Parents' Guide to Path of Exile: The Fall of Oriath

This free-to-play role-playing game has outdone itself in this expansion with its depth, difficulty, and warfare. Adding six new acts and a range of interesting new powers, it offers action RPG fans countless hours of bloody combat and disturbing storylines. As usual, though, only the best, most knowledgeable players will be able to experience it all.

Though its last expansion got rid of some of the game's more punishing aspects (requiring you to play through three times to access the endgame content, for instance), Path of Exile remains a niche game meant for only the hardiest of players. Though Acts 6-10 take the place of the now-defunct Cruel and Merciless difficulty levels, you must conquer the complex gear system and intimidatingly huge skill tree or your chances of getting through The Fall of Oriath are slim indeed. That's a shame, because there's a lot of great stuff here. It's fun going back to previous areas and seeing the consequences of your previous actions, not to mention fighting off a host of creative new enemies. It's also fun to talk to characters, too, since they're always ready to spout more of PoE's typical melodramatic dialogue. The new bosses, though -- they're the stars of the show. Great boss fights aren't new to Path of Exile, but by pitting you against the gods of Wraeclast, The Fall of Oriath takes you to a new level of fright and depravity. From beginning to end, the expansion's incredibly high-quality, especially for a free-to-play game. Again, the only downer -- if you can call it that -- is the time and effort you'll have to put in and the knowledge and skill you'll need to be able to experience it.