We had a chance to chat with ELEX II's Creative Director, Bjorn Pankratz, and ELEX II's Game Designer, Jennifer Pankratz. So, without further ado, let's get into it, shall we?
Dylan: ELEX has an unusual aesthetic, which is obviously part of its appeal for many players. What was the thought process behind mixing fantasy and sci-fi? Was it simply a case of wanting to stand apart from the crowd, or is there something deeper you wanted to convey?
Piranha Bytes: We had the idea of the ELEX-Universe many years ago. The idea was to create a science fantasy role-playing game that shows the evolution of mankind. Original cavemen versus advanced users of technology and the connection between the two is created through the magic of the Elex.
Of course the story had to be more like a science fiction fairy tale, similar to the force in Star Wars. So we created a world, where every faction is an advancement of the residents of the world before the meteor impact, but with different views about morality, history and the right way in the future. Inspiration of this were, besides Star Wars, of course, Dune the desert planet and Equilibrium, for example. This idea allowed us to implement things, that the players know about our games and create new things and ideas, like hard surfaces or modern weapons, for example.
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Dylan: While the open-world freedom of ELEX was impressive, the real-time combat occasionally felt a little underdeveloped compared to other AAA games like The Witcher and Dark Souls, for example. What have you done to enhance the combat in ELEX II?
Piranha Bytes: We wanted to improve, and we reacted to player feedback. Therefore, we have put a lot of effort into the new combat system, to make it feel more dynamic and react directly to the players' input. It is much more responsive now than in ELEX. We have gone through several iterations, have made a lot of tests to bring it to the next level.
One of the strengths of the combat system is the flexibility - melee or magic, range or reinforcements. You can lure any enemy into a bunch of guards around the corner or fight them from above or use quick attacks & dodge. There are always many different ways to overcome an enemy. Our goal was, to offer the players an entertaining experience and not to punish them for not reacting in exactly the right way.
