ELEX - Review @ PC PC Aficionado

[Hastar]

I have a feeling many got Elex on GOG also. Since there is not Steam Workshop for Elex I got the game on GOG to help PB more.

 

[Damian]

Moriendor, you must be an Elex fanboy!

Does Moriendor's post count as internet violence against Arcadia7?

 

[JDR13]

Ok, well, I don't think the numbers are worthless…I think we can safely say that Elex is not burning up the sales charts, for example.

While it has only been out a month, a quick google search found a reference that stated most pc games get the bulk of their sales in the first 90 days of release. I searched and found that it reached #4 in the top steam sellers the week it was released. (oops, just noticed I am duplicating the same info that Moriendor quoted above)

I'm not going to quibble over if some think Elex is one of the greatest sellers ever, or is one of the worst sellers for Piranha Bytes…to me, it seems fairly obvious - middling to weak sales numbers. If others want to say it is one of the top selling games for the company, and selling like hot cakes, that is their prerogative…then great for them, if true, we should see Elex 2 to Elex 5 or Elex 10-something in future.

And what a novel concept, mixing fantasy with science fiction…never been done before! How did they ever think of it?? (sarcasm)

Eh..ok? Is there supposed to be a point there?

I'm just curious. Unless we're going to the sales = quality argument. In that case, crpgnut will be here shortly to explain that Skyrim is the greatest crpg of all time due to its sales numbers.

 

[lostforever]

A lot of responses to Elex reviews tend to read "so, yes, it's meant to be hard, it's a Pihrana Bytes game…" but having played about 10-15hr of the game so far, this is not an overly valid response (although I understand the authors' point of view). Elex is tough, even for PB…

1) Elex is one landmass, with no easy connections

Previous games such as Risen 2/3 offered different islands which could be visited via your ship, almost from the get-go. This made early levels easier because you could tackle basic quests from lots of different ports, without having to tackle too many foes.

In Elex, you can visit the first town easily enough, but there are nasty foes right outside its gates. You can only do the quests from that one town, and if you want to visit other (perhaps more appealing) factions, you have to navigate most of the map… on foot. Even early-town quests will require some exploration outside of town, which makes the early game tougher than most PB games, as almost any foe will likely kill you.

2) Early companions.

Again, Risen 2/3 offered plenty of choice of companions, and they were fairly easy to obtain. Elex doesn't immediately offer a companion (apart from scripted first-10-mins) and although it is possible to get one in the first town, it requires progress in a quest that requires a fair bit of "out-of-town" leg-work (ie. dangerous).

3) No Artifacts (that I've seen)

In Risen 2/3 there were artifacts that gave considerable boosts and they weren't too hard to find, usually. So far I haven't seen any in Elex, but they may be there. Either way, EVERY SKILL POINT has been hard won, with only one per level. Many dialogue options have skill requirements, making early progress doubly frustrating as you might (say) want to spend a skill point to help you fight (essential) but your next quest might ideally need Charisma 3. OK, so this is part of the design, but it *feels* tough.

Also, it has made my game somewhat linear in the sense that I feel like I can only pick skills to meet the quest requirements, otherwise I'll miss out on options. That means at each level-up, there's really only one skill that I can pick, even if I would like to grow in other directions. This is, granted, my own fault, but I dont' recall feeling quite so straight-jacketed in earlier games.

4) No safe paths

Although there are roads in Elex, they are hunted by tough monsters. It would be pretty lethal (although I'd wager not impossible) to try and get out of the first region before about level 8. For example, I'd like to try the more sci-fi elements offered by the other factions, but the only quests I can even begin to attempt are for the hippy classic-fantasy Berserkers. Heck, the game feels like I'm playing Gothic, not Elex!

I grant that last statement might evoke a cheer from many, but Elex is sold on its blend of sci/fi and fantasy elements, but my first 15 hours have been "low fantasy with a jetpack". I'm wielding an axe/sword, wearing animal hides, and fighting raptors and scavengers (classic PB enemies). I'm not complaining, but if it wasn't for the jetpack, this could be any PB game from Gothic->Risen 3. Oh, and there's the odd burned-out car/tank around.

5) Monster Respawn

Elex has monsters respawn after short period of time (feels like a couple of in-game days). This means you can't make short forays out into the world to kill a couple of foes, then retreat, heal, and gradually build safe routes for yourself. I forget how
Gothic series handled this, but Risen series was much more lenient in this regard. Respawn was, I think, linked to certain quest completion (eg. point in main story).


For reference, I have played every PB game, finishing G1, R1, R2, R3. I know I've missed out by not finishing G2, but for some reason it didn't click for me the way the others did. With G3 I kept waiting for patches and never actually got into it properly.
Elex feels more like a Gothic game, probably 2 or 3. I know that'll please a lot of folks given the love for G2, but equally reviewers have a fair point - this is NOT a game for PB newbies.

(A friend got real excited for Elex believing it to be the next big open world game. Suffice to say he really struggled, and is now playing AC:Origins. I warned him, but…)

I haven't played all PB games and I really don't like Risen 2 so I don't consider myself PB fan boy. But all I am reading from your so-called PB criticisms is that I don't want to think outside of the box to solve problems!

First of all, the bloody map is sparsely populated with monsters! Its dead easy to avoid most of them with LITTLE running and cleaver use of jet pack. Because of this, there were plenty of safe paths all around. You very easily unlock most of the teleports at level 1 just by running around the map and go to ALL the main cities easily.

Second, the early quests does not require you to kill any hard monsters at all. I think you can easily get level 10 by doing the easy quests from the first town alone.

Third, PB has always been stingy with loot, xp and skills in their games. This is nothing new. You are never going to get all the skills at early stages of the game. Even the good gear only came at the end of the game.

Finally, yes its bit unfortunate this game has respawns but they are nothing like what you are making out to be.

May be we have not played the same game? I played on normal? Were you playing it on hard?

 

[JDR13]

I don't think Irien was criticizing Elex, as he wasn't pointing those things out in a negative way. I think it was more just a list of observations.

 

[Arkadia7]

Eh..ok? Is there supposed to be a point there?

I'm just curious. Unless we're going to the sales = quality argument. In that case, crpgnut will be here shortly to explain that Skyrim is the greatest crpg of all time due to its sales numbers.

Oh, hell no. I'm not going to get involved with that argument. I'm not in the mood. Let's just say that I think crpgnut does have a point there, that yes, sometimes overall sales and popularity can mean a very high quality product, and the cream sometimes really does rise to the top.

Does that mean it always does? nope. There are works of art that are not recognized, that should be, and maybe eventually will be. And sometimes crap can become super popular as well, not going to deny that either. Just look at all the boy bands in the 90s... anyway, it's a complicated topic, in other words.

 

[sakichop]

Eh..ok? Is there supposed to be a point there?

I'm just curious. Unless we're going to the sales = quality argument. In that case, crpgnut will be here shortly to explain that Skyrim is the greatest crpg of all time due to its sales numbers.

No one would make that argument because we all know lack of sales= quality here at the watch.

Still haven’t got elex yet need to so I can form my own opinion.

 

[JDR13]

No one would make that argument because we all know lack of sales= quality here at the watch.

I must have missed that discussion.

Still haven’t got elex yet need to so I can form my own opinion.

You're old-fashioned. Most people only need to watch a few minutes of video to judge something nowadays.

 

[Wisdom]

You're old-fashioned. Most people only need to watch a few minutes of video to judge something nowadays.

Its probably worse than that. Some people only watch a few minutes of a video or a stream .... and then write a review!

 

[Hyperion]

I have 150 hours in the game and I just started chapter 4. If you need a game that plays you, just get Assassins Creed or Witcher 3. ELEX expects to you to actually learn and play the game and not be a big whiny baby because you're getting wrecked by a chicken because learning is hard.

 

[CelticFrost]

A 4.9, really?

For the most part, the first 10 hours are poorly balanced
Outdated mechanics

No, you are supposed to be almost helpless at the beginning, you have no armor, no weapons, and no skills. That's the way PB games work.

Tough to get into without prior knowledge of its unforgiving difficulty
Generic story and characters undermine the experience

There's a challenging learning curve. Waaah! I need games to hold my hand and just tell me what to do and I shouldn't meet any enemy that I can't kill instantly with my lead pipe as a weapon. Where is the fun in that?

A static world

Really? No, just the opposite, a very alive world.

First I haven't played this yet.

Though I 100% agree with this statement.

I remember playing Risen the first time thinking I was either really bad at RPG games after 25 years of playing them. Or the game was damm hard in the beginning.

I will be playing this at some point...maybe over Christmas.

 

[Dajjer]

I'm not going to quibble over if some think Elex is one of the greatest sellers ever, or is one of the worst sellers for Piranha Bytes…to me, it seems fairly obvious - middling to weak sales numbers. If others want to say it is one of the top selling games for the company, and selling like hot cakes, that is their prerogative…then great for them, if true, we should see Elex 2 to Elex 5 or Elex 10-something in future.

)

Actually, Elex 2 was confirmed before the release of Elex 1

 

[mercy]

Next year or in 2019, when ELEX will be patched really good and if MODDERS decide to do amazing additions then I'll purchase the game at its best.

 

[Zephyr]

I pre-ordered Elex from GOG because I didn't want to put up with the Steam crap of being connected all the time. Yes, I know there are ways around that. I just like GOG's way of doing business more.

 

[ToddMcF2002]

I put about 20 hours in and I just don't think the game is all that fun or half as atmospheric as previous PB titles. I'd give it a 7 if I was forced to rate it.

 

[Damian]

I put about 20 hours in and I just don't think the game is all that fun or half as atmospheric as previous PB titles. I'd give it a 7 if I was forced to rate it.

What are your issues with it? Is it the melee combat? If you persevere and learn it, it becomes very satisfying.

 

[Wisdom]

I pre-ordered Elex from GOG because I didn't want to put up with the Steam crap of being connected all the time. Yes, I know there are ways around that. I just like GOG's way of doing business more.

You had me at hello.

 

[ToddMcF2002]

What are your issues with it? Is it the melee combat? If you persevere and learn it, it becomes very satisfying.

Combat is repetitive. I find myself using the clunky jet pack to rebuild stamina in combat. Monster respawns. Lacks the atmosphere of previous PB games. I know I'm in the minority here with this opinion.

 

[Damian]

Combat is repetitive. I find myself using the clunky jet pack to rebuild stamina in combat. Monster respawns. Lacks the atmosphere of previous PB games. I know I'm in the minority here with this opinion.

I dont know if you can keep doing that later on in the game where enemies do ranged shots at you if you fly, I found that it was easier to avoid them on ground.