Recent reviews by Tanweth, the Coffin Crusher

I never got around to playing the mod this is based on despite being a big Skyrim fan, but experiencing the standalone game as an unfamiliar player I can definitely say I had a fantastic experience. I think it says something that my primary complaint about the game is how short it is (but that shouldn't stop you from deciding to buy it and enjoy a wild and wonderful 10-15 hour ride). If you like story-driven RPGs and immersive sandboxes, this game will scratch an itch that few can. Think Disco Elysium (albeit faster paced and a little less dialog-heavy) mixed with bits of Dishonored and Skyrim (albeit with much less combat).

The game does a great job of starting you off in a strange setting with a puzzling mystery at its core, but giving you plenty of threads (each of them intriguing mysteries in their own right) to follow in order to slowly unravel that mystery. Each thread has interesting twists and turns that neatly fit into the broader mystery in often surprising ways. It also helps that they are bolstered by a cast of very detailed characters with their own distinct personalities and believable motivations.

Time loop mechanics are often a bit gimmicky, but it fits into this game nicely. Not only does it fit into the plot surprisingly well, but it also encourages creative ways to solve the mysteries where you think beyond just what you can do in a single loop. They also did a good job of not making it tedious by providing systems such as a little helper you can ask to complete quests from previous loops for you in new ones, and by providing a surprisingly high amount of new dialog options based on what you learned in previous loops to keep repeat conversations interesting.

It also helps that I'm a sucker for depictions of classical civilizations in video games, and this game does a superb job of it. The architecture and world-building are so good this game could be used in a museum to simulate an ancient Roman city, and are integral to the game's excellent environmental storytelling. I particularly enjoyed how the city also includes beautiful depictions of Egyptian and Sumerian architecture in ruined undercities to show that the titular forgotten city has seen the rise and fall of multiple civilizations.

My complaints are few, but there are a few things that would've made this game even better for me:
- The game includes an extended segment that is one of the few places where you actually engage in combat (and a little platforming). I enjoyed it as a change of pace, but I didn't enjoy how linear it was. For a game that is normally very open-ended, this linear segment felt like a missed opportunity.
- The facial animations are certainly nothing to stare in wonder at this side of 2006, but the game's zoomed in perspective in dialog certainly emphasizes them. That said, I wouldn't expect a new 3 person team to shell out for motion capture.
- The game includes many elements of immersive sandbox games like Thief or Dishonored (albeit much lighter on combat), but it still isn't as rich in alternate paths as those games, which I think limits its replay potential.
- I do wish the game had a little more detail to character creation and your background had more impact on how the game plays out. In, for example, Disco Elysium (or even Dishonored), how you build your character heavily defines your playthrough and how you interact with the world. The lack of any skill system or opportunities to build your character also feel like missed opportunities for making this game feel more dynamic and replayable, though also understandable considering how small the team is.

Path of Exile has carved itself out as an ARPG staple over the years, and shows no signs of diminishing anytime soon. For starters, it is perhaps the most generous free-to-play game that I have ever played. One where there are certainly helpful mtx to be had (such as specialized stash tabs to make organizing loot easier), but you can comfortably play without ever making a purchase and, short of occasional global announcements about sales, never feel like you're even being pushed to do so. And the content updates (always free) are so regular and meaty that that if you step away from the game for a year or two then pick it up again, it feels like a very different experience than the last time you played it.

As a consequence, I have spent more money on this game over the years than I have most. Not because I felt I had to, but because I felt the developers deserved the support.

The game itself introduced some radical and welcome changes to the Diablo-like gameplay formula, such as a highly-customizable skill system and non-linear classes that only determine where you start on the passive skill tree. However, they seem less radical now since other games in the genre have begun to follow suit.

It is not for the faint of heart, since it is very easy to end up making a build that is not very viable end-game. However, if you don't mind taking the time to learn the game's systems and experiment (and look at the extensive library of build guides that are constantly getting theorycrafted to give you at least a starting point for exploration), it is a very rewarding game that allows you to create a character that truly feels unique. I tend to gravitate toward bow characters, but despite often sticking to that same archetype, every new bow character I play feels very unlike the previous ones I've made because of how deep the build systems are. Between that and knowing that every time I come back, there's going to be plenty of new content for me to explore, Path of Exile is a game that I have always returned to since I started playing it in its early days.