Path of Exile will let everyone hack and slash (and test) this weekend

Any way you spin it, Diablo III might have not lived up to everyone's expectations, and while we did give it a great score, which it definitely deserved, it just might have not had the lasting power that fans were expecting it would have.

So if you're done playing Diablo III, and you're eagerly awaiting Torchlight II, this weekend will be your chance to play and test the indie developed Path of Exile, which many are already calling a true successor to Diablo II.

I've had the opportunity to try out Path of Exile myself a few months ago, and I do have to agree that as far as customization goes, Path of Exile has it in troves. Though it's not just the customization aspects, the overall art style also resembles the dark tones of Diablo II.

For the first time since its Closed Beta, anyone will be able to log on this weekend and take Path of Exile for a test drive.

The game has been in Closed Beta since last August and we have been regularly adding new content, classes and skills.  The latest version adds a huge Act Two boss fight, the end-game Maps system and a new passive skill tree with over 1300 skills to customize your character with. The open weekend will include the first two acts of the game, Default and Hardcore leagues, six character classes, approximately 70 active skills, 40 support gems and hundreds of item types.

We will make the game servers public from 5pm on Friday 27 July Pacific Daylight Time until 11:59pm on Sunday.  Over 48,000 people played during our last Open Weekend in May. Any feedback you provide this weekend will help us get ready for our permanent Open Beta.

For more information, head on over to the Path of Exile Public Weekend hub.

For those interested, this is what the skill tree looks like:

Fans of dungeon crawlers, action RPG's, crazy customization and epic loot should no doubt give Path of Exile a try. I know what I'll be playing this weekend!