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ELEX II - Wants to be Mass Effect But Its not Working

by Silver, 2022-03-27 10:37:23

GamePressure has an editorial on ELEX II's apparent desire to be Mass Effect and how it isn't working. Please note that this essay contains spoilers on main plot points and characters.

Elex 2 be forgotten, Mass Effect be replayed

You can also find some similarities here. Doesn't the hostile lair look like a Collector's base? The conversation with the avatar of Jax's son is strikingly similar to talking to Catalyst – only thing missing are three different-colored endings. I was a bit amused to see Piranha Bytes try to emulate dark sci-fi, but using a story that seems like it's straight from pulp magazines.

Saving the world in Elex 2 is devoid of drama.

Even in terms of mechanics, the German studio wants to swing with the zeitgeist. Risen 2 allowed us to explore the world with a selected companion by our side, and the first Elex introduced a romance system, which used to be BioWare's signature. I have read in the announcements that the love threads would be deep – but unfortunately, the relationships with the characters have the cloying taste of naivety, and their adventures are void of any dramatic expression. This is, by the way, is the crux of the problem for Piranha Bytes, and they cannot seem to be able to deal with it. It doesn't tell the story on a grand scale, it doesn't let you really feel like you're facing an evil that's capable of destroying all of humanity, and it does not engage you emotionally. Where the writers try to introduce drama, they only expose the game's weaknesses.

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Thanks Farflame!

Information about

ELEX II

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Post-Apoc
Genre: Adventure-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released


Details