ELEX is one of the best RPGs of 2017

After reading this thread, I think I am going to buy the game. Tomorrow Target is having the Buy 2 Get 1 Free promotion. One of the games I was getting was the Wolfenstein Game and was debating on what the other 2 would be. My local Target has Elex in Stock for Xbox One so I most likely will buy it. I normally go Digital, but with this deal at lease if the 3 games I get I don't like or get bored at least I would get trade in value. I am hoping that with the power of the Xbox One X that it will hopefully run a little better than on a regular Xbox One S. The game being on PC I hope they are able to do something with the X but I know the Dev team is small.

I usually like these "out of left" field RPG's...I loved Two Words 2 and I know many did not..game had jank, but I still enjoyed it. Hoping for the same with this game.

Heads up fellow Xbox One X future owners.....

Someone early replied to a post I made a day or so ago when I was asking about if there will be a Xbox One X enhancements, the person replying suggested that with the team being small, that it would be doubtful that there would be. I just happen to glance at the list of games that are suppose to be Xbox One X Enhanced and low and behold Elex is now listed and not only is it listed as Enhanced, it is listed as 4k Ultra HD!!!! Here is the link that has the list to check it out yourself.

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/xbox-one/xbox-one-x-enhanced-list

I watched CohhCarnage play this for a bit on his stream. Looked a little rough around the edges and incredibly punishing but I guess that's the appeal for a lot of people. I might give it a go if it gets a decent sale price.

Labadal said:

Later on, it costs 3. I think it's above 60.

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it's 5 points after 60.

Does this have the same sleeper hit THQ feel that Darksiders had? Or is it exclusively due to the Eurojank?

Enjoyed my playthrough of Risen, have not played through their other games but this looks really good. Will wait for it to decrease in price as I have too big of a backlog.

Need some help.

This may help newbies figure out what areas to quest in at their relevant level range.

I personally went from Goliet straight to the Domed City and while it was still doable, man did I struggle.

Jaxar said:

This may help newbies figure out what areas to quest in at their relevant level range.

I personally went from Goliet straight to the Domed City and while it was still doable, man did I struggle.

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My progress so far has been 1-2-3-8-7-9-6

"camp in the center" AKA Origin was such a nice surprise

Is the Cleric faction supposed to be some kind of meta-joke on the German Democratic Republic? I mean, it's a walled-in police state, they have their very own Stasi, their color of choice is red, and their top dog is named Ulbricht. I loled, but it's also weird.

Probably going to be joining them though :-D

Clydefrog said:

My progress so far has been 1-2-3-8-7-9-6

"camp in the center" AKA Origin was such a nice surprise

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That's pretty much my progress as well. The Hort area is indeed the most challenging one of all. After I was done with that and went to The Fort, barely anything could challenge me there. However, there are still enemies that can easily kill me in some places even at level 25 with the best faction armor equipped.

I'm 10h in and it's starting to feel like i can fight a lot of enemies instead of getting killed in two hits. I love how this game makes you feel really underpowered at the start

Derrick01 said:

For a PC site RPS isn't very good with RPGs. They love bethesda stuff but was really down on New Vegas. I think they even gave far cry 3 their goty that year if I recall correctly.

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Yeah true, even though they were pretty benevolent with Age of Decadence and the Spiderweb games IIRC

This 2008interview from RPS with The Age of Decadence's lead designer always cracks me up.

witty_mittie3 said:

Need some help.

Spoiler

How do I teleport to The Hort? I have the teleporter unlocked, but I can't reach that part of the map in game for some reason using the map cursor. Is it a bug? On PS4 if that helps.

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I think I can help.


Hope it works!

Just chiming in to say that Elex truly is a return to form for Piranha Bytes. I even started enjoying the combat once I worked out that the jet pack is a useful way of avoiding enemy attacks. Still deciding who to align myself with!

witty_mittie3 said:

Need some help.

Spoiler

How do I teleport to The Hort? I have the teleporter unlocked, but I can't reach that part of the map in game for some reason using the map cursor. Is it a bug? On PS4 if that helps.

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I never heard anything about this game before or the company for that matter.

I will watch some gameplay and review about it, but based on your OT it definetely piqued my interest

Arx said:

Hell yeah an Elex thread right in the beginning of a new ERA :D

So in short, the game is great. Or rather, the sum of its parts is great while individual systems may seem lackluster.
It has a fantastic world to explore and despite the scenario being weird af at first, it kinda works. It takes time until the game clicks, but when it does it can really grab you hard.

What is most important though is that this game takes its players seriously. You CAN go wherever you want, but you will soon learn that some places are just not for you. It may seem unfair at first, but the jetpack gives you tons of options to navigate around the world and also around enemies to get to places, finish quests and so forth. Dialogue can actually have real consequences...like in old times.
Its a true successor to Gothic 2.


Reviewers on big sites hated it mostly (lol at that 4/10 from IGN and Gamespot). Its a divisive game for sure, but reading some of the really negative reviews reveals that some members of the press tried to play the game like Skyrim basically. This does not work out at all.

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That's a shame if those low scores made the game less appealing for gamers to even try it out atleast. Seeing this thread for the first time and reading about ELEX, I decided if I ever get a chance to play it, I would definitely do just that.

And OP, thank you for telling us about this game. I'm pretty sure the developers of the game would greatly appreciate you discussing about their game too.

Ivellios said:

I never heard anything about this game before or the company for that matter.

I will watch some gameplay and review about it, but based on your OT it definetely piqued my interest

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most of the reviews out there are pretty harsh and brutal.

Xando said:

I'm 10h in and it's starting to feel like i can fight a lot of enemies instead of getting killed in two hits. I love how this game makes you feel really underpowered at the start

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So wait a minute...What do you do in this game for the first 10h if you can't fight anything? I'm genuinely curious now since so many people said the same thing. Are there no quests that involve combat in the beginning?

Jaxar said:

This may help newbies figure out what areas to quest in at their relevant level range.

I personally went from Goliet straight to the Domed City and while it was still doable, man did I struggle.

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Map looks big :)

Ivellios said:

I never heard anything about this game before or the company for that matter.

I will watch some gameplay and review about it, but based on your OT it definetely piqued my interest

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As this is my first Piranha Bytes game I was pleasantly surprised that Elex will be pretty high on my personal GOTY list.
While it lacks polish of "bigger" AAA titles, Elex world is so fun to explore, the choices seem to matter most of the time, the jet pack traversal is nice and the story is pretty interesting.
That said, the combat is not really my thing. Melee is clunky and magic (I'm playing Berserker route) is unsatisfying. AI companions watch you being destroyed without lifting a finger is sometimes infuriating. I would also love to
Right now I'm having a blast with this game though, much more that with Fallout 4 and ME:andromeda.

Dralos said:

most of the reviews out there are pretty harsh and brutal.

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Oh, why is that?

Leplutorius said:

As this is my first Piranha Bytes game I was pleasantly surprised that Elex will be pretty high on my personal GOTY list.
While it lacks polish of "bigger" AAA titles, Elex world is so fun to explore, the choices seem to matter most of the time, the jet pack traversal is nice and the story is pretty interesting.
That said, the combat is not really my thing. Melee is clunky and magic (I'm playing Berserker route) is unsatisfying. AI companions watch you being destroyed without lifting a finger is sometimes infuriating. I would also love to

Spoiler

experience something resembling neutral path from SMT games but it looks like the game wants you to allign with factions that not necesarily may be one's cup of tea.

Right now I'm having a blast with this game though, much more that with Fallout 4 and ME:andromeda.

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That is very good to read, since a good story, writing, characters and world building are higher on my priority list then pure gameplay, so even if the combat is bad or cluncky i can still keep playing for the story and just reduce the difficulty if needed.

I finished after 30h on Lvl40 yesterday. Story is also way more interesting than other PB games since Gothic 2 imo.

Muffin said:

I finished after 30h on Lvl40 yesterday. Story is also way more interesting than other PB games since Gothic 2 imo.

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Nice to hear you liked the story. I think I'm past the 30 hour mark and I have just joined a faction so doing the sidequests and companion quests may strech the game time 2 or 3 times that.

Leplutorius said:

Nice to hear you liked the story. I think I'm past the 30 hour mark and I have just joined a faction so doing the sidequests and companion quests may strech the game time 2 or 3 times that.

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I've actually done every sidequest I found, and I was in all cities and looked a bit around also. At this point I'm wondering if I'm just fast at playing these games or if my hour count isn't correct ^^"

Ivellios said:

Oh, why is that?

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a lot of reviewers complained that the game is too hard.
They did not understand that you are not supposed to go there or if you go there fight enemies in these areas.
I feel they are not used anymore to games which don't take the player by the hand but rather let them explore whatever they want.
other complains where janky combat (yeah it is not too good, but ok) and bad animation (i don't think they are that bad).

Muffin said:

I've actually done every sidequest I found, and I was in all cities and looked a bit around also. At this point I'm wondering if I'm just fast at playing these games or if my hour count isn't correct ^^"

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This or It's probably me idling too much and avoiding fast travel option :)

Muffin said:

I've actually done every sidequest I found, and I was in all cities and looked a bit around also. At this point I'm wondering if I'm just fast at playing these games or if my hour count isn't correct ^^"

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Dang you're fast. I've played 35 hours so far and I've done only one quest with the Clerics and only just now reached the Outlaw city.

shimon said:

So wait a minute...What do you do in this game for the first 10h if you can't fight anything? I'm genuinely curious now since so many people said the same thing. Are there no quests that involve combat in the beginning?

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You can still do quests. There are still some enemies you can fight but since the world is basically completely open you run into a lot of higher level enemies.

It seems that this game has the same problem than Has Been Heroes. Reviewers can't play them. Simply as that. And they don't have time to learn to adapt to a new kind of gameplay (or return to older style, if you prefer).

These games are the reason we need player opinions. Professional (or enthusiastic amateurs) reviewers don't have time to really get to know games and they play so many games that they grow to expect certain things from them.

I am not saying this to blame critics in any way, but it must be damn hard when a game like this comes and you'd need to forget everything you've played lately and learn new mechanics. Also, they play the latest blockbusting, uberpolished games so an AA game like this will look lesser in comparison.

One can't be truly objective, not even critics. Their experiences shape them, in this case the games they've been playing.And of course personal preferences, you generally don't want a FPS lover the review sprawling RPGs. They tend not to like it as much as someone who loves RPGs in general.

Ordinary players play what they like and can look past little faults. Of course for some the faulty bits are exactly what they would like to be sublime in a game and thus just can't play said game. It is understandable.

These topics are among my favourites, especially when speaking about these smaller games. You learn so much from these and can gather so much data and opinions from different aspects of a game. Especially when the topic isn't a shitshow but a nice and mellow like this one <3


EDIT: Personal preferences added in the middle.

I have a theory that a lot of critics will only set aside a certain amount of playtime for reviews and a game like this shows its worst side in the first 10 hours or so, so early impressions can be poor. It's when you push past that first 10 hours or so that the game really opens up and you start to see all the positives.

How's the writing and dialogue in this game? I've heard praise for the worldbulding and how your choices impact the outcome of quests, but if the writing is subpar that kills it for me.

I just couldn't get into it, i may give it another try

Personally I love the games made with love and finite resources like Arx Fatalis was one of my faves ...if anyone wants to see how expensive and complicated game dev is definitely pick up the Blood Sweat and Pixels book

I'll have to check out. I like me some jank in games.

Rodderick said:

How's the writing and dialogue in this game? I've heard praise for the worldbulding and how your choices impact the outcome of quests, but if the writing is subpar that kills it for me.

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I think it's just okay. Not outright bad or anything, but also not anywhere close to Witcher 3. So, it shouldn't be your main reason for playing the game, otherwise you will be disappointed.

Rodderick said:

How's the writing and dialogue in this game? I've heard praise for the worldbulding and how your choices impact the outcome of quests, but if the writing is subpar that kills it for me.

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It isn't amazing. It's serviceable. Some good characters and the plot is decent.

Rodderick said:

How's the writing and dialogue in this game? I've heard praise for the worldbulding and how your choices impact the outcome of quests, but if the writing is subpar that kills it for me.

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I enjoy it.

Is ranged combat viable? What about magic/spells?

Everyone just needs to have the right expectations when it comes to others experiences in games. Believing that a critics breadth of gaming experience is going to any greater than the average dedicated player is facetious.

Reviewers are on the whole employed to write copy as quickly, efficiently and cheaply as possible. On average, a reviewers taste is going to be average - which isn't necessarily a bad thing as they are most likely going to be catering to an average gamer demographic. The worst reviews for Elex came from the most middle of the road sites - your IGN's and Gamespots. If your video game review diet stops and starts at IGN, then I doubt there's room in your palette for a demanding game like Elex.

Just gravitate towards reviewers that have similar tastes as yourself and you won't go wrong.

The voices proclaiming Elex's greatness are out there, just listen.

Me - Elex is an easy 9/10. But I'm not gonna worked up that others don't get it. I think it's gonna be more than successful for Piranha Bytes, with some good word of mouth already and steady sales. It is clearly going to be quite popular with a good steam sale price too, as evidenced by a lot of comments across the internet.

shimon said:

Is ranged combat viable? What about magic/spells?

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Very poorly balanced in my opinion,most of the guns and spells are useless. Very few are brokenly overpowered.

The problem is knockback, without knockback ranged/magic is a lot harder and useless in my opinion. so you need guns/weapons with knockback, which are only few.

for guns you have heavy weapons like the rocket launcher and the flamwthrower with knobkac, however because they are heavy weapons they restrict both rolling and the jetpack.
the best choice would be the Plasma Rifle, which has a weapon mode with knockback and you can still roll and use the jetpack, damage is very strong as well.
the knockback also makes the guns a lot more fun to play because the ones without lack hit feedback.

as for magic, there is only one really good spell in the game, the Clerics Black Hole, which not only does good damage even against single targets but devastating group damage and it pulls enemies together.
the berserker spells are weak and pretty much all spells in the game look like ass.

Reception in here warms my heart. I knew PB had it in them the moment I played Gothic for the first time back in the day.
Watched a let's play yesterday - that german Ruhrpott dialect - good old PB, love it so much

Boy this game is tough. Think it's PBs most brutal game yet difficulty wise. I am 3 hours in so I think it will get more manageable soon, but right now it feels like everything is tougher than me.

Charming game nonetheless. Little bit of jank but I'm really enjoying my time.

Moff said:

Very poorly balanced in my opinion,most of the guns and spells are useless. Very few are brokenly overpowered.

The problem is knockback, without knockback ranged/magic is a lot harder and useless in my opinion. so you need guns/weapons with knockback, which are only few.

for guns you have heavy weapons like the rocket launcher and the flamwthrower with knobkac, however because they are heavy weapons they restrict both rolling and the jetpack.
the best choice would be the Plasma Rifle, which has a weapon mode with knockback and you can still roll and use the jetpack, damage is very strong as well.
the knockback also makes the guns a lot more fun to play because the ones without lack hit feedback.

as for magic, there is only one really good spell in the game, the Clerics Black Hole, which not only does good damage even against single targets but devastating group damage and it pulls enemies together.
the berserker spells are weak and pretty much all spells in the game look like ass.

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Holy shit I didn't expect such detailed answer. Thank you very much, I love this community :)

What about classes,which is the best and/or fun? I'm not talking out of my ass,there are classes right(like Cleric,Berserker)?

It's weird that this thread has way more posts compared to the actual OT.

But this thread feels like an OT already lol.

shimon said:

Holy shit I didn't expect such detailed answer. Thank you very much, I love this community :)

What about classes,which is the best and/or fun? I'm not talking out of my ass,there are classes right(like Cleric,Berserker)?

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I would not call them classes, I strongly believe Elex is best played as a jack of all trades with decent melee, ranged and magic weapons, there are certainly differences between the factions, though.

The Outlaws only have buffs, which honestly looks pretty boring. I expected more from them.
The Berserkers have weak magic, but can enhance their bows with some magic, which might be pretty strong, my second playthrough will be as a berserker, but I'll play some other games first.
My extensive first playhtrough was as a cleric and I am pretty certain they are by far the strongest faction.

Clerics have the Black Hole Spell which turns you into an unstoppable god as long as you have enough Psi Batteries with you.
They can also enhance rifle damage and as I said the Plasma Rifle is the best weapon in the game.
apart from that they also have very powerful buffs like a lone wolf perk that increases your damage when you are alone, they can jedi mind trick NPCs in dialogues for some extra fun and last but not least they have a perk that makes you literally not die. it should have a cooldown for 5 minutes but right now it's bugged and has no cooldown so you are immortal.

Moff said:

Clerics have the Black Hole Spell which turns you into an unstoppable god as long as you have enough Psi Batteries with you.
They can also enhance rifle damage and as I said the Plasma Rifle is the best weapon in the game.
apart from that they also have very powerful buffs like a lone wolf perk that increases your damage when you are alone, they can jedi mind trick NPCs in dialogues for some extra fun and last but not least they have a perk that makes you literally not die. it should have a cooldown for 5 minutes but right now it's bugged and has no cooldown so you are immortal.

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Clerics seems like my kind of fun :) Does it take long before you can join them?

shimon said:

Clerics seems like my kind of fun :) Does it take long before you can join them?

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I did it after 15 or 20 hours but it should be possible in the first few hours if you know where to go.

shimon said:

Clerics seems like my kind of fun :) Does it take long before you can join them?

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Not really, just have to get to their base and do their quests. Getting there can be the hard part, it's on the opposite end of the map.

To get there quick there are two options: