ELEX ELEX II - Jax is back

[Darth Roxor]

Now I'm deciding whether to start playing ELEX 2.
So Codex opinion is needed - is this the worst Piranha game?
I've played all the games from Piranha. But I only like Gothic, because it was fun to play at every moment of the game.
I like the setting of Risen 1-2-3 and the first ELEX, but the plot and the gameplay are not as addictive as in the first Gothic. During my playthrough, I took long breaks for a year or two until I became interested in the game again.
If there is a consensus that ELEX 2 is the worst game, then it's better to skip it.

It isn't the worst, but it's really fucking bad. Avoid.

My personal beef with the game is this - it's almost exactly the same as E1.

Yeah I sure wish that was actually the fucking case.

 

[Jinn]

Yeah, ELEX 2 is almost Risen 2 levels of bad. It's the kind of situation where you shake your head throughout the game and say to yourself "what were they thinking? how could they have made this worse than its predecessor?" But they did, and it's much worse. Disappointment of the decade really, especially after the near return to form of ELEX. I'm not particularly sad PB finally shut down. They can't hurt us anymore.

Also, Darth Roxor, Chronicles of Myrtana is like ten times better than ELEX and you're absolutely insane for not seeing that. You've got jetpack fumes in your eyes or something. Or you're letting your disdain for modders blind you.

 

[Gnidrologist]

But all that could be forgiven if the game didn't reek of apathy and creative burnout. It feels so tired, you can almost see the devs being totally checked out behind the monitor.

Seems similar to my perception of the game. I haven't actually finished it. Saves are still there and there's probably good chunk of it left even before the much talked about anticlimactic ending chores, but yeah, it just like Drax himself, the game seems a bit depressing in lot of aspects. Draxes personality and his interaction with all the obnoxious NPCs in this game especially highlights it. Doesn't feel like your main hero wants to be in the game and storyline environments don't help with that. World building and exploring is still as good as in most PB games. I don't mind changes in combat as i played with ranged guns both E1 and E2. Shotguns + some cheesy other stuff > everything.
Definitely not worst PB game. That title will forever belong to Gothic3.

 

[darkkom]

So Codex opinion is needed - is this the worst Piranha game?

You'll have people saying it's worse than Hitler, others will praise it.

My personal beef with the game is this - it's almost exactly the same as E1. It's mostly the same map, the same assets, mostly the same gameplay (except the combat, which is worse, and the jetpack, which is awesome), the same itemization, same character development, same type of quests.

But all that could be forgiven if the game didn't reek of apathy and creative burnout. It feels so tired, you can almost see the devs being totally checked out behind the monitor.

Archolos is also mostly the same as Gothic 2 (it's technically a mod) but it's fucking awesome. Play that instead.

Thanks guys. It seems most people have a low opinion of this game. So I'll skip it.
As for Archolos, I just finished it recently and started looking for a new game for a long playthrough. That's why the question about ELEX 2 came up.

 

[ShaggyMoose]

I hear good things about Drova, as mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[Nikanuur]

So Codex opinion is needed - is this the worst Piranha game?

You'll have people saying it's worse than Hitler, others will praise it.

My personal beef with the game is this - it's almost exactly the same as E1. It's mostly the same map, the same assets, mostly the same gameplay (except the combat, which is worse, and the jetpack, which is awesome), the same itemization, same character development, same type of quests.

But all that could be forgiven if the game didn't reek of apathy and creative burnout. It feels so tired, you can almost see the devs being totally checked out behind the monitor.

Archolos is also mostly the same as Gothic 2 (it's technically a mod) but it's fucking awesome. Play that instead.

Thanks guys. It seems most people have a low opinion of this game. So I'll skip it.
As for Archolos, I just finished it recently and started looking for a new game for a long playthrough. That's why the question about ELEX 2 came up.

I don't think that the map thing is correct at all. The maps overlay, but that's where the similarity mostly ends. The world's gone through much upheaval and absolute majority of locations look different. Those very similar are but a few.
Then, saying that the same assets have been used feels really a stretch. It'd be like saying that Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 looks similarily so the second isn't worth it. And the same gameplay—eh, hello? All PB games have "the same gameplay"

 

[Nikanuur]

Also, there is too many mcGuffins pickup, it's getting ridiculous.

This only holds true for the first few hours. The game initially goes almost diablo-like overboard with an excessive amount loot—especially with potions.
But once you discover the main base of operations and the game truly begins to unfold, the loot and combat starts to look like Elex, Risen, Gothic, etc. Also, at that point, the exploration requires the same careful, methodical approach because nearly everything poses a deadly threat. I myself would've said that the beginning is horrible, and I can only assume it was designed to attract a more casual audience.
And I wager that as a result, many players may have already written the game off as bad before they get past those first few hours and experience its depth.

Last but not least. Two examples I always say when people trash-talk the game, as in having no good quests or exploration. And there is dime a dozen of such stuff.

1. In which game of late you have things like a long, detective quest that requires you to question many suspects, meticulously discover piece of evidence without hand-holding (you can apply various skills and approaches to get it), be at the same places in different time of the day for some events to unfold, and even after that you can still botch it for not having paid enough attention to important details?

2. A skyscraper that practically begs you to scale it, but there's no apparent way to get through. The scaling can take you several tens of minutes, too. Not that it'd be long itself, but you have to discover your way through it, it's an architectonical puzzle. And of course, on top of it—aside from a great view—a very rare treasure.

 

[Lord_Potato]

2. A skyscraper that practically begs you to scale it, but there's no apparent way to get through. The scaling can take you several tens of minutes, too. Not that it'd be long itself, but you have to discover your way through it, it's a architectonical puzzle. And of course, on top of it—aside from great view—a very rare treasure.

Ah,the skyscraper. I reached the top only in post-game when you get unlimited jetpack. At this point the treasure there wasn't really worth it, but if someone managed to grab it much earlier -all the power to them.

 

[Konjad]

2. A skyscraper that practically begs you to scale it, but there's no apparent way to get through. The scaling can take you several tens of minutes, too. Not that it'd be long itself, but you have to discover your way through it, it's a architectonical puzzle. And of course, on top of it—aside from great view—a very rare treasure.

Ah,the skyscraper. I reached the top only in post-game when you get unlimited jetpack. At this point the treasure there wasn't really worth it, but if someone managed to grab it much earlier -all the power to them.

This was worth either way:

Spoiler

 

[Nikanuur]

2. A skyscraper that practically begs you to scale it, but there's no apparent way to get through. The scaling can take you several tens of minutes, too. Not that it'd be long itself, but you have to discover your way through it, it's a architectonical puzzle. And of course, on top of it—aside from great view—a very rare treasure.

Ah,the skyscraper. I reached the top only in post-game when you get unlimited jetpack. At this point the treasure there wasn't really worth it, but if someone managed to grab it much earlier -all the power to them.

I remember giving up like 3 times, and only sometimes mid-late game I've attempted at the final. Turns out, I was right about that one long jump I hadn't been able pull off. It just took a slightly different starting and ending point. To be absolutely honest, it didn't feel quite right.