In 2023, there’s still nothing else like Path of Exile

polygon.com:

Path of Exile is entering the 10th year of its life, and so far, no other action-RPG can match its scope and breadth of content. Seasonal leagues and expansions did not each come and go after a few months. Instead, most of their mechanics were integrated into Path of Exile’s very core, morphing an already complex experience into an almost untamable beast. For better and worse, streamlining has not been one of developer Grinding Gear Games’ priorities.

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The free-to-play online ARPG entered beta back in August 2011, where it incubated before officially launching in October 2013. The timing couldn’t have been better for players who felt shortchanged by the early incarnation of Diablo 3, which featured an overwrought auction house and a lacking loot system. Path of Exile deployed a darker gothic tone, with stronger focus on nuanced character builds, the ability to min-max your creations, and challenging endgame content. It represented the second coming of Diablo 2 by hands other than Blizzard’s.

You’ve probably seen, or caught wind of, Path of Exile’s passive skill tree. It’s so massive that it has its own built-in search bar, allowing each of the seven base character classes to travel through hundreds of upgrade nodes. There are natural archetypes for them to fit into — the Marauder starts with tons