ELEX

Stay away from this game! The combat is bad and the story is forgettable. The only good thing in this game is the enviroment. I liked the exploring of ruins and other locations but it got boring really fast. I love the risen series, especially the first one even though it was not a good game it felt nostalgic. So i was hoping for Elex to have some improved combat but it feels clunky and non impactful. Heck even the rifles in this game is bad and feels super weak.

What a fun diamond in the rough. Pros: Great exploration Good Story Superb attention to details Fun to play - EXCEPT Con (s) The combat Combat is just not easily managed without, er, outrside assistance. Once you level up, game gets absolutely fantastic and addictive. Overall great value for dollar at 110 hours and still going. Has replay value as well. Give it a chance.

this game blows everything made since around 2010 out of the water. it brings back the character of characters and is niether silly, nor pollitically correct(overtly) nor is it shy on the amazing graphics and sound. the voice acting is on par and the characters are something you can care about, even if they are bad, good or someplace in the middle. I haven't played it long enough to understand the plot or everyhting, only to the Berzerkers but if you get in the water enough for the undertied to hit you only once, you know the ocean, so to speak. It is a bit annoying in the subtexts about "holding your hand" but I hardly notice or read that anyway it comes up too fast and goes away, wish it were omitted by option. for instance if someone doesn't like you, not only are you given a "disapproval" text but a long and windy explaimation what you did wrong, other than this minor glitch the game is great, best I've played SINCE Gothic! Definitely a keeper and the sci-fi adds, rather than degrades the storyline, and gameplay(meaning reason for doing stuff for the world and folks) if you are a Berzerker you hate tech because of what happened to the world prior this appocolypse(relateablle motive) if you are a cleric, opposite and outlaws belive in doing what they damn well please. you can also go independent if you dont' like factions at all or religious or pollitical commitments, unnusual in a world of today this game was made in where as no one in the middle gets respect. Yes, at first you get a "Tour guide" but can be a bit disorienting until you know the lay of the land and he's a likeable sort. if you agree to his sidequest you will definitely get more than your feet wet and get that undertied I am talking about, if you continue to town, you will certainly get the lay of how well constructed the characters are and the actors do them well. moves and gameplay are also improved over gothic as you can dodge, and lung much as in Divinity II as well as special attacks.

I just played through ELEX & - hell, was this an ambivalent experience. But it was worth it. To give you an overview I will list pros & cons. PROS: - Atmosphere. Oh, it has a LOT of that. The different design of the "worlds". The language, the jokes. There are a lot of easter eggs about the developers' previous works (Gothic & Risen series) & (German) gaming culture. - The "Gothic-feeling". Well. Yeah. You know.... They do this right. - The quests. This is an ambivalent thing because the quests often are "fetching" quests & some players might not like this. Some NPC says "Go to place X & get item Y" or "...fight monster(s) Z". You do just that & return to that NPC & get your reward. And remember "I don't have any money, but you know, the experience is your real reward.". ;) Some players might find this too stupid. But if you are a person with an everyday-job & don't play 12 hours a day every day, you will like this. E.g. in Witcher 3 you start a quest & 20 in-game-hours later you are confronted with an important decision related to that quest. But in real life what you did was 1-2 weeks ago & you cannot remember what the hell all that was even about. In ELEX that will not happen to you because quests are usually done "in one go". But nevertheless this game makes you feel like all you do DOES matter during the main questline & it's really easy to follow the story even if you have a real life besides gaming. - The armours. The weapons. They look really good, they (mostly) feel very good. - The story. - The jetpack. At first I thought it was kind of cheesy, but it really gives the game a new dimension to explore. ...and a way to evade/fight during combat. - NASTY! "Nasty loves you". Better than fighting the Hybrid. I love my little b*tch. CONS: - FRUSTRATION. I chose the hard way - I did not consume any Elex during the whole game. This means that for about 10-15 hours I did not get any "learning points", so I wasn't able to obtain any new skills/get stronger. For the first 20 hours all I did was running away from monsters. But after that (or sooner if you chose to consume said potions) even the combat gets quite entertaining. - The combat mechanics. Seriously, what where they thinking?! During combat there is a really annoying "auto-focus" system & almost all the animations take far too long. Why couldn't they make you focus on an enemy & UNfocus on an enemy by pressing a joystick/button? You get hit/killed so much just because animations take far too long & you cannot evade or cancel the animation. Just...WHY? I died so many times just because Jax wouldn't drink his f******* health potions in time. "Swig that sh**!!!" - Missing effort/ability to polish the game. You get stuck at literally every rock there is. Especially during combat this is really annoying. And during non-combat portions it just takes away all the immersion. It feels like the jetpack was added as an excuse for not polishing the environment (because you can just "fly away" from everything that stops you). ELEX is a really addictive game, the story is engaging & the combat - if you are willing to master it - can even be fun. I am really excited & can't wait for part 2. I'd recommend it to everyone who likes a well-made action/adventure-RPG that focuses on story & atmosphere & is willing to adapt to a rather imperfect combat system. Or if you are a die-hard Piranha bytes/Gothic/Risen-fan - you will love this.

Every bit the Spiritual Successor to Gothic I and II. I've been wanting to play a third person open world RPG that mixed magic and tech since I played Arcanum back in the day. The game is rough around the edges and it's hard as hell at first but that's part of the charm. No hand holding. If you're into discovering things on your own and not being led around by the hand then this game is for you. The jetpack is a welcome addition and really adds to the unique feel of the game. And wielding a bow and arrow while in the air with jet pack just looks cool as hell.