Quest states are not well-handled, there are a lot of things that can break or get skipped. Combat is very unforgiving. The dialog, writing, and plot are all ridiculous. Leveling up and finding loot is unsatisfying since character builds and loot requirements are so specific that the chance you will get anything usable is very low.
I really wanted to like this game and it has its moments, but it is far more frustration than fun.
The foundation of the game is good, as far as my tast goes story is more interessting, then Horizon Zero Dawn, Elder Scrolls Skyrym and/or Oblivion or Fallout 3 and 4( not including Vegas).
Even with the protagonist beeing implausible and no customisation at all.
For me It comes down to the interesting side characters and meaningfull reactions and impact you have with decisions and a world that calls for exploring. Having the Jetpac available from the start feels just great.
The engin runs perfect on my PC ( Ryzen 1800 + Vega 64 Liquid) i can play at nativ 4k with around 100 fps and all maxed out. At that point the out dated grafics rely dont matter for me thy serve ther purpose.
That sayd the game is rely hard even on normal mode you die in 2 hits. The combat learning curve is very high.. Its action combat like Dark Souls and Bloodborn but its not as fluid and/or controllable. That leeds to a lot of frustration.. Not having the feeling of even slightly in controlling of the fight or be abel to controll my charakter accordently is upsetting.
For exemple: I playd a mission wher i somone Murderd somone else and i reportet him to the chief. That guy attackt me standing next to the chief, after talking was finishd. Well and the game targeted the chief and bevor i could even remotly act that guy just killd me.. I had to repeat that talk like 5 times just to be abel to target the right person. Iif you swing with your weapon at somone else all gurads go strait for you even with that guy just beeing exposed of murdeing one of them..
On top of that you starve the first hours almost no weapon to your disposal gives you the feeling to be somewhat save. The good autosave system helps a bit but if your not in to "you die a lot" your probably better of playing a different game. But ther is somthing behind the mirrow if you can overlook the so and so combat and graphics.
I think Piranha Bytes are my favourite game developer after (old) Blue Byte. Gothic opened my eyes to what a 3D open world interactive and immersive RPG could be all those years ago and Elex certainly doesn’t disappoint. It has some rough edges to be sure, but this is a gem of a game.
Graphically, it looks stunning. Sadly my 650 can’t even begin to keep up with Elex and ultra settings so I ended up playing at a lower resolution with less detail, but even so the world is stunning. The way the pre-comet world mixes with the post is a joy to see, and exploration is key.
As this is a PB game, it’s bloody hard. Right up to the end of the game despite all my levels and powers, I’d still get splattered by some of the enemies. There are a lot of settings to tweak the difficulty, but I just left them at the default.
The companion system is excellent and helps offset some of the difficulty. I really enjoyed building a rapport with the different characters, although I was fairly cheesed off that the loading splash screens kept trying to lay a guilt trip on me over my decisions with Duras.
It’s a big world, but I wish there were a few more side quests – I think I found everything although I probably would never know. But there’s huge areas of the world that you don’t really do much with except explore, learn lore and fine map pieces. That actually back fired in a way, as I explored so much that by the time I was ready to choose a faction it was clear I couldn’t join the Clerics based on the Old World literature I found. And the Outlaws are just scum. But each to their own!
In short, a fabulous game and I really hope PB follow up with a sequel.
First and foremost, Elex is a grand world designed in classic PB architecture and design. It's huge. It's open and it's dangerous. It's also quite beautiful, the world that is. However, things start to fall apart slightly when taking your eyes OFF of the world and start looking at everything else. Textures don't seem to scale properly. While I have beautiful world textures everything else from facial textures, armor and clothing textures and even set design pieces are lacking in proper upgraded textures. Some of them are downright ugly. On a UWHD monitor playing at 3440x1440 (21:9, which is supported!) some HUD elements and menus are stretched oddly. Which makes me think they didn't quite implement 100% 21:9 support.
Keyboard controls need fixed asap. When I stop pressing the W key I expect my character to STOP moving. he doesn't. He likes to keep walking a few more steps every now and again. This can get you in a clutch in combat quickly. Dodging? Iffy even more. If I'm in combat sometimes my character will want to roll (I do press 2x with WAS or D) but he'll jump and fall off a cliff. Not fun. Combat focus gets wonky as well with it sometimes not properly keeping your enemy focused when battling. Again, annoyance that will get you killed.
Sound design? It's not the symphonies we've heard in Gothic 3 or the Risen series but it's good. Sound effects are spot on. Weapon effects, procs, all done well too. Dialogue? It's good. I keep reading "reviews" about how terrible the voice dialogue is and I'm like, "Are we playing the same game?" It's done well. However, lip synch is atrocious at times. Other times, it's decent enough but it still could be better even for a low budget game. Voice actors do a good job also.
Set design and world design is fantastic though. Thoroughly well done with secrets and dungeons, different exploration options, etc.
Easily a 6-7 for now until a few patches fix what problems the game does have.
This game is a gem amongst mediocrity. Fans of Gothic have been waiting for over a decade for PB to return to their roots and they finally have with Elex. The world is brutal and you will spend your first 10 hours running away from creatures. The characters you meet are interesting and the world is beautiful to explore.
You can tell PB have really thought about what made Gothic such a wonderful game and applied the same principles to Elex. I do wish they would work on their combat system, as Elex is more like Gothic 3 than 1 and the new stamina system is woeful.
You should not buy this game if you're expecting something in the vain of Skyrim, Fallout or the Witcher. This game is very much a spiritual successor to Gothic and should be treated as such.
