I’ve got over 200 hours in Path of Exile 2 and I’m still intimidated by it. I pick up loot and have no idea if it’s good or not, the gigantic skill tree gives me chills, and I couldn’t tell you anything about the lore. I’m willing to endure the most prickly parts of PoE 2 because the campaign is excellent—and it just got better.
The latest update introduces a new act that has me fully on board with Grinding Gear Games’ vision for an action RPG campaign, one that might just rival the legendary status of Diablo 2 in players’ memories. This new content is so compelling that it makes me overlook the pacing issues in earlier parts of the campaign. While the endless mazes in Act 3 often test my patience during replays, experiencing what lies beyond gives me renewed confidence in GGG to strike a fine balance between soulslike pacing and pure action RPG blasting as they continue development.
From the moment I was dragging my character through water, with ocean waves crashing through crumbling prison walls, I knew this new act was different. This remarkable sequence arrived after I’d already brawled with a land shark and stepped into the dreamlike domain of a god just hours prior. It’s clear that this new addition serves up a buffet of imaginative set piece moments, many of which don’t require a deep understanding of PoE 2’s advanced mechanics. GGG has truly outdone themselves, crafting some of the most creative boss encounters I’ve ever seen, complete with a distinctive FromSoftware-like quality in their monstrous transformations and puzzle-like attacks.
Breaking from the linear structure of Acts 1 through 3, this latest chapter sends you sailing to different islands, each holding a piece of the puzzle to stop the apocalyptic beast you’ve been pursuing. The freedom to visit these islands in any order, each with its self-contained theme and mini-storyline, makes this a welcome palate cleanser after several hours of bulldozing through long, often predictable maps. As you navigate between these diverse locales, optional bosses and challenges abound, rewarding you with crucial skill points and other passive bonuses. It’s truly impressive how many distinct areas GGG has managed to pack into each island.
Spelunking with spirits
My favorite section has you descending through a cave and completing trials to gain an audience with the goddess of death. Your quest starts out with you standing over your own corpse and only gets weirder from there. You don’t need to know the lore to be creeped out by this place and all the nasty spiritual monsters within.
The tight hallways and shrines where you take on each trial don’t feel like random set dressing for a game about mowing down monsters. There’s a real sense of progression as you descend deeper into the zone and the damp caves gradually transition into stone hallways with otherworldly designs.
This entire section strongly reminded me of the captivating underground areas in Elden Ring. While not quite as expansive, this segment offers a fascinating peek into the ancient history of Wraeclast, hidden just beneath the surface. It’s mysterious and foreboding in all the right ways, making the earlier acts feel like child’s play by comparison. The current chapter ends on a gripping cliffhanger, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next update from GGG and where the story will lead.
PoE 2’s campaign desperately needed a thematic contrast to its earlier acts, which often felt dominated by encounters with apes and spiders. While this latest addition certainly has its share of charmingly goofy scenarios—the land shark boss fight remains a standout—I simply couldn’t face another desert or manor to dispatch an evil king.
Crucially, since each island in this new section only takes a couple of hours to finish, nothing overstays its welcome. This modularity feels akin to the game’s endgame mapping system, where players swiftly jump between locations on their way to corrupted zones. As someone on my fourth playthrough of PoE 2’s campaign, I honestly wasn’t sure if I could embark on another journey before this update. However, this revitalized content gives me immense hope that GGG has even more surprises up its sleeves for how it intends to conclude the story and how players will experience it. It’s not only eminently replayable for future leagues but also a compelling demonstration of what GGG is capable of when it focuses on crafting a tremendous campaign that transcends mere ‘homework’ before the ‘real game’ begins. Indeed, for me, PoE 2’s campaign is the game, and I fully intend to convince my friends to experience it, regardless of their interest in the endgame grind.