Elex doesn't take your hand
tiny small tutorial
all enemies kill you at least within 3 hits
you can miss quests/infos/mechanics if you miss proper attention
first hrs are hard and at times frustrating
might be either refreshing or totally overwhelming
Elex embraces Piranha-Bytes strengths
your char is bluff; piles of coarse dialogs
huge open world however with fascinating details around every corner
environmental stories; hidden camps; people; weapons; all sorts of stories, audiologs and letters
gameplay is defined by the classic gameplay-quintet of combat, conversation, exploration, scavenging and leveling
ruthless difficulty
but ALSO all the known PB shortcomings (animations, textures, production values...)
Elex is NOT an AAA game
graphics doesn't knock anybody's socks off; not ugly either
30 devs working in a single family building
animations are stiff, facial expressions and faces are repetitive, some textures look rough.
creative Art-Design: picturesque landscapes due to diverse sceneries
german syncro is doing well
best score since good old Gothic days
Elex runs on a toaster
runs on even weak PCs decently
with min. details (16x AF, SMAA) even a Geforce GTX 760 will run it with 45fps
The strength of Elex' stories is found offside the main story
main story THE most interesting PB has ever written: your alter-ego is a former terroristic ALB-General, who finds himself amidst normal people and societies. We gradually learn more about his own violent past, learn about a vile betrayal and decide how the world should keep on spinning.
mix of genres invites to learn and see more of the world
main story remains in the background for some time
no arc of suspense a la Witcher 3
interesting moments offside the main story - side quests, environment, companions
each main protagonist has its own little story
quests with nasty moral decisions which end up far more gripping than in Gothic or Risen series - HIGHLIGHTs of the game
standard fetch quests but also most quests can be solved in more than three different manners
Elex is no Bug-Fiasco, but has rough edges
while testing no severe bugs that affect test score
however glitches and small issues along the way; nothing has impact on the overall fun factor though.
many mechanics lack the necessary fine-tuning; combat can be fiddly and clunky; the jetpack lacks the proper pace; Interface and inventory are neither particularly impressive nor managable.
Elex is a true RPG
no Action Game with RPG elements but a true RPG
combat is subordiante to the character system
Leveling and specialization is often times more interesting than the actual use of such enabled combat mechanics; killing a horde of raptors after you've been pathetically running from them hours priorly is extradordinarily satisfying
satisfaction of leveling combat mechanics > clunky combat
Crafting, using sockets, alchemy and the correct choice of factions can create a deep and rewarding rpg system.