Path of Exile: Atlas of Worlds

The core game involves wading in blood amid nonstop violence, so it's no surprise that the expansion does the same. That said, the gory gameplay stays fresh thanks to the clever addition of 30 cool new maps and a personal map tool that lets you direct your own destiny. Path of Exile: Atlas of Worlds has found a great way to extend the main game's replayability: by giving players an ever-changing experience based on exploration and luck. Advanced players start at the edges of the Atlas and fight their way to the center through increasingly difficult maps. As they go, they collect more maps of varying rarity and combine low-level maps into higher-level ones, or they alter maps to suit their tastes. The new maps include places such as a beach, a factory, a jungle, a tomb, and many other beautiful and challenging locations. Maps contain new Essence scenarios (part of the three-month Essence Challenge League) where you can kill monsters for valuable essence, which you can use to craft cool new weapons.

All of this is great stuff, but the only problem is gaining access to it. The Atlas of Worlds doesn't unlock until you've played through the main game 2.75 times (through Act III on Merciless difficulty), which means many players will never gain access to it. Grinding Gear Games unapologetically made this game for the hard-core player, and Atlas of Worlds more than confirms that.