However you play, you end up at the same place: an alien ship, fighting a big blobby entity whose intro speech in my head at least is "Yeah, so, I'm a little disappointed about myself too. Let's just do get this over with." There are three endings in total—one good POE currency trade , one bad, one meh—with hints in one that Blackbird isn't actually the helpful lady everyone thought she was but may actually be the Entity. Unfortunately, there's no two-way communication, giving no chance to ask "So, what the hell are you, anyway?" before applying a dozen medical packs and emptying the Sigil into it a few million times.
Behold, the conqueror of the world! They're not kidding when they say 'UFO'. What the hell is that meant to be?
The plot isn't the point though. The fact that Strife actually tried to have one beyond 'Uh... that guy's being a dick, go kill him, here's a pistol' put it well above the competition for the time, and the effort that went into branching paths and NPC interactions and even little details like the Programmer having a bedroom complete with a four-poster bed in his lair rather than it simply being lots of gunmetal grey and computer screens really made all the difference. Unfortunately, a first glance made it seem like an out-of-date shooter, and the bits where shooting was involved... that was a fair comment.
Still, as much as we remember games like Deus Ex that tried something new and succeeded, it's important to remember those that didn't quite get there. Without Strife, we'd probably still have the games that took these ideas and ran with them, but playing it when it came out was a great preview of what we had to look forward to, once the details had been hammered out and the technology was ready. It's a pity it didn't do better buy POE currency , but that's the cruelty of life—not everything can get the success it deserves.
PC Gamer Newsletter
Sign up to get the best content of the week, and great gaming deals, as picked by the editors.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Path of Exile: Delirium sends you into a creepy mirror dimension in search of game-changing rewards