ELEX

I'm having a blast so far! I regret not buying Elex before because it had many negetive criticism that kind of turned me off. I finally bought it on sale and I was pleasantly surprised. The good ol' exploration and beautiful handcrafted world building that Piranha Bytes are known for was there. I love it! The game isn't as polished as a AAA game but this has always been true for this studio and I don't mind at all. If you're thinking of buying it, don't pay attention to the critics who bash this game. Chances are, if you have enjoyed the typical PB games before, you're gonna love this game too!

Finally ponied up for Elex at around USD$10. Dissapointed that there is no character generation, and you play a gruff man who talks like hes got a stick up his .... The touted jetpack feature is very limited, its like a extra jump. Not a fly anywhere exploration. The graphics are spectacular, but limited interaction with environment. Oh my gosh the conversations are uninspired and slow. The action is half what it could be. I won't return it coz it was cheap, but I'd be super dissaponted if I paid anywhere "full" price.

Not sure where all the accolades are coming from. I seem to be playing a different game than these folk. Let's get this out of the way - "Witcher quality" Elex is not. I can't hold against PB the attempt to do something different (as in the stamina-based melee combat system), but the end result is... passable, I guess? In fact, after about 30 hours or so, the entire game ends falling flat. It's not a BAD game as such, but to me it's not a good game, either. I'm not certain what is supposed to keep the player entertained. The combat is, as mentioned, rather lackluster. Exploration might be interesting if it did not rather quickly end (at least on the lower levels I played at) since you have to run from about everything encountered. The story, at least the part I experienced, was delivered in too ham-handed way for me to really take it seriously. The main character's personality hardly helps it, either, as Commander She- er, Jax comes out more of a caricature than actual relatable character. UI design screams console-optimization. I found it bothersomely clunky. Overall graphics are pretty enough, though the environmentals occasionally come off with a very artificial feel (lay off the bloom effects, people!) All together adds to a game that seems to have been built on plenty of good intentions, but the end result coming up rather short. Perhaps things get more interesting later on, but so far I have experienced nothing that wants me to continue this chore.

This applies to absolutely everything in Elex. Exploration and looting are rendered pointless by boring loot most of which is junk represented by different in-game models (hammers, loo rolls and the like) and some unique weapons require high stats (granted, some of them do not) and still pack almost zero punch! Rifles have no clout; shooting someone multiple times at point blank range won't even cause them to flinch, enemies just keep charging. Also the shots are slow, so hitting a sideways moving target isn't easy, which would have been fine, had it not been for the miniscule amount of damage that shot was going to cause. The story I am fine with; I never expect anything original, but I always expect witty and dynamic interactions between characters and there is almost none to be found here. Dialogues can be skipped since the vast majority of quests have map markers. In my opinion Gothic 1 and 2 are the prime examples of stellar world building and, especially the first one - it had by modern standards a tiny world which nevertheless worked so well to immerse the player. The world of Elex just feels silly.

I've been playing this game for a bit over 160 hours now. I even re-bought it here on GOG because I'm trying to wean myself off the other platform. The game is compleletly open world exploratory fun. You can do suggested mission and they have the mini map showing the way if you do ( l love a marker showing me where to go to be honest). I'm almost to the end of the game and was surprised that even tho I've been playing it on the other platform, GOG somehow got my saves over here and I didn't even need to copy them...(magic? or just clever programming?) The story is compelling and the spoken dialog, while not ALWAYS great, sometimes is EPIC. Without spoilers, there were some conversations that were super funny and exuded character (nice job on a lot of those voice actors, it really makes a difference). WIthout spoilers there are companions that you can have join you and they are decent DOTS (damage over time) helpers that definately help you feel you're not alone as you wander around. I've played skyrim for over 300 hours (after adding a lot of modding options), 160+ in this game (still not done) with no modding (not sure you can do a lot of modding sadly.) There are some minor glitches here and there (stuttering if you have a companion stand near an edge, that kind of thing), nothing game breaking and the game does a GREAT job of saving every 3 minutes so even if you do something horrific you don't need to be a save scummer to save yourself pain. I wish the dancing girl you run across eventually in the game was a little less clovered up, but you can't have everything. This game has, progression, skill trees, MAGIC, LOTS of weapon choices (mele/ranged/bow/guns), crafting, gathering, exploration, romance (light, I wish it was more developed and game impacting somehow, but some is better than none), great scenery/lighting, monsters and humans look realistic, moral choices, and lastly no rage inducing bullsh*t to annoy you. tl;dr HIGHLY recommened