I absolutely enjoy this game and look at it as a potential competitor for the ARPG crown. Now saying something like that requires a reason so lets dive into the review.

First of course the elephant in the room is it P2W, yes. If this is an issue just stop reading now. If you want to know more read on...

The P2W
Yes, there is pay to win (P2W). Most take the meaning as being able to buy power and have an advantage over those who do not buy. This game has that and its in the form of Pets. Pets come in several different varities, drop pets, dps pets, survival pets. Drop pets increase drop rates of a currency or item. DPS pets boost damage of various dps abilities (you name it there is a dps pet for it), and survival pets focus on survival, increasing XP, reducing XP penalties, etc. All of this adds up to if you buy them you are stronger.

The Currency
Like all P2W games it has its own currency you buy with real cash and then use that to buy in-game items. The usual tatics are here like "300% value", "Limited Time", and currency amounts that have you buy more than you need.

So some have already stopped reading. Which is fine. I am not bothered by any of the above. So now lets actually talk about the game.

The Game
Like any good ARPG you need things to do it and ways to do those things. If you have played PoE then you have pretty much played this. So why play this? Well one reason the entry point is much easier. PoE has all the depth of designing a rocket while performing brain surgery. It does very little though to help you understand how you get both of those done at the same time. This game respects you as a newbie and has added some great systems to help you. Lets talk about them.

Pro Builds
Pro Builds is an "in-game system" which allows you to select a build for your chosen character. Click that build and then it creates a template for everything that makes that build work. This system even includes the gear! So once you select the build you want on your talent tree you will see a circle around the talents you need to pick. The same is true for your hero traits as well. This means you really can play the game without visiting a 3rd party site. Not just that but you can click Recommend on the gear and it will take you to the auction house and search for it. You can then buy it directly from there and get your item delivered instantly. This eliminates the endless whispers to buy things from other games.

The Content
You need things to do. It is an ARPG afterall. So we are now 8 seasons in (yes I know it says SS5 but well its complicated). Every season has been better than the last. There are a lot of things to do that you can mix and match while mapping. While mapping though is the very important part. This game does not have other systems outside of mapping for you to engage in. There is no delving, heisting or helltides. All of the previous seasons mechanics are interacted with through mapping. That being said there are a lot of ways to mix and match the mapping content to keep the game fresh and you farming. The big difference here is instead of going to another zone its all done through mapping.

The Bosses
Boss fights are great. Lots of mechanics and if you want a challenge the Uber Bosses are no joke. The downside here is where Uber Bosses in other games are usually not only very mechanics heavy but also tanky. Here they went the route of tanky. So lots of HP and killing ubers here usually means a mega poop ton of damage. There are quite a few to engage with the list growing every season.

Mapping
Mapping here is insanely fast. Are you a zoomer? Do you like to speed by enemies and they just fall over? Do you want gigantic loot explosions? Chase items that are insanely good? Well then you are in luck this game has you covered. The loot is great, the loot filter is damn good, and the mapping experience overall is very fun! Speaking of the loot filter did I mention that you can share loot filters by just copying the code? Thats right, you can export your loot filter in a 18 (might be more) digit code and be ready to go!

The Classes
MANY, there is a playstyle here for everyone....but....ya there is a but. You do have to pay for them. They are available for free by saving up Hero Tokens. This is free currency you get from challenges. You need 100 to buy a new hero. The other method is the Season Pass. This unlocks all classes for you for that season only. It is fairly cheap. 15 bucks gets you a ton. This also gets you that seasons new hero forever. However, any heroes you did not buy will be gone once the season ends.

Flexibility
Do you like the PoE puzzle solving when it comes to builds. Yep, its here. Anyone can use any skill. Its up to your imagination to make the best builds you can and it is deep. This is not a shallow experience. If you like PoE complexity for builds you will like it here.

Skills
Look amazing.

Costumes
So a big downside to me is there is no pack like other games. What they do is typically have 4 - 8 cosmetics on a banner. Every pull of that banner guarantees one of those items. Once you pull enough to get them all the banner goes away. The plus side is if there is only one you wanted and you pull it early you can stop. The downside is usually the best ones are the last in the banner. Which are also the rarer ones to get early. I would prefer just say give me this for X amount (at a discount). There are advantages to this system as I mentioned previously. They do sell cosmetics directly as well. Most new cosmetics are all done via the banner system mentioned above.

The Overall
If you want a great ARPG and you are ok with P2W existing in it. This game is an excellent choice. I highly recommend this to any fans of ARPGS.