Grinding Gear Games Offers Retrospective Videos On Seven Years Of Path Of Exile Development

Games change a lot over seven years. Even if the core gameplay remains the same, looking back at old graphics and UI elements, as well as remembering content that’s been added — “Remember when we had to do X because Y wasn’t in the game?” — makes for some semi-fond memories. I say “semi-fond” because, while nostalgia is a hell of a drug, remembering that you used to endure whatever-it-was back then because you loved the game so much has a tendency to make you question your own sanity at times. To paraphrase a wise man, you thought you wanted it, but you didn’t.

Not having any development news to share — it is the “dead week” between Christmas and New Years — the team at Grinding Gear Games has offered up a series of brief videos highlighting the long, uh, path (of exile?) its signature game took during its first few years in the wild. It starts with a beta video from all the way back in 2011 and concludes with videos highlighting the Torment and Bloodlines Leagues, which were implemented in December 2014.

This is only part one of the retrospective, which will continue next week, showcasing “expansions from The Awakening through to Breach!” The game’s come a long way and should have another seven years or more ahead of it.