The Synthesis update is spectacular, only the PC and Xbox versions are on that build though, the PS4 version is on War Of The Atlas which is one version behind (downloaded it to see how it ran on my base PS4 for fun, I'll continue on my Xbox One X).
killin mobs and grabbin loot mostly. plus classic RPG elements, levelling (with a Final Fantasy style skill tree, only 10X bigger), upgrading your equipment, exploring cool environments, and investigating the lore. The story, while sort of thin compared to, say, Baldur's Gate II, is still pretty interesting, with a dark mystery feel (at least as far as I got into the initial build). I only ever played Diablo 1, and found it underwhelming - to me it was like Baldur's Gate with slightly better combat mechanics and far worse character and story development. Path of Exile is better than that, but is still mostly about running around pretty screens, shooting and stabbing and increasing variety of monsters with an increasing variety of attack options, and accumulating loot. For me, it really shines on the multiplayer side.
Oh boy where to begin... Diablo and Diablo 2 (more so Diablo 2) started the mindless click-click-click to attack and kill hordes of enemies on the PC and Mac. "Action RPG" if you will, as there are skill trees involved to create a particular build with what class you select. The real hook about Diablo is loot, loot and more loot. What @lethargytartare said about Path Of Exile above me is spot on but Diablo 3 (on consoles at least) is excellent too after the expansion and lots of patches. Path Of Exile's skill tree absolutely annihilates any from the Diablo entries though, in fact it's overwhelming to most newcomers and Diablo veterans (I'd recommend looking into builds online if it seems too daunting on where to spend your points). Currency is different between the two games, you rely on orbs, scrolls, whetstones, armor scrap to get things and upgrade weapons. Diablo 1,2 and 3 have gold Path Of Exile does not. Path Of Exile also has a gem system where the gems provide your special attacks and they level up along with your character. Diablo 3's skills and runes unlock as you level. Story-wise Path Of Exile beats all three Diablo's combined IMHO and the voice acting is much much better. All that said it looks like the PS4 version of Path Of Exile is getting updated to the latest version later today to be in line with PC and Xbox versions. One big disappointment for me with the PS4 version is the amount of screen tear going on which I didn't even experience when I only had a base Xbox One and not an X. Maybe on the PS4 Pro it doesn't happen but if you're still on a base PS4 and want to try it out be prepared for the tear. So in summary Diablo 3 is a fun action RPG (and I'd recommend it to newcomers if the price is right for you) but Path Of Exile is the much deeper game in the genre and it's completely free to play. If you want to play either in co-op with me I'd be happy to show you the ropes.
I'd add about POE: you could spend 12 hours a day, 7 days a week meticulously researching and planning builds, searching for specific drops, grinding areas for months on end, trying to get everything just so. The game is so deep, it has immense rewards for extreme metagaming and detailed planning and understanding. Or, you can log in with a few friends and kill a month just clicking whatever seems cool in the skill tree, wearing whatever gear has the coolest display, and just wait until you get level-capped by build flaws. either way is entertaining as hell. on higher levels it does get more and more difficult to progress without an optimized build, but unless you can only enjoy a game you can complete, just diving in and figuring it out on the fly will be just as entertaining for at least a year.
Oh I agree about the higher levels, personally I prefer to do things my way: experiment and just have fun. If I screw my skill try I just shrug it off.
that's me too - especially with the visual effect combos on some of the weapon skills. Sure, I SHOULD be dual-wielding daggers with this skill path, but this exploding 2-handed war hammer is so effing coooooolllll. I haven't really planned a build beyond occasionally looking 5 or 6 steps ahead to pick a fork in the tree.
I'm currently running a summoning Witch that also casts devastating lightning (red lightning because I HAD TO HAVE THAT COSMETIC) attacks (Xbox). Going to run a Ranger on the PS4 but have no idea where I'll go with the tree in that.
I never have time to play games anymore, but I'm sold. I'm tired of causing havoc with my eyes at my age with mobile gaming. I have a base PS4, I played Diablo and maybe a brief stint of Diablo II, but I can't pass up a free to play game.
I just spent 1.5 hours cleaning up my stash tabs and resetting the skill tree for one of my characters. I love that they offer the free reset whenever they make major changes to the skill tree, although it can be daunting for an L40 toon. really reminds me of pen and paper dnd days, when you'd get together to play, and 4 or 5 hours later all you'd done is create characters and maybe set the campaign background.
early on, when I was playing every day, I bought a bunch of extra color-coded stash tabs and have a separate tab for almost every item category (depending on the physical item size). after one of the resets, it stripped all my characters of their gear and through the gear into the 1st available slot of the correct size. it's taken me a year to clean that up. just finished today.
How in the hell did I miss Yoshi's Crafted World released on Friday? Well that's in my playlist replacing Diablo 3 since I was finally able to grind out the achievement I was chasing in that.
Just added Outward to my play rotation, fans of Gothic should check it out. No quest markers, no map markers, it's tough an old school-ish 3rd person RPG.
Slowly working my way through Final Fantasy 7. Heading toward Mt. Condor. I hope it's as good as I remember.
Have I mentioned that I played Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Really good. Loved the combat mechanics and the story.
I'm mainly finding the controls clunky and unintuitive, and the NPC AI as bad as it was in Baldur's Gate. I've avoided hearing anything about the story, though, so I may just tune-down the difficulty and finish it anyway.