people complain about. Some are correct with criticism and a lot are just mad; people with high defenses dying to white mobs 2 levels weaker to them is appropriate criticism, but saying "boss hard therefore bad game" isn't (skill issue). The core game is fun and the engagement is refreshing. I get angry, but it doesn't make me hopeless that my mistakes have doomed me like a lot of other games can make you feel. You're encouraged to fail, encouraged to tweek your build. If you have to start over with a new character then you can with all the crap you collected (stash is global as long as your character is in the same league, as is your gold) and you typically only ever have to start fresh if you chose the wrong ascendancy (points can be respec'd but the actual ascendance cannot). GGG wants you to win as much as they want you to fail. They want you to be able to have flexibility but it will have a (sometimes steep) cost.

My advice:
>Do not go into this game thinking it's POE 1
>Don't look at other builds (for your first character or two)
>Don't get intimidated by the system. They have created something very new player friendly, yet still maintains complexity from start to (infinite) finish.
>(Please please please) Look at NPC shops frequently (every time you launch the game, level up, or reach a new area)
>Learn what crafting items do. This game is founded on the idea that you are making your build with your own two hands, that you should feel rewarded for equally being lucky and smartly appropriating the system.
>Learn how to manipulate the system (TIP: Salvaging Bench does not care what level the item is)

Game is fine, nothing 'over the top.'
Noticed a bunch of things that are scummy, frankly I'd just recommend people not spend their money. Game is just about as basic as it gets.

Talked into buying it, still having a decent enough time, but I think them applying 'fomo' to sell $30 packs for a "community earned" gun is a bit lame. (You unlock guns when you get blueprints for them, so if it turns out the community didn't earn the gun, you can still buy it for $30)

Alright Valve, I know we haven't seen eye-to-eye when it comes to Tf2 lately, but you have a chance to make things right.

I'll give you 3 years, but when the 10th of October, 2027 rolls around you better have that Heavy Update