5. Path of Exile

Path of Exile: Sacrifice of the Vaal Official Trailer

Path of Exile is an online aRPG released in 2013. Players control a single character that washes up on the shores of Wraeclast, a continent that serves essentially as a penal colony for the nearby island of Oriath. The player must face the dangerous wilderness and band together with other exiles to survive.

The game offers two permanent game modes: standard, which is the default and allows characters to respawn in the last city they visited, and hardcore, in which players cannot be resurrected, but respawn back in standard mode – this in equivalent to permadeath in other games. The game also features temporary ‘challenge’ leagues that change frequently.

The most unique thing about Path of Exile is that it lacks a currency system – instead, the economy is based on bartering with ‘currency items’: items that are usually used to modify or upgrade equipment, identify other items, or grant skill refund points.

The player initially wakes up on the shoreline, with no idea why they have been exiled.

Depending on the class of character the player selects, spell-like abilities can also be developed.

4. Exanima

Exanima - Trailer

Exanima is a prelude to another game called Sui Generis, which is still in development. It was released as an early access title in April 2015, and is said to take place in the Underworld of Sui Generis.

According to the developers, the game’s combat is entirely physics based, with accurate collisions and procedural animations; the calculated force of the impact is used to determine the damage dealt by the blow. Armor will only protect parts of the body that it covers, and each weapon behaves differently based on its weight, balance, speed, etc.

Players can fully customize their characters.

The game takes place entirely in a dismal Underworld.