There are so many other reviews of this game that cover everything. Its a good cRPG, but not great. I think if you like cRPGs like Divinity Original Sin, Torment, Wasteland, etc, you will probably like PoE. I definitely think this is a win, if you get it during a sale. The game does a poor job explaining the mechanics of how things work. Even a veteran cRPG player like me will be will end up referring to online guides trying to figure things like stats out. I just finished Act I. The pacing is slower than other games. Its not a combat heavy game so far and combat is not particularly difficult. The game wants you to pause on use abilities, spells, positioning, etc. So far, its been unnecessary. Just right click an enemy and autoattack is generally all you need to do. I think if you are a veteran RPG player, up the difficulty. There are some frustrating mechanics in the game, a silly map system which has annoying load times, a terrible inventory system, and more. All typical of any RPG.
GOG was giving this game away for free so I grabbed it. I am 10 hours into it and I am very glad I gave it a shot. At first glance, it looked like a Diablo clone. However, it is very different. While it shares many concepts of Diablo and other dungeon crawlers, it differs in several ways. It runs at a slower and more story driven, which isnt a bad thing. Combat occurs (mostly) when you are ready and willing. Some traditional RPG mechanics are thrown to the side, while bringing in some new ones. You can save whenever you want, so you can put at little, or as much time in as you want in a play session. You can read the other reviews to get more info. Unfortunately, at the time of me writing this review, GOG is no longer offering the game for free and it is listed at $24.99. Even at that price, I think its a good deal. You will definitely get your moneys worth out of this game.
I have been so frustrated with RPGs over the last decade. They are all FPS/RPG hybrids are realtime Diablo type dungeon crawlers. Those are fine, but sometimes slower is better. I havent even looked at RPGs lately and hadnt even heard on this one. However, GoG was having a sale and it caught my eye. I got this game on sale for $13 and it had good reviews. So I took the plunge and it was totally worth it. Honestly, it is probably worth the full price. I am having a blast playing this game. Oldschool cRPGs are having a comeback in recent years with remakes/remasters the last few years. So far, this game is on par with Wasteland 3 and Torment: Tides of Numenera in design and execution. Thats a major compliment, as those are some of the best games Ive played in years.
I remember seeing the original GK in the store when I was a kid, however I never played it. It was one of those games that was on the proverbial "list," but I never got around to it. I saw the 20th Anniversary Edition for sale on GOG with good reviews, and thought why not? Im glad I did. First off, it runs fine on a modern machine, as it should as a remake. The graphics and sound were obviosuly updated, but not over the top. I have to admit, the voice actor for GK really hammed up the southern accent, but fortunately he loses a lot of it further in the game. For the most part the puzzles were fairly easy, there were a few though that left me stuped for a while. All in all, this is a very good point and click adventure game.
