Elex

Does smart quest writing save this otherwise mediocre RPG?

All in all, though, the game remains an impressive, if flawed, effort. Toting an interesting setting and some standout design choices, ELEX goes farther than any previous Piranha Bytes game in making the case for sticking with it in pursuit of a certain old-school ideal of RPG gaming, even if it can come at a cost in polish and presentation.

ELEX is the very opposite of the accessible games that have revolutionised the open world RPG in recent years. I enjoyed it as a modern looking take on the Gothic series, but newcomers will have to be prepared to fight against the systems through the beginning of the game. This has resulted in the game quickly gaining a cult following who celebrate its obscurity and lack of accessibility. I don’t agree with this take and would argue that the best aspects of the game would only be improved by a more polished and refined presentation.

Rich and atmospheric universe in ELEX is held back by slow and outdated combat system.

Despite my issues with the game though, my time with Elex isn’t over just yet. I do enjoy the world and the concept, so I am willing to see what else the game has to offer in this respect. It’s just unfortunate that the game’s combat and presentation haven’t received as much attention. Elex needed much more time in the oven to be the game its promising previews made it seem to be, and with the dearth of games available this winter, I can’t recommend it to anyone but the most hardcore fans of the genre.

No summary available

The best-case scenario for ELEX is that it’ll be worth picking up on sale a year or two from now after it’s been heavily patched to fix its rampant bugs and infuriating balance problems. It has enough good ideas that one day it might be talked about as one of those hidden RPG gems that people play and wonder why it wasn’t successful at launch. But the frothy mix of joy and frustration that ELEX presents today skews too heavily toward the latter. I wish it well, but I don’t think I’ll be calling it up for a second date.

Albs are the least of your worries.

An RPG that should probably be avoided.

This is not to say Elex doesn’t have its redeeming qualities. There’s certainly a lot of content to blow through if you’re feeling like a good ‘shoot stuff and explore’ simulator. The combat is decent, due to the wide array of genres you get to pick up guns, magic spells, sci-fi weapons and your more traditional swords and shields. Plus, depending on what faction you’re aligned with you can pick up interesting late game upgrades. Managing your stamina, weapons and abilities coupled with decently strong enemies meant that putting one down was rarely a pushover and felt genuinely satisfying. At ...