ELEX II - Review @ World of Elex

[HiddenX]

World of Elex has reviewed ELEX II:

Elex 2 Review - Is the successor doing everything better?

It took a proud four and a half years for Elex 2 to finally be released. Fans have never had to wait this long for a new game from Piranha Bytes - a studio that polarizes like no other from Germany. Have the Piranhas used the long development time to improve in all aspects with Elex 2, or are the biting fish taking a bath with their ambitious vision?

By Ravenhearth and Dark Bauer

With Elex 1, the Piranhas dared to break styles in 2017 by mixing medieval fantasy and science fiction and giving the hero a name. Jax, meanwhile, lives as a hermit on a mountain after people failed to listen to his warnings about alien invaders. Elex 2 begins 6 years after the first game with the arrival of the alien Skyands on the planet Magalan, which was once populated by a modern civilization before a meteorite devastated it and brought the Elex to the world. The sudden arrival of the aliens in Elex 2 is presented in a nicely rendered intro and, of course, changes everything. The Skyands plan to reshape and subjugate the planet to their liking using a modified type of the Elex, the Dark Elex. Jax returns to the humans after the aliens destroy his hut, but is bitten by the creatures and infected with a disease on the way there in a second intro. The transition to this intro is a bit sudden, though, as the landscape shown doesn't match the in-game environment at all. One minute we're sneaking past the critters in a forested area, and the next, without warning, a video starts in which we see Jax being chased past cliffs in a desert-like region by these same beasts. Then we fall.

Piranha Bytes has chosen one of four endings for the first part. This can sometimes lead to confusion for players of Elex 1, because certain situations are forced upon you, which you didn't choose in part 1, because no savegame import was used. For example, in the predecessor we might have chosen a romance with outlaw lady Nasty - today we are in a relationship with berserker Caja and even have a son together. Piranha Bytes still manages to keep the newcomer from losing the thread, because the dialogue always offers the possibility to review what happened in part 1. However, you can't think too much about some things here either; as in all their previous games, the story isn't the most important aspect.

[...]

Ravenhearth's opinion: It's not easy for me to rate Elex 2. The game didn't become the hoped-for leap, but it's not a flop either. It does a few things better than its predecessor (jetpack, combat system, balancing, graphics, presentation) and retains some of its strengths (level design, scope, factions, companions). However, Elex 2 also disappoints with content regressions (story, quest design, world), making the game more of a sideways step. It's no Gothic 2, but it's no Risen 2 either. Those who liked Elex will probably like Elex 2, and those who were put off by Elex's inaccessible sides might like it too - especially when Piranha Bytes gets the technical problems under control.

Dark Bauer's opinion: I said at the time about Elex 1 that Piranha Bytes had built a good foundation with it. I still stand by that today, but unfortunately they didn't get past the first floor with Elex 2, where so much more would have been possible. For that, as you can read in the text, there are too many "buts" in places where potential was lost. They've improved a lot of things: combat system, character system, jetpack, graphics (excluding the no-gos like reloading objects and bodies, of course)... The techniques behind the game have all been modernized and improved. Flying is so much fun that I, who doesn't really like running around and uses fast travel systems where they exist, hardly wanted to use the teleporters. The quests themselves, which (too) often ultimately end in combat, are also fun and mostly don't feel like work. Unfortunately, not that much has changed on the content level, in some ways the predecessor was even better.

All in all, I'm sorry to say that while Elex 2 is definitely a lot of fun and does a lot of things better compared to its predecessor, Elex 1 remains the more well-rounded game in the end. Crashes, graphics errors or possible plot stoppers can really spoil the gameplay experience. Despite the already long development time, half a year longer certainly wouldn't have hurt. Perhaps Corona has also contributed to this. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to part 3, and for those who left part 1 behind because of the unfinished level system, the high difficulty or the spongy controls in combat and in the air, Elex 2 is definitely worth a try. For everyone else too.

Thanks Pladio!



More information.

 

[mbuddha]

"It's no Gothic 2, but it's no Risen 2 either"

But I also liked Risen 2...

 

[JFarrell71]

This is impressively objective for a site called "World of Elex".

 

[Carnifex]

That's a meaty article, and I enjoyed the different opinions contained within. All in all it makes me want to play Elex two even more!

 

[bjon045]

Doesn't bode well for Elex 3.

I quite liked Risen. I thought Risen 2 was a small step backwards. After finishing Risen 3 I thought it was about as good as Risen 2 except with more interesting maps.

I was hoping with the Elex series it would be more of an upward trend, with each game building on the base of the previous one.

 

[JDR13]

I think Elex 3 will be fine. PB just needs to iron out those performance issues. If not for that, Elex II was just as good as the first game.

I've enjoyed this series more than the Risen games so far, but post-apoc is also my favorite setting so…

 

[Maylander]

Very good review. I agree with the vast majority of it, including the strengths and weaknesses of Elex 2.

 

[DArtagnan]

For me, Elex 2 has been a disappointment. There's just something a little too run-of-the-mill about it.

Like it was made with competence but without passion.

The performance issues have mostly been resolved with the DX12 patch, though it's still strangely slow compared to the first game.

 

[KayAU]

I got Elex 2 on release day, but was immediately put off by the obnoxious camera. I don't usually let technical issues stop me, but exploring an open world game with a tight, over the shoulder view, which jumps back and forth everytime you move just...no. I decided to play through Archolos and get my new gaming PC built before jumping back in. Now both of those are done, but I am disappointed with the progress that seems to have been made in the meantime. The new camera is an improvement, and the game is now at least playable to me, but it feels like a bit of a quick fix. I wonder if they will continue to improve it, or if they consider themselves done with it.

 

[Nereida]

The only problem PB has is lacking the talent to do anything better, so they keep making the same old game on repeat. And as long as people without standards keep supporting them, that won't change.

Ah well. I would say lots of potential lost, but they really have no potential for anything better. If some people can get any enjoyment out of their games, then that's a good thing.