First of all, I have to admit I that I probably wouldn't have touched this game if a friend hadn't gifted it to me for Christmas. I was a huge fan of both Gothic 1 and 2 (the less said about Gothic 3 the better). I thought Risen was mostly decent, but after the disappointment that was Risen 2 and the devastating reviews on Risen 3 I concluded that Piranha Bytes had simply lost their touch, and stopped following what they did. Enter Elex. Yes, the difficulty is daunting, especially at the beginning. The world is a dangerous place, and the game drives that point home with all the subtlety of a mallet. I play RPGs for their story, not for the combat, and even on the lowest difficulty setting I was having a hard time. The first thing to learn is how to avoid fights - there are usually ways around enemies, and you can always come back later and give them a good whacking once you get a few levels under your belt. The game's big strength is its setting. I'm not normally into post-apocalyptic stories, but this one is really well done. I went into the game with rather low expectations, and was surprised when I realised at one point that I really wanted to know how the story would continue. The dialog writing, as usual, isn't exactly brilliant (PB really should hire a writer or two), but the narrative design was a lot better than I expected. Exploring is encouraged and rewarded - there are a ton of little snippets of information scattered all over the world, and collecting and reading them helps put together a picture of the world just before and right after the apocalypse hit. Unlike Gothic 1 and 2, Elex lets you wander around with a companion (almost) all the time. There are several companions to choose from, each with their own personality and moral stance. Having a companion along makes some of those fights a bit easier, although you can't expect them to carry you. In short: as others have already said, if you liked Gothic 1 and 2, you should give Elex a chance!
I've been playing D:OS 2 since the first Alpha release came out, and it just got better and better. Because of what I had seen so far, my expectations were already pretty high when the full release finally came out - and Larian still managed to surpass them. This game is a detailed, lovingly crafted, polished gem which offers something for a wide variety of tastes. You like to explore and uncover a good story? Nose around to your heart's content, poke into every nook and cranny (there are lots of them in those beautifully designed areas) and talk to characters, most of whom will have something interesting to say. You prefer tactical combat? Crank up the difficulty and try to figure out how to defeat those enemies, who have the same repertoire of tricks at their disposal as you, and will gleefully use them all to crush you. I was a little sceptical at first when Larian announced just a few weeks before release that they were going to add full VO to the game, contrary to initial announcements. Having listened to those characters, I can only say, "thank goodness they did". The voice acting is superb and adds that final spark of life to excellently written characters. Can't recommend this game highly enough!
First of all, as others have already stated, this game is not Diablo 3. It doesn't want to be Diablo 3. If you're looking for lots of combat and state of the art graphics, you'll likely be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you're looking for great writing, interesting characters and fun plot twists, this game is for you. Driftmoon tells the time-honoured tale of "Find the McGuffin and defeat Evil (capital E)", but it does so with lots of witty humour and a loving care for details. Take your time to explore, there's more to this little gem than meets the eye. Most of all, take your time to read - the books and notes you find scattered all over the world may or may not be plot relevant, but they're well written and fun to read. This game is clearly a labour of love, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well told story that doesn't take itself terribly seriously.
