What in my opionion and somehow the current comments not focus on is that you cannot compare an RPG/MMORPG with an ARPG. POE2 is a "Hack & Slay"-ARPG. The game focusses heavily the micromanagement behind the "builds", which is the combination of your character and his/her "ascension" (specialisation), the weapon(s) used, the skills used and the (massive) passive skill tree. You progress your character over items found, bought or crafted and then you kill mobs in maps to find more items, currency and crafting materials.
POE2 has a nice story and incredibly well done audio lines for every character possible ("Watt e beauuuutefull muuuuurdaaaa!", I always piss myself when that one comes up). But once you have played through the "campaign" part, that's it. There is just a nice, little, linear story that builds up the world. That's it. No choices, no interaction, no diffferent outcomes, nothing. The only action you perform, so to say, is "press buttons to kill mobs" and the only outcome happening is: "mobs die." well. most times. some times you die.
The goal of POE2 is not to conclude a complex story, but to "beat the" game by developing and number crunching your character to the max and beyond, for you to be able to kill the most difficult bosses in the game. Playing the core part of the game means action and movement. There is only so much to read in between.
