The third season of Diablo 4 is finally out… and if we are to believe the first feedback from the community, most players seem far from convinced by Blizzard’s proposal. If this is you and you are looking for another game of the same genre to sink your teeth into, here is our selection of 4 exceptional ARPGs
Path of Exile
Even though it is now more than ten years old, Path of Exile remains one of the most popular ARPGs out there, with a very active community that continues to grow.
Its main attraction is its absolutely gigantic talent tree. While it can often be intimidating for new players, it allows lovers of theorycrafting to express their creativity with a level of customization that has very few equivalents in the world of video games. This depth is also found in the choice of equipment and the crafting system, adding another layer of complexity to offer practically infinite replayability.
Add to that well-implemented procedural content, a well-balanced difficulty curve, regular updates from an invested studio, and a free-to-play model where microtransactions are essentially cosmetic, and you get an excellent game that fans of the genre absolutely must try.
Grim Dawn
Like Path of Exile, Grim Dawn is no longer young, but it hasn't aged a day since its release in 2016. Even if it's hard to compete with the game from Grinding Gear studio in this area, it also offers a complex customization system that allows the player to combine two different classes to create a huge variety of hybrid characters that are very different from each other.
This is a paid game, and it also benefits from the unwavering investment of the Crate Entertainment studio, which constantly releases free updates to improve the game's ergonomics and add content. It also has two excellent DLCs, and a third expansion Fangs of Asterkarn should still arrive in a few months, to the great delight of a very invested community that regularly adds tons of content through very ambitious mods.
In addition, with its fairly unique graphic style that installs a tasty post-apocalyptic atmosphere, its secrets and easter eggs galore and its dense lore, it will also appeal to more casual players looking for an experience less centered around theorycrafting. A reference of the genre, certainly.
Torchlight 2
In a radically different style from the previous one, Torchlight 2 stands out for its cartoonish, vibrant and colorful artistic direction. The customization system is a little less advanced than those of PoE or Grim Dawn, but this allows it to be more accessible for casual players while remaining deep enough to be interesting in the long term. It also benefits from the unwavering investment of a community of hyperactive modders who allow the gaming experience to be diversified at leisure.
It is particularly distinguished by its ingenious pet system; in addition to participating in combat, these critters also offer a host of quality of life options. For example, they can act as mules and sell unnecessary items without the player having to make multiple trips back and forth — very useful in this genre where inventories often tend to overflow.
Overall, it’s a charming game, complex enough to be interesting without being too confusing, and particularly enjoyable to discover with friends.
Diablo II Resurrected
Finally, players disappointed by Diablo 4 can turn to one of its illustrious predecessors, namely the legendary Diablo II — or more precisely its remastered version. Considered by many to be the best ARPG of all time, it stands out first and foremost for its dark, formidably well-built universe, full of memorable bosses and captivating lore, and carried by an exceptional soundtrack.
Like the new opuses, it offers an addictive loot system that allows you to customize your character little by little, with original builds that contrast with the very formatted archetypes that have become established today. Even though the game has obviously aged a bit since its release in 2000, this remaster helps soften the blow for new players who want to return to the roots of the franchise, and it is an oh-so-memorable experience that still deserves its place in the pantheon of video games.
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