I want to preface that I think that this is a fantastic game, however the Zalmarath, The Colossus boss fight in Act 2 that makes me want to play any other game that I hate as it would be more fun (like dark souls). I would use stronger and more vulgar wording but I want this review to actually be seen and taken seriously if the makers of the game read it.

I would also like to say that the game will probably crash and it might also crash your entire PC like it does to mine, but changing setting can mitigate the amount of times it crashes.

The reasons I think the boss fight is bad are;

1. When you move about the map there's certain places (namely south and west sides) that will cause you to bug out a bit. Although this is very minor and not that big of a deal.

2. If you are using the bomb thrower skeleton minions as the witch it doesn't seem like they can actually hit him as they hit the floor, now if it was next to the boss itself it wouldn't be too bad due to AOE however the attacks hit far enough away that I'm confident they do nothing.

3. His minions can freeze you, which in and of themselves isn't too bad. But when combined with a boss that can one-hit you it's rather frustrating after you get him below half health and have barely taken a scratch to then get frozen and instantly die. I assume the minions are there to fill up your potions, however I personally don't think it's needed as you're able to get big enough potions that you have enough uses to survive the whole fight.

4. This one is my main and biggest issue, when they become invulnerable. I don't think it is intended and hope it is quickly patched. However this is the most frustrating thing as it is seemingly at random and lasts until the boss decides to move, They still do all of their attacks normally but just can't be harmed, it sometimes happens right after they move, sometimes it happens after they do one of their attacks. But the majority of the times I have fought him it has happened, maybe there was three times where it didn't.

And an honourable mention that they can have multiple AOEs in effect with the minions coming out to freeze you. And you are basically screwed when this happens, multiple AOEs aren't the problem. The problem is when you get frozen while those AOEs are in effect and then die because of the freeze.

I haven't raged this hard at a game in at least 5 years, probably closer to 10 years at this point. What makes it worse is that it's only this singular boss that has caused me to get angry, the other bosses were tough but very clearly doable which felt great when I beat them. I still haven't beaten Zalmarath, The Colossus as I was tired of either not being able to damage them or getting frozen and immediately dying.

However, other than this issue with Zalmarath, The Colossus in act 2, POE 2 is a fun and phenomenal game that I can't wait to see fully come out and I would highly recommend it. Just beware act 2, hopefully it is easier for others or that you don't run into this issue.

Edit;
After many attempts I finally managed to beat Zalmarath, The Colossus and I think the issue is to do with both AOEs and hit boxes. The hit box for Zalmarath, The Colossus seems to be outside the map but comes into the map in-order for AOEs to hit, however occasionally there seems to be something that causes the hit box to change and only be on the model making it impossible for AOEs to hit them. This was why I couldn't do any damage as the majority of my attacks are AOE and you can only target inside the map with AOEs, which won't hit Zalmarath, The Colossus if his hit box is only on the model itself.

The best visual novel I've ever played with no contest so far, I will say there are some grammatical and spelling mistakes but other than that a great game. Totally worth the £11 I spent.