ELEX II

We're judging Elex 2 by the amount of progress made since its predecessor. The developers didn't waste time and did a terrific job for such a small team. Elex 2 is still pretty crude, but it has been polished much better than Elex 1.

Wonderful open world with an awesome jet pack, yet outdated technology.

Elex II is a classic Piranha Bytes RPG: clumsy, crude, imperfect, but full of virtues that will lead fans to overlook problems.

Playing ELEX II left me with a strong impression that the game is largely geared towards those who have already spent a lot of time playing games from this studio. If that's you, your take from the game may be different than someone new to the series and you'll likely have a blast, especially if you loved the first game. If you're new to the series, you may want to bone up on YouTube videos about ELEX I before diving into an interesting, multi-faceted world albeit one fraught with performance and graphical issues. Chances are things will improve with time and patches so maybe it's best to wait a while and let the dev team catch up to the game's potential.

Returning to the apocalyptic fantasy associated with science fiction offers a new threat that the player must face and he constantly die there.

Elex II is your usual Piranha Bytes game. Long, classic in the RPG formula and aesthetically clean, but as always plagued with non optimized combat phases and the trademark issues with anything technical. However, it is still a step forward for the future of the franchise and for Piranha Bytes.

Elex II is not without its flaws and some of them can sometimes be quite jarring, but underneath them all is a nice action RPG that gets more than a few things right and that can provide many, many hours of entertainment.

Elex II is a baffling game. The combat is clunky and can be very difficult, and the game has more than a few bugs, with other issues like a glacial pace. However, the game is genuinely interesting to explore and fun, for all its problems - and there are many. The story and its turns are engaging, and it's impossible not to see the care and enthusiasm from Piranha Bytes. Elex II is Eurojank, and I can't help but enjoy it because of (or despite, take your pick) that.

The games of the Gothic series had a decisive influence on my childhood and Piranha Bytes as developers have always had a special place in my heart. This atmosphere and credibility in a game world can hardly be found in any other role-playing game to this day. But the magic has slowly faded for me. Yes, Elex 2 also pushes the right buttons and the first chapters were among the best the studio has produced in years. So I could easily overlook the once again mediocre battle system and the weak technology. But I was all the more horrified when this whole structure began to crumble halfway through and completely collapsed towards the end. Piranha Bytes should have focused less on the long playing time and more on a consistently strong atmosphere and quest-design.

Visually, Elex 2 is uninspiring and lacks a competent UI to make its plethora of quests enjoyable to keep track of and complete. Its visuals are also severely lacking for a game where its whole world is filled with interesting people to meet and various locations to explore. Once you get past this initial shock, however, you will realize Elex 2 is a solid RPG with a unique story that grows on you over time.

In contrast to the original Elex, this awkward sequel is a typical Piranha Bytes game. And no, it’s not a compliment.

I felt disappointed with Elex II, because while in some respects it is better than its predecessor, other elements are a step back. Gameplay balance, combat, graphics, and interface have improved a bit, but some obvious design flaws are still there and the storyline is just weak, especially the severely underwhelming ending. However, if you love Piranha Bytes’ games, you'll probably have fun either way. I did.

ELEX II will be an understandably divisive RPG, as is almost a given with Piranha Bytes’ titles. There are performance issues, incoherent conversation options, and some iffy combat. Yet its freedom is genuinely impressive, and its kitchen-sink approach to every aspect of the experience at least makes for an intriguing, if uneven, package.

Two decades have passed since the first Gothic came out, but Piranha Bytes still sticks to the old formula in hopes that once again it will make a miracle. [Issue#259, p.66]

Elex II is a disappointing game that fails to build on the potential of the original. While at some moments it manages to capture some of the same strengths, it feels like a poorly implemented retread in several ways. Slight improvements to combat don't make up for a less interesting story, worse characters, weak quest design, and a stark lack of polish.

Elex II is a perfect continuation of the Piranha Bytes RPG formula, but it is unlikely to win over new fans. The graphics and gameplay are very similar to the first game and are beginning to feel increasingly dated, a feeling exacerbated by all the fantastic games released in the last few months. If you’re already a fan of Piranha Bytes then this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for, for good and ill.

Elex II is a second instalment we could live without. It’s still a solid RPG but once again too ambitious for its own good. It simply doesn’t bring as much joy as it could have.

ELEX 2 has a distinctive approach to RPG game design and an engaging story, but while it finally bucks the trend of having technical issues at launch, there's still much work to be done on the quality of combat and presentation.

An average RPG spoiled by janky combat and technical issues. I’d only jump into this if there was literally nothing else to play.

Elex II is another example of Piranha Bytes aiming far too high. It's a plodding, often clunky adventure with few bright spots.

Most evident in its clunky, annoying combat system, Elex 2 is living in a janky Euro RPG past that its closest peers have nearly all transcended by now.