Reasons to play this: 1) Love of Roguelikes- aka replayability. 2) Love of card-based tactical combat. 3) Extreme variety- any class combination you want + ability to use tools not related to class. 4) Great deal while on sale. In an effort to maximize the enjoyability of those just starting I highly recommend reducing the total number of cards you have in any deck to less than 10 (at least to start). This means you have the maximum control of each battle by simplifying whether to attack, defend, buff, or debuff. Hold off on specialization unless it absolutely fits what you need for that moment and team configuration; take the time to reflect on whether you actually needs those tree skills as it means you have to further divide your already small pool of points. Most importantly, have fun. Experiment with different class combinations and tools for each group to see what compliments their strengths and more importantly, their weaknesses.
I cannot praise this game enough, seriously. It applies a classical roguelike format in extremely interesting ways that you never expect. I love the concept of incorportating aRPG, tactical turn-based, and rogue into a super compilation that does not feel like any other game I've played before. The act of purchasing the content will help go towards introducing newer content or what I would hope to be improving graphics, not that I have a problem with the 8bit type sprite environment. You are given multiple difficulties, incredibly inventive classes, fun races, randomly generated dungeons/enemies/gear/environment. Every play through is completely different from what it was the last time. This can work for and against you as some runs are easier, while others feel impossible. Some classes and races synergize far more than others, but that is not an indication that you couldn't play however you enjoy. My advice to those making their first attempts at this wonderful game. 1) Don't grow complacent, while many enemies feel weak the bosses will usually knock you down a peg. 2) Avoid opening anything with a "prompt" asking if you wish to do so, as these are usually traps with a chance to obtain better loot at the cost of fighting enemies likely twice your level. 3) Read guides: Not with the intention of a copy/paste build, but for a sense of direction as to where the class could fit into your personal play-style. 4) Take a break! This is important, because you are going to experience death and consequently frustration (as this is a roguelike, death is permanent). Take a breather now and then with the purpose of preparing yourself for the next adventure. 5) Learn. Take mental/physical notes of what you did wrong or why things went south. Did you not invest enough into gap-closers and CC? Maybe frontloading Strength wasn't the best idea when you need some points for Dex based unlocks as well. 6) Have fun. This is simply a game and the purpose of such is entertainment.
The title is a serious question, because the game is indeed fun and entertaining in the way that Diablo was different every play through. You have quite a few classes to pick from, some more quirky and unique than others. The expansion of the ground work they provided in Sacred 1 is quite noticeable, but not unwelcome as quite a few glaring overpowered concepts have been toned down or repurposed masterfully. If you are looking for this title it is because you want something (mostly) mindless to hack and slash your way through mobs in order to fill an empty void of your day and not for much else. There is a VERY, I would almost say guaranteed, chance that you will play this entirely alone as it cannot perform multiplayer without third party software, which brings me to the whole reason this has 3 stars and not 4+. You are going to struggle getting this game to function at all. This is not a jest. The game was developed while the company went bankrupt and was able to legally delay the process until the game was completed, which ultimately meant it was rushed and riddled with bugs/inconsistencies. GOG support is going to recommend standard procedures that are within their legal limitations and rightfully so, but none of this is going to work for you. The only answer to making this game work is through third party software developed through the blood, sweat, and tears of diehard fans that want you to enjoy this game as much as they do. If you hold any interest in this game, which you should, then you need to be ready to sign up for the darkmatters.org forums for their Sacred Gold 2 community patch. This is going to correct most of the prominent issues that will prevent you from even launching the game to begin with. You are going to have to follow their advice and turn off PhysX in the options, as it only exacerbates a prominent memory leak issue that has existed since release. Before I took efforts to sign up to their forums for the community patch I had to create a text file in order to create a registry edit for the game to even recognize the correct supported language, funnily enough the intro video still used German vocals despite my efforts. Is this a lot of work for a single game, absolutely, but I suppose that is what you might expect from something that only cost $3 and came from a half-dead developer.
ELEX is one of those games that harkens to formats of yesteryear open-world exploration combined with aRPG. This happens to be the biggest boon and con of the game as the experience feels thoroughly dated, but is still fun in reasonable portions. You are playing as Jax, a junkie who is left for dead and kicked of his juice cold turkey, but somehow still expected to correct the wrongs of the faction that has abandoned him by investigating your once upon a time enemies and now potential allies: the magic wielding hippies of the forest, the zealous cultists of the volcano, and the clinically insane drug lords of the desert. This all sounds pretty compelling, but ultimately you will find that there is very little difference in game play between these factions aside from a few overpowered skills exclusive to their nature: desert outlaws provide you with amazing self buffs in the form of stimulants, the forest hippies allow for enchanting and somewhat disappointing magic use, the over-zealous cult in the mountains make you a ridiculous solo sniper (as you can travel with npcs). Ultimately the game falls short in its combat and harsh attribute system that requires you meet very specific and usually ridiculous levels of investment for equipment, so you better take a look at the wiki and plan your path accordingly or risk kicking yourself over spending them too quickly. However, once you get ahold of and can wield one of these ridiculous weapons the game goes from "Why does it take 5 minutes to kill a pig?" to "I barely touched you..." There is no happy medium of experiencing yourself grow in the game, you simply evolve from useless gutter urchin ino unstoppable juggernaut. I found the visuals and the story to be quite pleasing none the less. It was nice being able to explore the world how and when I wanted, especially when there was danger to be had around every corner. If you are ok with something that will be initially challenging and possesses great depth, then this is for you.
