ELEX II

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 115
  3. Negative: 28 out of 115
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. PenetratorGod
    Aug 20, 2023
    3
    A second game that should never have been made. The developers pushed their luck and lost the gamers they gained from the first game by making this game. The first game was already very bad and didn't appeal to everyone, but somehow they managed to make it even worse. Piranha Bytes should stop making games. They are trying to make outdated games that are trying to appeal to gamers who areA second game that should never have been made. The developers pushed their luck and lost the gamers they gained from the first game by making this game. The first game was already very bad and didn't appeal to everyone, but somehow they managed to make it even worse. Piranha Bytes should stop making games. They are trying to make outdated games that are trying to appeal to gamers who are probably 40-50 years old now. They've never been open to improvement and innovation, and when they've tried, they've failed, like with ELEX 2. This company needs to shut down and step aside. Like their games, they should be relegated to the dusty shelves of history. It's just laughable that they are trying to survive in this industry like this. I wonder when they will stop making failed games and even more failed series. They will probably continue to fail in the same way for another 20 years if they get the chance.… Expand
  2. Zuyw66
    Aug 12, 2023
    8
    Good Game, you can feel old gothic series in it,
    Interesting story, graphics and fight mechanics could be better but I definitely recommend to try it
  3. UnKidreal
    Aug 5, 2023
    7
    Игра пройдена на уровне сложности – Ультра.

    Играя в Elex 2, постоянно вспоминал их первую Готику. То, как деградировали, за эти годы, разрабы из Piranha Bytes вызывает огромное сожаление. Постоянное упрощение всего и вся, в желании заработать денег на массовой аудитории, которой в основе своей нужно только собирать электронный мусор, понятно, но, когда-то у них была первая Готика, с её    Игра пройдена на уровне сложности – Ультра.

    Играя в Elex 2, постоянно вспоминал их первую Готику. То, как деградировали, за эти годы, разрабы из Piranha Bytes вызывает огромное сожаление. Постоянное упрощение всего и вся, в желании заработать денег на массовой аудитории, которой в основе своей нужно только собирать электронный мусор, понятно, но, когда-то у них была первая Готика, с её трёх уровневой механикой боя, удары, блоки, которую поначалу казалось нереально освоить, но которая, после освоения, оказалась той недосягаемой вершиной, которая дарует просто нереальное наслаждение от поединков, от ощущения того, что ты не просто машешь мечом составляя убогие комбо, а реально бьёшься, вырабатывая свою тактику под каждого противника, с тяжёлой добычей ресурсов от нахождения которых испытывал почти детскую радость, понимая что теперь-то у тебя получится смастерить что-то действительно стоящее, с её системой выбора заставляющей внимательно вчитываться-вслушиваться в то, что тебе говорят, дабы принять верное для себя решение, которое может изменить многое если не всё. И что же Elex 2, тупые диалоги, персонажи, которые практически не вызывают сопереживания от того, что с ними происходит, квест с сыном, это что-то, особенно реакция матери на его финал. Убогая графика и анимация, которые, кажется, не поменялись со времён первой Готики, система боя, заточенная под одноизвильные организмы, система выбора, которая не вызывает никакого интереса вникать в её перипетии, ибо нет в ней нерва осознания тяжёлых последствий от принятия тех или иных решений. Первый Elex, казалось, возвращает разрабов в их лучшие годы, несмотря на мерзкую, устаревшую графику и всё туже крайне упрощенную систему боя, но, сама игра, история и исследование Магалана, разность фракций и их мотиваций, а значит непростой выбор во взаимодействии с ними, всё это создавало, пусть и далеко не совсем, иллюзию первой Готики, второй же Elex вызывает большое разочарование своей упрощённостью, и сомнением в том, что разрабы способны сделать в будущем действительно настоящую CRPG а-ля первая Готика.

    Оценка: 7/10    … Expand
  4. Yamaro369
    Jul 23, 2023
    9
    One of the best Pyranha Bytes Games
    You have so much freedom about what you can do, so many types of weapons, different guilds you can join and an ok story. The only thing i dont like is the performance, the Game is crashing for me every 3 hours. Textures in the Endgame load muuuuch slower and teleportation takes Minutes.
  5. TastieToasty
    May 20, 2023
    9
    The game was almost perfect till act 2

    The armors ingame are amazing The faction are unique but some could be better The Immersion is so good A lot of lore things do not make any sense at all - How could the Albs defeat the Clerics - Why does nobody care about Dex's "death" - what happened to all the older characters our decisions will probably not matter in elex 3 because it    The game was almost perfect till act 2

    The armors ingame are amazing
    The faction are unique but some could be better
    The Immersion is so good

    A lot of lore things do not make any sense at all
    - How could the Albs defeat the Clerics
    - Why does nobody care about Dex's "death"
    - what happened to all the older characters

    our decisions will probably not matter in elex 3 because it is Piranha Bytes after all.
    Jax will either be Berserkers or Albs and we are infected and Dex lives in the Cyberspace.

    either the berserkers will lose or some other faction will lose with mayor casualties.
    morkons will probably be bigger
    clerics either wiped out or bigger
    outlaws are a mess so idk
    albs the same with the outlaws.    … Expand
  6. IamNader
    May 17, 2023
    8
    If you played all PIRANHA BYTES games like GOTHIC and RISEN, I think you like this game also - 8/10
  7. teshia
    Apr 29, 2023
    2
    This is the first time I've ever not recommended a PB RPG. It hurts to say that because I've been a big fan of their games since I first played Gothic 1 and 2 when Gothic 2 first hit shelves in North America. I've been playing their games since and apart from a few moments where they've come close to Gothic 1 and 2 (Risen 1), it's been a slow steady decline. This decline was barelyThis is the first time I've ever not recommended a PB RPG. It hurts to say that because I've been a big fan of their games since I first played Gothic 1 and 2 when Gothic 2 first hit shelves in North America. I've been playing their games since and apart from a few moments where they've come close to Gothic 1 and 2 (Risen 1), it's been a slow steady decline. This decline was barely acceptable with Elex but Elex 2 hits a new low that I cannot support in any way. This is not just one of the worst games PB has ever made, it's one of the worst games I have ever played. The combat is juvenile, the graphics are buggy (and recycled from Elex), as is the music (most of it from Elex 1) and terrible (an insult to anything Kai Rosenkrantz ever did). The writing is some of the worst I've ever encountered. The quests make almost no sense. Factions don't make any rational sense (why would anybody join the Morkons?) and things that people say make little to no sense. The entire script sounds like it was translated from German to English using Google Translate, then passed to mostly bad voice actors with no coaching or guidance on emphasis, cadence, tone, or pronunciation. Some characters from the first game are retconed, yet new characters are brought in and you are expected to believe you played with in the first game (ie. Bully). Companions are abusive (ie. Nasty, Bully, etc.) for seemingly no reason. You have a child, who you and your partner treat like garbage (this can't have been written by a parent), especially at the end of the game. This is genuinely embarrassing to see from PB. I will be stunned if these developers manage to get funding for Elex 3 and even more stunned if I can be convinced to play it. I am stupider for having played this game. And for people that say "they're a small studio of 30+ people", enough. It's been over two decades since Gothic 2. This company is not learning from their mistakes. They are regressing into insignificance and have been for quite some time. Rest in peace, Piranha Bytes, I guess. Sad to see it come to this.… Expand
  8. svatlex
    Apr 5, 2023
    1
    Irt is just awful. It looks like it was made by teenagers who didn't even want to try. You can't really ask for more than a dollar for that. Everything is terrible. 2003 graphics and animations, no optimization, story and dialogue written by a heroin junkie. I've been playing games for over 25 years and I've never spent my money as badly as I have on this game.
  9. Cyber_Angel
    Mar 8, 2023
    8
    Pretty great in the beginning with traditionally inventive quests and dialog. Also with a really mindless and boring final act.
  10. watchm824
    Nov 17, 2022
    6
    I enjoyed the first part a lot. Waited for the second one. But as these developers love - they just released a copy of the first part. At the beginning, you can still enjoy the game (if you like the games of this studio). But in the end, it becomes excruciatingly tedious to play.
  11. Fataga
    Nov 16, 2022
    10
    Update, 16.11.2022: Endlich mit DirectX12 seit heute!!! SUPER. Doppelt so viele FPS bspw. in Städten. Endlich in Städten flüssig. Kein Ruckeln. Nix. Klasse, so macht es jetzt noch viel viel mehr Spaß. Danke PR!!!!

    Super, Piranha Bytes! Top Spiel. So habe ich es mir vorgestellt. Kann ich wärmstens jedem Spieler empfehlen :-). Auch Deutschland kann gute Spiele machen. So, genug    Update, 16.11.2022: Endlich mit DirectX12 seit heute!!! SUPER. Doppelt so viele FPS bspw. in Städten. Endlich in Städten flüssig. Kein Ruckeln. Nix. Klasse, so macht es jetzt noch viel viel mehr Spaß. Danke PR!!!!

    Super, Piranha Bytes! Top Spiel. So habe ich es mir vorgestellt. Kann ich wärmstens jedem Spieler empfehlen :-). Auch Deutschland kann gute Spiele machen. So, genug geschrieben, weiterzocken :-)! Viel Spaß allen. TOP Game. Ich liebe Gothic, ich liebe Elex 2. Die 4 Paches die gekommen sind haben sehr viel positives bewirkt. Prima.    … Expand
  12. Czechinator
    Oct 23, 2022
    2
    Exploring and combat is slightly better. Incredibly boring walls of text.Dialogues are cringe More is not better , if the dialogue sucks. I'm so bored with the quests .Elex is the worst series from PB. Please don't do a third episode!!
    After I finished playing it, I realized they wanted to make a third episode of this **** God, why?!
    Uninteresting factions, uninteresting characters.    Exploring and combat is slightly better. Incredibly boring walls of text.Dialogues are cringe More is not better , if the dialogue sucks. I'm so bored with the quests .Elex is the worst series from PB. Please don't do a third episode!!
    After I finished playing it, I realized they wanted to make a third episode of this **** God, why?!

    Uninteresting factions, uninteresting characters. The blending of medieval and magic into the modern world just doesn't fit here. (I love warhammer, they did it well there. Or horizon zero dawn.)

    Since risen 2, the quality of their games has only gone down.
    They can't use a good name from the gothic era indefinitely!    … Expand
  13. huskiescrack
    Aug 8, 2022
    0
    Worst PB game yet. I played all of them.

    -Bad music. especially near Dex and Caja -Worst combat design, shooting blasters etc. got so bad. Mods can do it 1000 times better. -Worst enemy design. Even the Skyands are copy and paste. None of them are special or dangerous. -Incredibly useless perks, attributes. -Ammo Crafting is again more expensive than buying, just wtf. -Worst    Worst PB game yet. I played all of them.

    -Bad music. especially near Dex and Caja
    -Worst combat design, shooting blasters etc. got so bad. Mods can do it 1000 times better.
    -Worst enemy design. Even the Skyands are copy and paste. None of them are special or dangerous.
    -Incredibly useless perks, attributes.
    -Ammo Crafting is again more expensive than buying, just wtf.
    -Worst story-quest design, kill 1000 types of the same enemy.
    -Bad mobility, need more jetpack fuel, teleporters and movement speed.

    Without modding I would never have played it to the end and it was still extremly boring.    … Expand
  14. derek_
    Jul 9, 2022
    8
    I think this game does not deserve such hate it gets. Yes it has flaws, but in the end, can be quite fun. What I see as problem is that first quarter of the game is by far worst part. Beginning, running with your child, Berserker quests in Fort.. that all felt like a chore. But as game go on, dialogues and quests gets much better, some are even really funny. Story is really good, enjoyedI think this game does not deserve such hate it gets. Yes it has flaws, but in the end, can be quite fun. What I see as problem is that first quarter of the game is by far worst part. Beginning, running with your child, Berserker quests in Fort.. that all felt like a chore. But as game go on, dialogues and quests gets much better, some are even really funny. Story is really good, enjoyed that part as well. Combat is not perfect, but with ranged weapons its ok. Just shotgun your way uphill :D What I really hated most is part near end, where developers force you to kill about 400-500!!! enemies (no exaggeration, really, raw numbers). For example In one main story quest you have to take down about 200 - 250 robots. That's such cheap way how to make game look longer. I was so bored and annoyed. All in all, go for it if you like Gothic type games.… Expand
  15. Kingcarson
    Jun 19, 2022
    9
    Great game given the studio team’s size and budget. PB games always have a bit of a euro jank feel. But this feels cleaner, and almost like fallout 4 and Skyrim had a kid. Have an appreciation for Elex 1 and 2
  16. TheFrog
    Jun 2, 2022
    4
    The game is like all past Piranha Bytes offerings in the past fifteen years or so. You begin as a wimp who can barely wield a weapon, SLOWLY build up your character, in a world where every enemy is much stronger than you. At some point, you manage to join a faction, which finally allows you to develop some really powerful abilities, and eventually you are strong enough to confront even theThe game is like all past Piranha Bytes offerings in the past fifteen years or so. You begin as a wimp who can barely wield a weapon, SLOWLY build up your character, in a world where every enemy is much stronger than you. At some point, you manage to join a faction, which finally allows you to develop some really powerful abilities, and eventually you are strong enough to confront even the strongest enemies.
    Unfortunately, the combat system is possibly the worst I’ve ever seen. In any game. Characters move as through molasses; enemy movement harks back from the last century. I’m positive I’ve seen games from the 90s with much better combat animations. Reading their stance to decide when to parry or dodge, is completely random: they twitch and turn, but apparently some of these erratic movements count as attacks; you only realize it because your health drops to zero and you die. Since all creatures can kill you in two hits, even combat against minor enemies becomes a deadly danger (I'm playing on hard). Hitboxes that are so glitched as to be almost funny: an axe may cut the air one full meter away from you, and you still get the damage. Also, you can lock onto enemies, which helps in attacking and avoiding damage - that is, until the game decides you lose your lock for some reason: bam! You dodge the wrong way and die.
    Earlier today, I was fascinated and incredulous, as I watched my cyborg companion utterly failing to land a single hit against a tough enemy. The AI was broken, like most other things in this game, and he kept freezing, looking at the enemy without doing anything, even though I tried to interpose him between me and the attacker. When he did decide to attack, he regularly missed, because his attacks were too slow to ever connect. Essentially, I was alone – but fear not, he’s not the only companion available. At the moment, I have two more. A fire mage, whose slow fireballs rarely hit anything, and a small robot, whose sniper shots deal relatively low damage, but thankfully usually hit the intended target. But does he fly out of enemy range? Of course not, he usually remains where they can hit him with melee weapons.
    Save often! There is an auto save feature, but it doesn't work 90% of the time.
    Everything in this game costs in-game money, even level ups. Money is hard to come by; the best renewable source of income is trophies from monsters, but you need to attain the highest level in this ability, and this can only happen late in the game. So, for now, I have to grind like crazy to afford anything, while the game designers thought it fine to include stupid missions where the quest giver gives you money to buy something, but the actual price turns out to be much higher. Pure genius.
    Dialogs are boring and badly written. Even when discussing something straightforward, NPCs tend to antagonize you and ramble on and on, with nonsensical lines that only induce sleepiness. The temptation to right-click through the voice acting is strong. NPC attitude is inconsistent as well. The first companion you encounter, wants you to butcher a party of invaders. Makes sense, no problem (apart from the fact that you are WAY too weak to do that, and she won’t join forces with you until you do). Later on, I encounter a hiding alchemist, whose bodyguards have been killed by an outlaw. He asks me to deal with said outlaw, but if I accept to kill the murderer, the warmongering mage doesn’t like it, she is suddenly averse to violence. Fast forward a bit, and she becomes bloodthirsty again, asking me to kill someone for a minor slip. Duh.
    On the positive side, the jetpack is fun, especially after you upgrade it with sprint jets, which allow you to zoom over the terrain like a missile. I really like the environment and the graphics, it’s a relaxing world, at least if you forget all the monsters that want to eat you. And character growth is satisfying.
    This keeps me playing, at least for now, but really: both the Gothic and the Risen series had better combat and equally satisfying character progression. I preordered this game after liking the first Elex in spite of its shortcomings, but I won’t certainly preorder a third one, if it ever comes out. They NEED to fix combat; as things are, it's simply atrocious.    … Expand
  17. MolokoNoir
    May 25, 2022
    2
    The first Elex was unpolished but had some decent ideas and an alright world. I found the combat system to be a bit clunky but serviceable once you understood how it worked (not that the game did a good job of relaying that to you). Dialogues and characters were sometimes funny, sometimes a bit off, but overall reminiscent of Gothic in their blunt but endearing manner. It mostly sufferedThe first Elex was unpolished but had some decent ideas and an alright world. I found the combat system to be a bit clunky but serviceable once you understood how it worked (not that the game did a good job of relaying that to you). Dialogues and characters were sometimes funny, sometimes a bit off, but overall reminiscent of Gothic in their blunt but endearing manner. It mostly suffered from a world that was way too large and mostly filled with nothing. Loot was 90% literal junk item, that you could simply sell and rarely use for some crafting. Overall story was fine, nothing groundbreaking, but presentation was hit-and-miss with PB trying too hard to sell an emotional story while lacking the ability to write one.

    I had hoped that Elex II would build on the strengths (world design, interesting factions and their relations to each other) and polish out the weaknesses (janky animations, useless jet pack, clunky combat and overall presentation). Instead, it massively improved the jet pack (that really is a lot of fun now) and dropped the ball on everything else.
    The world is once again large but mostly devoid of anything interesting.
    Writing took a turn for the worse and is now complete trite and nonsensical - on top of that it seems there was nobody looking over the finished dialogue trees. Conversations jump between topics, NPCs suddenly start mentioning things completely unrelated or change their voice. They added children and wrote them in the most obnoxious and cringeworthy way. It's supposed to be a core gameplay item that you build a relationship with your son (btw you have a son now), who, by the timeline of the game, must be 5 at most, but talks like a teenager using a small child's voice. Any kind of emotion that PB wants to create is lost in atrocious writing, terrible timing and involuntarily funny moments.
    Loot is slightly better but still meaningless overall.
    The story is an incoherent train wreck that dawdles for most of the game only to sprint into the finale and throw twists at you.
    Combat is janky and poorly balanced.
    The end of the game (as well as the majority of quests) are literally "go there and kill X enemies" over and over and over.

    I honestly cannot understand the reviews that give this game a glowing recommendation. I can only assume that those are bought, same as the ones from the German review sites that name this as a great game.
    Even as Gothic/PB fan, this is a slap in the face. A huge step down from what was a niche appeal to begin with. An unfinished, unpolished, janky hell of a game. And I liked Elex I, despite all its shortcomings. It had the chance to lay a good foundation for a sequel that could really take off.
    Instead we got this ... a trash indie game that has the audacity to ask for a AAA game price, while delivering an insulting game that could have been spat out by any random indie studio faster and better.

    At this point I don't know what the problem is PB has. If they're trying to recreate Gothic despite not liking it. If it's all because of their own outdated custom engine they refuse to let go. If it's simply terrible project leads that time and again end up running out of time to deliver even the basics. If it's purely cynicism trying to milk the remaining PB fans that keep hoping to have that Gothic-feeling again.

    Either way, Elex II has deleted any last goodwill I may have had for the studio and I really hope Elex III will either be done by a competent studio, or better yet, will never release.    … Expand
  18. vyrvyGLAZ
    Apr 10, 2022
    9
    In my opinion, Elex 2 is the best PB's game since Gothic 2. Weakest parts of which are Elex setting and non-Rozenkranz's music. It may have bad animations, poor optimization, still it is an awesome and complex RPG with beautiful world, unique factions, dozens of different quests made in best traditions of PB. In general, it is an absolute jewel, a must-play for any RPG lover.
  19. TrollSlayer
    Apr 4, 2022
    10
    If you're already a fan of Piranha Bytes, this game is a no-brainer. It has the same excellent atmosphere and great exploration of their previous games. The game is also massive and filled with tons of content. I spent 70+ hours in the first chapter alone. Of course you can get through it a lot faster if you want, but I was trying to milk it for all I could get.
  20. HeyJoe-PCRPGHUN
    Apr 4, 2022
    10
    Nice improvements, ELEX 2 feels really great & we have got Billy Idol on Magalan, ♥♥♥ yeah! :D

    ..After 18 hrs of playing ELEX 2, I definitely recommend to anyone, who enjoyed the 1st part of ELEX! I also further enhanced the graphics for my taste with some config. file tweak, easily done, just like in the previous titles by PB. NOTE: ...After 92 hours playing time: Yep, this 2nd    Nice improvements, ELEX 2 feels really great & we have got Billy Idol on Magalan, ♥♥♥ yeah! :D

    ..After 18 hrs of playing ELEX 2, I definitely recommend to anyone, who enjoyed the 1st part of ELEX!

    I also further enhanced the graphics for my taste with some config. file tweak, easily done, just like in the previous titles by PB.

    NOTE: ...After 92 hours playing time: Yep, this 2nd part is definitely a great instalment of this title, the world & the story is even more engaging than in the 1st part of ELEX, well done Piranha Bytes!!! :-)))
    I'm in Chapter 3 now anyway, so I just still doing my 1st playthrough, yep! :D    … Expand
  21. Ratingss
    Apr 3, 2022
    3
    Same as the first game, as in even the same map and locations, a blatant rehash, but they managed to make it a worse game.
    The combat sucks and you can exploit it easily. Its a direct sequel with just a few years lapse but your character unlearned everything, lost all his gear and become a weak lvl 1 again, of course.
    Most quests are immortal npc escorting. The performance is abysmal,    Same as the first game, as in even the same map and locations, a blatant rehash, but they managed to make it a worse game.
    The combat sucks and you can exploit it easily. Its a direct sequel with just a few years lapse but your character unlearned everything, lost all his gear and become a weak lvl 1 again, of course.
    Most quests are immortal npc escorting.
    The performance is abysmal, the story boring and the world not interesting anymore.    … Expand
  22. tyr8338
    Mar 31, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I`ve ijust finshed this game after 52 hours so I can sumarise my experience with it
    alot of content
    +some parts of story are really flashed out, loved fort and berserkers quests where you help out cultivators, get to know many people in fort and thier little strugles, the whole area feels alive and detailed.

    -unfortunately other factions bases and quests arent nearly as detailed or rich so I was quite a bit underwhelmed by them, I really hoped all will be as good as fort/berserkers and it would be a 10/10 game for me

    +graphics are good enough
    -optimization is pretty bad, on 1080ti in 1440p ultra Ive got around 40 fps in cities but luckly while exploring its often over 60

    -later part of the game when you focus on finishing main story start to be a slog with a lot of main missions being like kill 100 mutants, kill 100 skyanids etc. Boring and repetetive.

    Overall it`s descent 7/10 game but really for firsts 20 hours while I was doing fort/berserkerers quests it was awesome 10/10 game so it`s sad piranha didnt menage to keep the quality even thru whole game.    … Expand
  23. Gysmo7777
    Mar 31, 2022
    0
    Sorry, but this is a big step back from the first elex. Mission Design after chapter one is like in an old bad mmorpg. Just like: go there and kill 30 of These.
    Story: is a joke. Its all copy paste from elex 1, but now there are new enemys. Improved combat only improves clunkyness.
    The only thing i really see as okay is the graphics, the faces are from 2000, but the Overall lighting    Sorry, but this is a big step back from the first elex. Mission Design after chapter one is like in an old bad mmorpg. Just like: go there and kill 30 of These.
    Story: is a joke. Its all copy paste from elex 1, but now there are new enemys. Improved combat only improves clunkyness.
    The only thing i really see as okay is the graphics, the faces are from 2000, but the Overall lighting looks great.
    I really love Piranha Bytes Games. But this is the worst until now. I don't understand, because they told with the New publisher there is more time and money to polish their games. But it just feels like pushed out without love.
    i finished the first Elex with every possible Faction. But i will never touch Elex 2 again.
    - Dissapointment    … Expand
  24. FreshFriendz
    Mar 28, 2022
    3
    Elex 2 is a fantastic Action RPG until you enter the second chapter.
    At this point, the story reveals its uninspired, disorganized, and dull face.
    Any quest turns into a fighting/kill quest, highlighting one of the weakest parts of the game: the old fighting system. The game let me down after I had invested ~30h during chapter one. I also created multiple save files for each    Elex 2 is a fantastic Action RPG until you enter the second chapter.
    At this point, the story reveals its uninspired, disorganized, and dull face.
    Any quest turns into a fighting/kill quest, highlighting one of the weakest parts of the game: the old fighting system.
    The game let me down after I had invested ~30h during chapter one. I also created multiple save files for each path/faction because I was so hyped.    … Expand
  25. Timbo2Chainz
    Mar 26, 2022
    9
    Great game, fun to play, does better then the first installment of the series, go check it out, definitely a great addition in the RPG era of games.
  26. sweet
    Mar 25, 2022
    6
    The first Elex had rough edges but you could overlook them because it was an engaging game. You wanted to learn what happened to the world, you wanted to see where the story went. In Elex 2 those minor 'gamey' incoherencies turn into yawning chasms of nonsense. Nothing makes sense. Not the condition of the protagonist, not the way the NPCs behave towards you, not the changes to the world.The first Elex had rough edges but you could overlook them because it was an engaging game. You wanted to learn what happened to the world, you wanted to see where the story went. In Elex 2 those minor 'gamey' incoherencies turn into yawning chasms of nonsense. Nothing makes sense. Not the condition of the protagonist, not the way the NPCs behave towards you, not the changes to the world. Nothing. It's a huge mess.

    The second game exposes the developers for a lack of vision. The plot is cut and paste. The characters are a mockery of characters in prior games. Apart from some interesting quests the writing is generally lazy. I found myself not caring for anyone in the game or the story at all. Uncovering backstory through discovery of notes and logs, a key enjoyable aspect of exploration, is now irrelevant because of the way the world is written.

    The destruction system is meaningless, it creates artificial barriers in the game that make no sense. They can't seem to get their abstraction of this system right, and how it works with your companions and dialog choices. It's particularly annoying when companions don't react to dialog choices in a way you would expect from their personality.

    The triggering of cutscenes when approaching certain areas or NPCs is extremely annoying. Throwing you into quest dialogs unrequested is stealing away player agency. Exploring a building at night? BAM suddenly daytime and you're talking with someone trying to pull you into a quest. In the middle of a battle with a group of enemies? Wait! You must stop to have a chat with a guy wandering in to the middle of it. These cutscenes will drive you insane.

    It's not all bad. The start is much easier because of the smarter placement of enemies. The combat system is easier to get to grips with, although the game feels much less challenging now. The crafting system is far better because it gives much more value to loot and a more organic improvement to weapon upgrading. I like the changes to the skill system which make it much easier to understand. The personality skill branch still seems a poor investment though. There's still plenty of interesting places to explore. NPC variety is much better too.

    All the complaints about performance and weird graphics are valid. I had expected much better in that regard as Elex ran very well on old hardware and my current system should be running this game comfortably. At times frame rate drops to low 20s, which is absurd given I am well above minimum requirements.

    Elex 2 has left me feeling underwhelmed, but they have built the foundations for a much better game than this turned out to be. Hopefully their next game fixes the shortcomings and improves on the world building and writing.    … Expand
  27. IlyaHero
    Mar 23, 2022
    0
    Optimization is terrible. Piranha bytes are stuck in 1998. What a shame. Simply trash
  28. Marty1104
    Mar 23, 2022
    8
    Strong Game. This could be maybe my GOTY 2022. The Devs keep bringing Performance Patches.
    Lots of Love for Elex 2.
  29. RakkarrTM
    Mar 19, 2022
    10
    If you‘re an old Gothic or Risen Fan it‘s surely a blast! The speakers, the background sounds are giving me nostalgic feels. It takes 2-3 hours to get in. But if you get the fighting and skilling system it gets better quickly. Sure their engine is outclassed in 2022, but the game looks way better than I expected. The characters are looking a bit 2010s or older, but Piranha bytes master anIf you‘re an old Gothic or Risen Fan it‘s surely a blast! The speakers, the background sounds are giving me nostalgic feels. It takes 2-3 hours to get in. But if you get the fighting and skilling system it gets better quickly. Sure their engine is outclassed in 2022, but the game looks way better than I expected. The characters are looking a bit 2010s or older, but Piranha bytes master an immerse feel of music, details, sounddesign and subtile humor. I‘ll rather support a smaller studio who loves their games than another EA Title.

    The fighting system makes it possible to win against way stronger monsters or humanoids. Just fight them one by one or bring company. You can roam around freely, but stronger monsters are just around the corner :)    … Expand
  30. Erebus1986
    Mar 18, 2022
    0
    Yes i played Gothic, yes i played Gothic 2. At Release. And i love them. I played Risen 1-3. And i liked them. Even they are not as good as Gothic. And yes im German. So Piranha Bytes gets their German Studio Patriot Bonus they get from the German Magazines.

    But im done with it. After 20 Years the same, in the past cool and new, Mechanics are boring. Different Camps, Harsh Speech, Open    Yes i played Gothic, yes i played Gothic 2. At Release. And i love them. I played Risen 1-3. And i liked them. Even they are not as good as Gothic. And yes im German. So Piranha Bytes gets their German Studio Patriot Bonus they get from the German Magazines.

    But im done with it. After 20 Years the same, in the past cool and new, Mechanics are boring. Different Camps, Harsh Speech, Open World. Yes thats all fine, but Björn Pankratz, the Head of the Studio, dont recognize that the Gaming World evolved. Its not enough and after 6 Games the old "Gothic was cool and the best RPG of its time" Fame is only a memory. Elex 2 is a shame. It looks awful, while PB was 20 years ago a guarantee for benchmarking grafx, but today there is much more money in the business. As a small studio you have to license a engine. Or People will laugh about you. The Face look way more awful than in Mass Effect Andromeda, there is no DirectX12, no Vulkan, no DLSS, no FX, even no good AA or AF. It looks like **** and far worse than a risen 3.

    Then the Fighting system, the animations.....12 years after a dark souls you cant bring an "smash the healthbar but the mob dont recognize your sword" Hack and Slay System. Especially when Elden Ring comes one week earlier. The game looks and feels like a beta and after 20 years im done with the same game. Play Gothic 1 and 2. Maybe Risen. Far better Games. This game is a shame for german games development.    … Expand
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 23
  3. Negative: 2 out of 23
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 19, 2022
    62
    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]
  2. RPG Site
    May 31, 2022
    60
    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.
    Read full review
  3. Riot Pixels
    Mar 31, 2022
    67
    In contrast to the original Elex, this awkward sequel is a typical Piranha Bytes game. And no, it’s not a compliment.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »