I hate to say this, and it's not a terrible game, but I find Elex 2 is just lacking something. The combat seems like it's significantly worse than the first which is sad because elex wasnt bad. Maybe I just know the drill too well, but i remember a little more of a slow power curve in elex 1. I spent a good long while at the bottom of the food chain there, but it seems like elex 2 is a little easier to get past the scrub phase and into a faction. Not sure if i rushed it but i just remember slower going and kinda stewing in the setting previously. The jetpack changes are nice but the world feels less diverse. some places the exploration feels better and other times worse. I liked the old biomes forest, desert, volcanic, ice, and slightly more fantastical forest. Now it's just kinda forest ice and blown out shithole/alien. Still has that PB charm. Still love it.
I cant help but wonder if the pandemic really fucked their development cycle. I remember the air of joy and childlike optimism when elex was being developed. PB was free from the shackles of their previous publisher and you could tell that they were finally able to make the game they wanted to make. The entire premise of elex is a barely unified jumble of childish male power fantasy, the kind of thing you might make after being pigeonholed and dishonored for a decade. I remember this infectious joy when it was released. Perhaps the pandemic took the wind from their sails, and completing this led to some tough compromises. I still like it a lot, and I'll probably buy anything PB puts out if they keep it up, but there's some rough edges and questionable changes here and there. Still remember that cover of Hier Kommt Alex he did. Hopefully that glee is still there.
