There’s a really subtle hint of Aotearoa in Path of Exile. Certain characters, such as the playable hulking marauder, are adorned with koru-inspired patterns. Swamps are packed with bipedal bird-like, but monstrous, Rhoa, and donating to the free-to-play (at least when it gets released; it’ll be in beta for a wee while yet) grants the player a kiwi to root for invertebrates while he or she cleaves undead in twain.
Other than those visual splashes, however, Path of Exile is pure gothic. It borrows from Diablo proudly; Porcupine-ish creatures and zombies populate the first area of POE just as they did in Diablo II. The combat is equally recognizable and simplistic. Hold down an enticing key and your ranged-character will root their feet to the soil and launch projectiles at a hobbling menace. Gathering a ton of loot remains super-satisfying – especially when most of it is garbage.
NZ’s own Grinding Gear Games carve out a niche for themselves in a couple of ways. For such a small studio the visual design, especially the animations, are striking. This makes it all the more impressive that they promise to make Path of Exile totally free to play. It remains to be seen whether the game can stay afloat based on a steady stream of aesthetic micro-transactions.
Path of Exile
