This game is not for everybody, and that's okay. The story mode alone is worth placing this in your "try" list, especially since it's a free title.

Pros:

- The developer is the publisher. Tencent is now majority investor, but the negative affects (if any) haven't been seen by the players.
- Microtransactions are convenience/cosmetic. MTX shop is not forced on you.
- Diverse playstyles, replayability is really high. (see reviews with thousands of hours)
- Content for literal days. New new areas and mechanics seem to come every quarter.


Cons:

- The game mechanics behind character stats are not what I'd consider intuitive. Learning it on your own without guides/videos/friends is nearly impossible.
- Boss difficulty is very spikey. If you don't have something recording to re-watch your deaths, you'll have many moments wondering where you made a mistake.
- The new player experience is a bit lacking when it comes to builds. It's a common theme among my friends that doing your first play-through, you get hard stuck at some point in story mode. If you made it this far through the review, do yourself a favor and follow a new player guide or build guide.


Many, many hours of fun without any required paying. Not new player friendly, be prepared to start over if you don't follow a guide.


To conclude, I mentioned earlier that PoE is not for everyone. After 150 hrs, I've come to find out it's not for me, either. That doesn't make it a bad game, and I still firmly place it in "recommended" for anyone who enjoys ARPG/Hack and Slash games. I will not be playing any more, but I do not regret my time spent in PoE. Good luck, exile.