ELEX

I rarely go into games optimistic, and I'm a big fan of PB. I even liked Risen 2 which probably makes me some kind of troglodyte that eats their own turds for sustenance. I tried really hard to like this game, a lot. But however hard I try I just can't bring myself to enjoy it. The only difference in the combat between the hardest and the easiest is whether or not I feel like I am cheating, the enemies still take blows like Rocky and you go down like a spring flower trampled underfoot of a steam tank. It's janky, which I could tolerate if it was skillful but a Mass Effect jog around the enemy is the height of combat technique. I'm used to cheesing in games but I never feel rewarded for defeating an enemy, even the basic enemies that give you 5 xp for besting them can take chunks of health off of you draining vital health items. The Gothic-formula dictates that you should get an upgraded weapon before taking on any enemies, but the stat requirements are absurd. You need to fully commit to a weapon for 8 or so levels before you can use it, ignoring all other flavour, economic, or social skills which is contrary to how you gain quest experience. After a long time I managed to acquire some solid firearms only to learn they were no better than the starting bow. I can't imagine you're supposed to just restart the game if you make a bad build decision 8 hours ago. The combat aspect of this game is like removing your wisdom teeth. The setting however? Spectacular, love it. The factions are well rounded and interesting, the lore is interesting, and the world is delightful when you walk through a medieval village before finding a little piece of asphalt hidden in the dirt. It is "comfy". The writing is mediocre, none of the factions have great appeal which is unusual for PB, and the voice acting is "acceptable" at best. Elex fights you at every step to enjoy it, and eventually I gave up despite my best intentions. I guess I'm excited for Elex 2?

Having sunk several dozens of hours in this game and played it to completion, I am very pleased, but will note that his is made for the type of player who wants story, influence and setting above all. The good: - Fantastic, interesting setting. If you are into post-apocalyptic/sf/fantasy settings this unique take on it will definitely appeal. - Worldbuilding. A lot of attention has been paid to the environment. From the thought going into how towns function and survive, as well as humorous situations, explained through visual implication. - Interesting story. I have read a lot of fantasy, sf and everything in between. The story and what it tries to tell is not necessarily unique, but it is not as predictable as I thought at first and caught me by surprise more than once. - Real influence on events rather than superficial. If someone dies, it matters far beyond a 'good/bad'-ending. - Actual progression, instead of the superficial scaling-type often provided by other RPGs. The bad: - The combat system is mediocre at best. There is a weird auto-lock that is difficult to influence. Works once you get used to it, but could be improved. - Some of the writing slips. Nothing major, but there are gaps. For example, the 'romance'-quest seems forced as if inserted due to expectation. - It is an openworld-game, but some parts aren't as catered to that as they could be. Which means you may stumble on things you might not be meant to just yet. The quest-system works, but if like me, you just go out exploring, you may lose track of where you are in the story because of the overload on information. Nothing damaging, spoiling, or game-breaking, just confusing. In conclusion: This is the type of game you play if you want to feel progress, and if you want to wring and mold the story into whatever you wish it to be. It certainly has its rougher edges, and if you do not want to invest time into finding the right mods, you'll have to cope with those, but a great experience overall.

This game isn't the best out there (i.e., you can call it a mini Fallout or a mini Oblivion/Skyrim), but it is good/fun. Despite the bugs,the occasional crashes (I think in 60 hours I got no more than 5 crashes), and a torturous difficulty level, there is lots to do and see. I think if there's anything I'd do differently, it'd be to focus on combat first and everything else second. Get the best weapons you can as soon as possible and the game becomes a lot less of a chore because I would certainly say that combat is the weakest point. Other than that, do all the quests you can to squeeze the most out of the game in one run. Personally I didn't join a faction until well over level 20 (about 30 hrs of play time for me). Read guides. It'll help you a lot. Definitely worth the four stars. It's basically a rough gem. If it were more refined, it'd be a 5.

There's simply no nice way to say it. I passionately hate this game! In absolutely every way! Let's start with combat: It's abysmally slow and clunky. I can honestly fight better and faster in real life than you can in this game, and that's saying something! To make matters worse, the difficulty is set so high that you will likely be one-shotted by nearly ANY ENEMY! Even in the very first quest! In fact, I practiced for several hours learning to dodge and use the mechanics so that I could kill the very first enemy I encountered and when I finally beat him, rather than feeling good about it I realized that the game simply wasn't fun! It was work! HARD WORK!! Somebody forgot that this thing was supposed to be FUN and ended up with a slow, painful, grindy experience with very few rewards to speak of. Unless you are a masochist, look elsewhere because these kinds of "games" just can't compete with the likes of Skyrim or the Fallout franchise.

Played Risen 3 and had fun. Thought, finally combat feels natural. Not with Elex, feels more like Risen 1, and no experienced staff. Should be warning for next version. I couldn't level. Character freezes, waiting for combat timing, then most anything gets one hit kills on you, though venturing seemed cool, had to mostly jet pack to avoid instant death. Sneaking never hepled and sound effects are on or off, sleeping dog at 30 +-ft away sounds as if at your neck and I can't explain other sounds like foot steps. I couldn't handle the 2 minutes of monolog every click with the same voice actor trying to re-tone his voice, yet quest are needed to level. After 12 hours, still the lowest blade and bow, jumped off a cliff. The End. trippn