Clicking on monsters until they explode in showers of shiny loot—over and over again, for the promise of a slightly better pair of pants—is quintessential PC gaming. Most action-RPGs benefit from long lifespans thanks to a steady treadmill of refining skills, acquiring better loot, and endless dungeon crawling. But even the best action-RPGs aren’t immune to the ravages of time, and genre go-tos Diablo 3 and Path of Exile have been around for years now. As they grow older, several plucky newcomers have emerged in 2019, eager to gobble up weeks of your life. Some cling tightly to the Diablo tradition while others fearlessly blow it up to take a different path. 

If you've stayed more than awhile in the world of Diablo, and made your way through Path of Exile's massive skill tree, these are the action-RPGs you should be playing in 2019.

Grim Dawn: Forgotten Gods

The Good:

• Create a unique class by combining two of nine class masteries, each with their own expandable skill trees.
• Gain Devotion Points to fill out expansive constellations of passive buffs and skill enhancements.
• Arcanepunk setting includes guns, rifles, and grenades alongside spells and swords..
• Non-randomized world results in more organic environments and level designs.
• Forgotten Gods expansion adds exotic locations, fun new enemy types, and the Adventure Mode-like Shattered Realm.

The bad:

• Newest Masery, Oathkeeper, is a somewhat boring stock-standard Paladin.
• Graphics are looking dated.

Who Should Play: Fans of Diablo 2 and Titan Quest. Anyone looking for a traditional action-RPG experience.

Don’t let that 2016 release date fool you. Although Grim Dawn is technically an older game, Crate Entertainment just put out its second major expansion, Forgotten Gods, earlier this year. 

Grim Dawn is the spiritual successor to Titan Quest, one of the few truly excellent action-RPGs to bridge the long, lonely era between Diablo 2 and 3. Titan Quest’s legacy is partially reflected in the class mastery system, which combines two masteries to create a unique class hybrid, such as my dual gun-wielding Pyromancer (Demolitions + Occultist), who’s armed with fire-spewing revolvers, a mortar trap, a demon dog, and a raven familiar.

Forgotten Gods adds a ninth mastery, the Oathkeeper, bringing the total class combinations up to a staggering 36 (although I found the Oathkeeper, a shield-focused warrior, a bit boring compared to other masteries).

Forgotten Gods takes full advantage of its new setting. The Korvan Basin features a lengthy stint in the desert, followed by jungle ruins and a volcanic wasteland, a much-needed change of scenery from the base game’s homesteads and swamplands. Grim Dawn’s other major legacy feature from Titan Quest is to flip its middle finger at the randomly generated levels that are typical of action-RPGs, instead creating hand-crafted map designs. It feels more like a "real" fantasy world than a randomly generated series of hallways and dead ends.

The expansion also attempts to solve the replayability issue by splitting the main questline among three different factions. The story is largely the same, but being able to choose different quests on subsequent playthroughs (or multiple characters) is a welcome feature that more ARPGs should use. 

For even more replayability, Forgotten Gods takes a smart cue from Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls by adding the Shattered Realm, which works very similar to Diablo 3’s Rifts. Like the Rifts, the Shattered Realm eliminates loot and experience while battling through these series of randomly organized dungeons and boss battles, but I’m pushed to go as far as I can to gain a better treasure hoard at the end.

For newcomers, you don’t have to complete the entire base game to enjoy Forgotten Gods (unlike the previous expansion, Ashes of Malmouth). You need only complete the first act before the Emissary will show up in town, whisking you away to the more colorful Korvan Basin, with properly scaled enemies. Forgotten Gods reminded me that Grim Dawn is still one of the best traditional action-RPGs around.

Pagan Online

The Good:

• 10 different heroes, each with their own weapons and playstyles.
• Easy to level, equip, and switch between multiple heroes.
• Lengthy campaign with unique, gigantic boss battles.
• Quick, bite-size 5-minute missions.

The Bad:

• Unlocking new heroes is a time-consuming grind.
• The campaign is single-player only.

Who Should Play: MOBA fans looking for a PvE experience, action-RPG fans looking for something a bit different.

Inserting MOBA-style heroes into an action-RPG may be a bit blasphemous, but Pagan Online provides a fun twist on the genre, with 10 wildly different heroes, each with their own unique weapons and skills. 

Playing so many different heroes is an alt-oholic’s dream, as once unlocked, I can seamlessly switch heroes between missions, whether running through the surprisingly meaty campaign or engaging in random survival missions. Gear has no level restrictions, and lower level heroes receive a fat XP boost, granting even further incentive to experiment with multiple heroes.

None of that would matter if the heroes weren’t interesting and fun. Thankfully there’s a rich variety of melee and ranged archetypes, from the standard elemental mage and axe-twirling barbarian to the more exotic tarot card-using fan-dancer and blood-whip demoness. Each hero has its own unique weapon and skills, with each skill including multiple upgrade paths.

The fast-paced combat, compact levels, and WASD movement emphasize quicker and more intimate battles, where dodging enemy abilities is as important as knowing when and where to deploy the right attacks, and knowing how to use each hero’s signature traits and styles to their fullest extent.

Pagan Online stumbles when it comes to the actual “online” component. The campaign is limited to single-player only (despite being largely structured the same as missions), and multiplayer is limited to two players. Unlocking additional heroes is also a needless pain, the one carryover from free-to-play MOBAs that Pagan Online should’ve left behind. As I wrote in my review, be prepared for a grind. Those caveats aside, Pagan Online delivers a fresh take on a genre that's often hesitant to change.

Early Access action-RPGs to keep an eye on

Killsquad sets itself apart with its sci-fi setting and arcade-like combat. It strips away most loot and standard level progression in favor of jumping into enemy-filled missions with up to four players. Combat is much more focused on player skill and coordination rather than who has the bigger numbers and better loot, and thus depends on matchmaking and population (if you don't have your own go-to squad) more than other action-RPGs. It’s also the best-looking game of the bunch. Hopefully Killsquad can build its audience as I've liked what I've played so far.

Last Epoch is gunning to be the next Grim Dawn, but where Grim Dawn uses Titan Quest as its base model, Last Epoch unapologetically worships Diablo 2. Map and enemy designs leave much to be desired but the classes, loot, and skill trees check all the right boxes. I especially love the option to specialize in certain skills, opening up entirely new skill upgrades. The unique time-traveling campaign is inspired by Chrono Trigger’s time-hopping story, as you work to reverse the apocalyptic end of the world. Last Epoch is a bit rough around the edges but is off to a promising start. It'll supposedly be out of Early Access in spring 2020.

Action-RPG Grim Dawn's long-awaited Forgotten Gods expansion—which will add a new story chapter, an endless game mode and hundreds of items—will be out on March 27, developer Crate Entertainment has revealed.

We knew it was coming at some point this month but now we know exactly when, and that it will cost $15.99.

The meaty expansion adds a new story chapter set in a desert outside the bounds of the Erulan Empire, and your task is to "battle alongside the Witch God cults to vanquish the rising threat of a forgotten god". Forgotten Gods adds a new class mastery, extra mobility skills including teleport, four new factions and nine constellations. In terms of extra loot, you can expect "dozens" of rare Monster Infrequent items as well as "hundreds" of new epic and legendary items.

It also introduces a new game mode called Shattered realm, which is basically an endless mode in which you earn unique rewards and lots of gear. 

If you haven't tried Grim Dawn but you're a fan of Diablo and its ilk, then it's well worth a go. It has snappy combat, a complex class system and deep character customisation—you can read Leif's glowing review here.

The Steam page for the new expansion is live here.

The Grim Dawn expansion Forgotten Gods was announced in March 2018, with an expectation that it would be out sometime in the second half of that year. Today, with March 2019 looming, developer Crate Entertainment rolled out a gameplay trailer showcasing the new desert setting, a new Mastery, and other new content and changes, and said that it will be out—for real this time—next month. 

Forgotten Gods will take players into a great, scorching desert beyond the lands of the Erulan Empire, a place of "burning sands, lush oases and volcanic wastes," and secrets best left buried. It will add a new Mastery to the game called the Oathkeeper, new mobility skills, four new Factions and nine new Constellations, dozens of new enemies and hundreds of items, and a new endless game mode set in a crumbling reality called Shattered Realm. 

Grim Dawn, for those who haven't yet had the opportunity to enjoy it, is an old-school action-RPG, stylistically similar to Diablo 2 but with deeper gameplay mechanics including a multi-classing system, character-modifying Constellations, and numerous high-level "Challenge Dungeons." It's relatively complex as these things go, but also really good: We scored it 83/100 in our review, saying that "few modern hack-and-slash RPGs are quite so fun"—even though it's really grim. 

The extra wait for Forgotten Gods is very on-brand for Grim Dawn, too: The base game was announced in 2009 and slated for release in 2011, but didn't actually come out until 2016. Find out more about what's coming at grimdawn.com. 

Grim Dawn is an old-school action-RPG in the tradition of games like Diablo 2 and Titan Quest—in fact, developer Crate Entertainment was founded in 2008 by former members of Titan Quest studio Iron Lore Entertainment. It was released in 2016 after more than six years in development, and to the great relief of those of us who weren't satisfied with Diablo 3, it turned out to be really good: "None of its recent competitors deliver that old-style hack-and-slash experience so purely and so satisfyingly," we said in our review, which we capped off with an 83/100 score. 

An expansion, Ashes of Malmouth, arrived in October 2017, bringing with it new classes and chapters, and today Crate revealed that a second expansion called Forgotten Gods is on the way. Players will travel beyond the Erulan Empire into a great, burning desert, in search of "the sun beaten ruins of a city with secrets that should never have been disturbed." 

The new expansion will feature new powers, unique items, and enemies, plus "quality of life features" and a new gameplay mode. Somewhat unexpectedly, given Grim Dawn's rather languid pace of development, it's also expected to be out fairly soon—sometime in the second half of this year.   

More information about Grim Dawn: Forgotten Gods will be revealed over the next few months, beginning with the next development update on March 19. 

Grim Dawn’s Ashes of Malmouth expansion launched yesterday, introducing new classes like the Necromancer and the Inquisitor, and continuing the action-RPG’s gloomy story with two new chapters. It’s pretty meaty, and also throws in a cosmetic system that lets you change the appearance of your items, like Diablo’s transmogrification system.

Accompanying these additions is an increased level and Devotion cap, 100 and 55 respectively, four extra factions who can become allies or enemies, several new environments, and new super bosses who drop some unique loot. 

Speaking of loot, expect to discover hundreds of new items as you fight your way towards the titular fallen city of Malmouth. But first you’ll need to slaughter your way past hordes of enemies hiding in the Gloomwald forest and the swampy Ugdenbog. 

A free update will also introduce a new roguelike dungeon, featuring “the corrupting presence of the Aetherials and the Chthonians upon the beasts of Cairn”. Sounds like a nice place. Expect it to appear soon. 

Ashes of Malmouth is out now on Steam and the Humble Store for £14.49/$17.99. Grim Dawn itself is also 70% off on Steam.

Grim Dawn developer Crate Entertainment announced earlier this year that two new classes, the Inquisitor and the Necromancer, and a new Illusionist merchant would be coming to the game in a future DLC release. We haven't heard anything more about it since March, but today the studio released a new trailer revealing that the expansion, entitled Ashes of Malmouth, will be out next month. 

The expansion will add two new chapters to the game set in the Ugdenbog and fallen city of Malmouth, which appears to be somewhat more urban than the game's other locales, but still entirely grim. The new classes—Masteries, technically—will add more than 60 new abilities to the game, and of course there will be a pile of new items to collect, constellations to figure out, and bosses and mini-bosses to fight.   

A specific release date hasn't been set, but even though it's going to miss its original public estimate of the third quarter of this year, it "is absolutely coming in October," Crate said. "It is very probable that it will be on the earlier end of the month, but we want to make sure that recent engine changes and bug fixes have enough time to cook so that you have a smooth and enjoyable experience when you dive into Ugdenbog and Malmouth itself." 

Grim Dawn: Ashes of Malmouth will sell for $18 on Steam, GOG, and Humble (where the full game is currently on sale for $10, by the way), and is free for owners of the Loyalist Edition of the game.   

Back in December, Grim Dawn developer Crate Entertainment announced that two new classes would be coming to the game in an expansion scheduled for release later this year. The first, the Inquisitor, was revealed as part of the initial announcement, while the second was unveiled today as the dreaded Necromancer. 

"Following a period of steep decline, the rulers of Arkovia needed a scapegoat to distract the disgruntled populace from the corruption threatening to topple the once great empire. Necromancers proved to be a perfect target," Crate explained in the Necro-nouncement. "Already detested by most citizens, the Arkovian Oligarchs banned the practice of necromancy outright and condemned its practitioners to the prison known as the Steps of Torment. One of the last necromancers to be captured was the mysterious Uroboruuk. But he was unlike any other, for he could not be killed by any means employed by the Arkovian executioners." 

That bit of fiction was previously established as part of Grim Dawn's somewhat complicated backstory, in which the Uroboruuk-worshipping Order of Death's Vigil is generally regarded as bad news but also handy in a fight, and is therefore tolerated as a possible ally. (And a better choice that those Kymon's Chosen fanatics, if you ask me.) The Steps of Torment is also present as one of the game's "Challenge Dungeons." But with the release of the expansion, the Necromancer will become a fully playable class. 

The details are still being nailed down, but Crate said the class will excel at the use of Aether and Vitality magic. "Drain Essence" will allow necromancers to siphon the life force of enemies to restore their own, and of course they'll also be able to raise skeletons—and possibly more powerful minions at higher levels—to do their bidding. Despite their focus on magic, Necromancers will also be capable in physical confrontations, particularly when taking advantage of powers like Necrotic Edge, which makes every wound just a little bit more disgusting. 

Necromancers seem to be all the rage these days: Blizzard recently offered a closer look at the revamped Diablo 2 Necro that it's working to bring to Diablo 3. A release date for Grim Dawn's take on the class hasn't been announced, but Crate said more will be revealed (about the expansion, not necessarily the Necromancer) in the next developer update on April 3.   

It's the age-old bane of RPGers everywhere: You discover a new piece of armor that's incredibly powerful, perfect for your class—and ugly as sin. It's too good not to wear, but you hesitate anyway because, let's be honest, you look like an absolute clown in that thing. To help alleviate your sartorial shame in the action-RPG Grim Dawn, Crate Entertainment has announced that it will add a new "Service NPC" in the upcoming expansion who will, for a price, make your gear just as pretty as you want it. 

"Using proprietary Illusionist mind-meld technology, any item you discover will automatically have its appearance stored," Crate explained. "In fact, the first time you launch the expansion, every item you have in your inventory and stash will be automatically added to start your collection. That’s a lot of different looks!" 

Illusionists will be available at Devil's Crossing and Fort Ikon in the base game, and in other areas in the expansion, and will not be restricted by level. The usual item level requirements will apply to illusions, however, so first-level characters won't be able to make their gear look like level 75 legendaries. The cost of casting an illusion will scale with your character's level (reverting an item to its original appearance will be free) and transmogrified items can be shared between characters but not traded with other players, although removing the illusion restores their tradeability. And there are some restrictions: items can only be made to look like other equipment of the same class, so you can't make a one-handed sword look like a two-hander, for instance. 

Unfortunately, there's no indication as to when the Illusionist will join the Grim Dawn action, because there's still no word about when the expansion will be out aside from "this year"—hopefully in the first half. The expansion will include a "massive new chapter of Grim Dawn's ongoing tale," plus two new masteries—the Inquisitor was revealed last year, but the second remains a mystery—an increased level cap, and 14 new Constellations.

Grim Dawn's update 1.0.0.7 is due this week, bringing with it Port Valbury—an Aetherial-themed roguelike dungeon filled with new bosses, new lore and "monster infrequents". Developer Crate Entertainment has now revealed 2017 will welcome its seventh mastery: the Inquisitor. 

Specialists in ranged combat, Inquisitors tend toward elemental magic—particularly fire and storm attacks—however are equally adept in close quarters combat, leveraged by their "vast arsenal" of artefacts.  

"Anyone with a penchant for physical altercations will find plenty here to enhance their playstyles," reads an update post on the game's official forum. "Master the placement of runic traps to eradicate any foe daring enough to come near. Bolster your allies with powerful groups buffs and arcane sigils. Overpower your foes with secret words of power. The Inquisitor is a lethal new addition to Grim Dawn’s list of masteries."

Specific offensive spells include the Storm Box of Elgoloth and Flames of Ignaffar —the former allowing Inquisitors to tether themselves to foes with fork lightning; the latter turning their adversaries to ashes. Here's a couple of screens to this end: 

Full information on Grim Dawn's Inquisitor class can be found this way. Its update 1.0.0.7 is due this week.

Ahead of Grim Dawn's incoming 1.0.0.7 update, developer Crate Entertainment has revealed more on The Fall of Port Valbury an Aetherial-themed roguelike dungeon heading to the action role player in mid-December.

Said to boast new lore, bosses and "monster infrequents", Port Valbury has fallen under mysterious circumstances tied to supernatural beings and monstrous creatures. Here's Crate with the skinny on the setup:

"A once proud and prosperous city with a booming port and trade network, Port Valbury has suffered greatly under the influence of the Aetherials. Even before the Grim Dawn was fully unleashed upon Cairn, their agents had begun working on undermining the population and throwing the city into chaos.

"The city s mayor, Khallos Strune, could not have suspected the schemes happening right under his nose, and when he began to realize that one of his advisors, Councilor Van Aldritch, was not using his position to the best interest of the citizenry, it was already too late. Port Valbury, as countless other settlements across the Erulan Empire, was doomed."

After striking a deal with Harbormaster Jarren "if there was anything Port Valbury s harbormaster loved more than a pitcher of ale, that would be coin" Van Aldritch transforms the poor chap into an unsightly Aetherial beast with "bleeding sores covering his aetherwarped flesh". Jarren now stalks the Port Valbury slums and looks like this:

Yikes. And as if things couldn't get any worse, Van Aldritch has now shed his human form, in turn embracing the "tainted nature of the Aether itself." In short, this superhuman entity now rules Port Valbury, which is where you come in. Free for owners of the base game, The Fall of Port Valbury is due mid-December with a concrete release date expected in the coming weeks.

For more Grim Dawn reading, check out Leif's review or why it made Tom dare to care. Grim Dawn is out now for 18.99/$20.99 via The Humble Store.

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