Elex

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1316 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 863 out of 1316
  2. Mixed: 128 out of 1316
  3. Negative: 325 out of 1316
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  1. gerAtsch
    Oct 19, 2017
    9
    Elex is a typical Piranha Bytes game.
    You like Gothic and Risen? You like Elex!
    Graphic is ok. Not a AAA graphic like as Witcher3, but acceptable.
    Elex has a verry good quest and world design and a verry deep atmosphere.
    The combat system is a litte bit tricky with exercise but it does

    All in all, a good game for me :)
  2. Darath
    Oct 18, 2017
    8
    I have a really nice time playing this game, there is something in it that makes you want go further.
    I like how the game rewards exploring the world, you can always find something interesting on a top of a mountain or deep in some well.
    The story may not be as interesting as in for example The Witcher 3, thats for sure, fighting could be designed better, and development of character    I have a really nice time playing this game, there is something in it that makes you want go further.
    I like how the game rewards exploring the world, you can always find something interesting on a top of a mountain or deep in some well.
    The story may not be as interesting as in for example The Witcher 3, thats for sure, fighting could be designed better, and development of character could be also better (as i'm trying to build my character around one spell i have to wait 13 levels to reach that. By that time you are as fight-efficient as 1st level character because you're pumpin' up intelligence and flair.

    But overall really nice game, i would recommend it for any gothic/risen fans.
    Cheers!    … Expand
  3. MRzjadacz
    Oct 17, 2017
    9
    Piranhas strikes back!
    One of the best RPGs comes back, as we again dive in Gothic climate.
    But beware casuals! You shall not find fun in this game as it's more like
    ''from gamers for gamers'' than ''from corpo for lazy console players''.
  4. northernlad
    Oct 21, 2017
    9
    takes me back to my time with gothic many moons ago plus its pb love there work its a mish mash setting but who cares if u can get past the diffiicult start and get your character strenghtened up abit your away there's plenty of hours of fun to be had here pb games are real games in my opinion u don't get that hand holding feeliing this is more of a dark souls vide good old fashionedtakes me back to my time with gothic many moons ago plus its pb love there work its a mish mash setting but who cares if u can get past the diffiicult start and get your character strenghtened up abit your away there's plenty of hours of fun to be had here pb games are real games in my opinion u don't get that hand holding feeliing this is more of a dark souls vide good old fashioned gaming ---update changing my score to a nine its not perfect but this is excellent it u can get into to it shame the gaming industry has sold out at least pb hasn't more dev's need to take a look at this level of depth and story great stuff… Expand
  5. Misteriolalista
    Oct 18, 2017
    8
    Good old school RPG back ;)
    Maybe sci fi and others in one is weak but in general game is good ;)
    piranha without glitches is no piranha xD

    ........
  6. pudz1an
    Oct 20, 2017
    10
    Finally, first RPG after Witcher 3 that drew my attention for more than 2 hours, for sure I will finish this game. Great story building, amazing world, janky combat that becomes great once you realize it behaves like a real-life turn based fighting
  7. Mannimarco
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Negative points first, it's not the most gorgeous game ever but it got its charm and is very fun to play if you like hardcore RPGs. You can't just go everywhere you want and nobody explains you every little detail. It may be frustrating when you never played an RPG which doesn't take you by it's hand. But if you get through that rough phase you will get a great experience where you willNegative points first, it's not the most gorgeous game ever but it got its charm and is very fun to play if you like hardcore RPGs. You can't just go everywhere you want and nobody explains you every little detail. It may be frustrating when you never played an RPG which doesn't take you by it's hand. But if you get through that rough phase you will get a great experience where you will grow stronger and get back to the places you once got kicked in the butt to take sweet revenge.

    I recommend everyone to try for themselves.

    As many people tend to give things they don't like an unrealistic 0/10 I give this game a 10/10, however I'd rate ELEX a 8/10.    … Expand
  8. Hoyt_Ridge
    Oct 18, 2017
    10
    Elex is good. Not every game can offer you so many options.
    This game is too hard for casuls, if you are trying to play it with one hand, while holding beer in another one, it won't work.
    Git gud or don't touch it.
  9. Telin
    Oct 18, 2017
    10
    Perfect game. Mostly see criticisms of difficulty. Get,over it and enjoy this rpg, more,indepth than skyrim. Most wont get it, most wont enjoy it, find by me. PB is a small team that,knows how to make a hardcore rpg. Casual/everyday gamer beware. Looks better,on pc of course.
  10. OSMET
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    That's deep.
    The developer sure has good hands.
    I will have fun this weekend playing this masterpiece.
    Haters gonna hate.
    Yes, I am bad at writing reviews.
  11. Illya
    Oct 17, 2017
    8
    I just want to say this: don't look at user score, because there are "reviews" from people who specially made new account to give this game 0 points on every platform(PC, PS4, XONE). I mean, I'm sure they bought this game 3 times.

    About the game: game have nice story, at least to the point where i am(i played for something like 5 hours, maybe a little more) and i have real hopes for    I just want to say this: don't look at user score, because there are "reviews" from people who specially made new account to give this game 0 points on every platform(PC, PS4, XONE). I mean, I'm sure they bought this game 3 times.

    About the game: game have nice story, at least to the point where i am(i played for something like 5 hours, maybe a little more) and i have real hopes for some good plot later, world design is also very, very well made. Even if graphics is not much spectacular, i still can enjoy exploring the game world.
    Yes, animations are, i woulds say, not as good as i hoped they will be.
    And yes, there are some technical issues but i think its a matter of time to patch it.
    Overall - i would like to give it a 7,5 score(or even 10 just for the sake of haters), but unfortunately there is no option to give half scores, so it gets 8 from me.
    I think that this is the game which you can hate or love, so there is no way to say if it's waste of money or not if you don't play it.    … Expand
  12. MaWo79
    Oct 18, 2017
    5
    The idea of a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy in a post-apocalyptic world sounded good at the very beginning. But in the end Piranha Bytes totally failed to put all these different elements together in a rather consistent way. ELEX wants to be a Jack of all Trades with its world pieced together from borrowed designs and ideas from all kinds of different sources like Fallout, Mad Max, Skyrim,The idea of a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy in a post-apocalyptic world sounded good at the very beginning. But in the end Piranha Bytes totally failed to put all these different elements together in a rather consistent way. ELEX wants to be a Jack of all Trades with its world pieced together from borrowed designs and ideas from all kinds of different sources like Fallout, Mad Max, Skyrim, The Witcher, Mass Effect, Star Wars and whatnot. In return ELEX has almost no own ideas or anything that makes it outstanding or special in some way. Sadly it all boils down to a hodgepodge of weird arranged designs that make it feel strange at best and ridiculous at worst. I must admit that I have rarely seen so little creativity in a game concept.

    As with the basic idea of the game there is a lot potential in the complex interlocked quest system they created. Unfortunately all that potential gets destroyed by the game’s overall dull and uninspired story and the bland protagonist.

    A stiff and clunky combat system, childish dialogs and weird animations add to an underwhelming gaming experience.

    Yet I wouldn’t call this game a complete disaster. This game is made for die-hard fans of the studio that can (strangely enough) see over most of the flaws and quirks. My recommendation to the others: Don’t waste your money. Do yourself a favor and wait with your purchase until the price for this game has significantly dropped or until it is on sale.

    BTW: It is a shame how so called "fanboys" flock to this site to rate this game 10 or how German magazines give this game high rankings in paid "tests". This game is mediocre at best. No matter how hard you’re trying to sugarcoat it.    … Expand
  13. Shnig
    Oct 17, 2017
    7
    It is best Piranha Bytes game in last 10 years!
    Regarding the graphics. For a low-budget game, it looks pretty good, the animation is improved, everything looks fine. Today they say that a bad combat system, but it is really interesting, a few weak blows you combine in one powerful, if the endurance does not end.
    It's very pleasant to play the game, I believed in it from the very    It is best Piranha Bytes game in last 10 years!
    Regarding the graphics. For a low-budget game, it looks pretty good, the animation is improved, everything looks fine. Today they say that a bad combat system, but it is really interesting, a few weak blows you combine in one powerful, if the endurance does not end.
    It's very pleasant to play the game, I believed in it from the very announcement, from the very beginning, made a pre-order and apparently did not!    … Expand
  14. fungz84
    Oct 17, 2017
    9
    Well folks, I must say that I am really impressed and enjoying this game despite the hate and some mediocrity.

    I gamed from the first atari to console and to pc since the 1980s till now. I'm in my thirties and have experienced the evolution of gaming. I'm running this game on 4k GTX1080 and a beefy gaming pc. I don't think the graphics are horrible at all. Peeps complaining about that    Well folks, I must say that I am really impressed and enjoying this game despite the hate and some mediocrity.

    I gamed from the first atari to console and to pc since the 1980s till now. I'm in my thirties and have experienced the evolution of gaming. I'm running this game on 4k GTX1080 and a beefy gaming pc. I don't think the graphics are horrible at all. Peeps complaining about that have taken graphics for granted. Saying that it's equivalent to a 2009 game is not saying much. I still think some of the best graphical games to date are Crysis 3 and Ryse Son of Rome. But anyways...

    This does remind me of Gothic 1 and 2 (which back in the day I could not run cause of my slow pc even though I badly wanted to play and got thru 30 min of it). I like this game because:

    1. I think it's more engaging than Skyrim or Fallout. The world to me, is much more interesting and so is the lore. Skyrim got boring and I felt too overpowered out of the box. This game is a good challenge and balance. Those who complain about getting 1 shotted by early enemy clearly have not played Dark Souls.

    2. Animations are better than Andromeda lmao and aren't bad. They remind me of some older rpg cut scenes, and crack me up a bit here and there, but I'm freaking engaged in the dialogue as the CHOICES do matter, which is why it's so great!

    3. Combat is a bit clunky, but satisfying after winning a kill. Not fast paced like other ARPGs like Diablo, but hey, it's not DIABLO!

    My only complaint is the stupid AI that says "Ready to go ready go ready go?" non-stop. It's like WTF, I just want to explore so let me do that first and then I'll follow you lol. But this reminds me of games back in the day and I don't take today's improvements of gameplay, graphics, and AI for granted. Yea it's 2017, but I'm a gamer going after gaemplay, lore, atmopshere... not just eye candy.

    Closest games other than Gothic and Risen series it reminds me of is: Divinity 2 mixed with some Dark Souls.

    Loving it.    … Expand
  15. 4n94r
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Best RPG 2017, Good story with consequences on player choices, unique setting and game mechanics. Characters are interesting and fascinating. Combat, lvling and exploring the world feels very rewarding.
  16. Razor66
    Oct 20, 2017
    10
    One thing is for sure, this game is not for:
    - Spoiled adolescent/kids in general, mostly between 8 and 16 years old. Exceptions are possible, mature adolescent able to think with their own brain exists, but, again, are to be considered exceptions.
    - Noobs proud to be noobs - “Refund heroes”: people who judge an RPG in 15 minutes - People who grew up playing Assassin’s Creed,    One thing is for sure, this game is not for:
    - Spoiled adolescent/kids in general, mostly between 8 and 16 years old. Exceptions are possible, mature adolescent able to think with their own brain exists, but, again, are to be considered exceptions.

    - Noobs proud to be noobs

    - “Refund heroes”: people who judge an RPG in 15 minutes

    - People who grew up playing Assassin’s Creed, Batman Arkham Knight, Call of Duty, Dragon
    Age Inquisition, Skyrim and the like. And who measure the rest of the of the world against those.

    - People with the attention span of a dead squid.

    - People who get bored if no explosion/fireworks/earthquake/Cthulhu appearance happens in the very first 30 minutes of play of a game.

    - People who get bored if they can’t level every 20 minutes.

    - People who need a tutorial to use a tutorial. (Experimenting is out of the question)

    - People who need to be reassured at every step; who need to be hand held all the time; who need cues, indicators, suggestions, maps, bright coloured inventory e writings, pizzas and energy drinks all over.

    - People who think combat is all about mashing mouse buttons standing still in front of an enemy designed to instantly die under their crowbar hits.

    - People who think combat is all about fluid precalculated animations, linked to each other like a dance.

    - People who think that the first monster they encounter (in perfect chronological and spatial order) should be an inert sacrificial goat that can’t kill them.

    - People who think that “dated graphics” are graphics that “are not on the very bleeding edge”.

    - People who judge RPG based on graphics, animations and colours of the inventory screen.

    - People who, when encountering something they don’t understand, rage quit and write hysterical rant reviews on Steam with the “well reasoned” following sentences:

    § “This game required another 3 years of development”
    § “This game is unplayable”
    § “This game looks like it was developed 15 years ago”
    § “First Doom had better graphics”
    § “Combat is broken”
    § "This game is a pile of s*it"
    § "This game is trash"

    (actual quotes taken straight from Steam reviews titles!).    … Expand
  17. npougoxa
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    They made the Gothic again. Is it bad? I don't think so. Piranha Bytes is the gods of the hardcore germane's rpg. So there is nothing bad in new "Gothic" game. If you are a old school and hardcore gamer, which played in games like Gothic, Risen, Morrowind and etc... Elex is for you. The grate rpg in a very non-standard and steep setting where mixed post-apocalypse, futuristic and fantasyThey made the Gothic again. Is it bad? I don't think so. Piranha Bytes is the gods of the hardcore germane's rpg. So there is nothing bad in new "Gothic" game. If you are a old school and hardcore gamer, which played in games like Gothic, Risen, Morrowind and etc... Elex is for you. The grate rpg in a very non-standard and steep setting where mixed post-apocalypse, futuristic and fantasy world. I advise you to get acquainted if you did not get rid of the current games, where the developers is poked into the gamer's face of what to do and where to go, thereby killing these feelings of adventure and acknowledgement.… Expand
  18. Gorn221
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Story, dialogues, characters, world, exploration, climate, soundtrack and quests are incredibly good and enticing. Fight, animation and graphics are average. I recommend to everybody who likes great stories.
  19. TheDeusEx
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Piranha Bytes game detected - 10/10 for a fan, 0/10 for regular player. The game is far from perfect, the same problems as before, but lore+quest+unique gothic style = 10!
  20. bladerunner45
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Its by any means not a bug free and the animations are not that good but the Feeling to interact with the game is just amazing. If you wander by NPCs they react to you and the beautiful created landscape makes it wonderful to explore every bit of the huge World. and discover many hidden treasures.
  21. LuKi965
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Huge, open, detailed world to explore with many secrets to discover. Interesting post-apo/sci-fi/fantasy setting - sometimes stupid, sometimes funny. Fine combat system - much better than Gothic/Risen. Many quests with plot, not only "bring X this to Y NPC"x100. Typical Piranha Bytes game. For me it's GOTY 2017 in RPG category.
  22. Pyrokar
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Game play on PC are more better, then on PS4, you need to play this game, lore are best since Gothic 3. Uniquely, if you want to play this game, try it first on PC, not on PS4.
  23. dhpproject
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    then the feeling when you are destroyed by a chicken, as long as you stick to the menu and do not expect trouble. 10/10 about God 10/10
    but seriously, this is not an ideal game, but in 2017 role-playing games were simply not better, so it is one-to-one, for all fans of role-playing games
  24. ZeFiRoT
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Game looks really great, everything is awesome! Love Piranha Bytes games. 10/10
    You just must play this game, and then you understand why its so good!
  25. Finrod
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Best game from PB since Gothic 2! The world design is as perfect as always, the story and characters are great. The new setting just works really fine and the mechanics are okay. The combat is challenging but fun, the music is nearly as great as Kai Rosenkranz. Im glad i bought this game:)
  26. TomekCiv
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Game is soo VERY GOOD.. I`m fan Gothic and very love game PB.. Elex have great world, Dialogs, quests, subquests and other good elements. Combat and explorations is good
  27. Gradstudent
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    A colossally huge, magnificently designed open-world with impeccable PC optimization and the deepest character progression system in action RPG history, along with the greatest choice and consequence and quest design seen in an open world game. It will take tens of hours to even begin to penetrate the surface... yet of course, "professional" reviews hammered out after 3 hours ofA colossally huge, magnificently designed open-world with impeccable PC optimization and the deepest character progression system in action RPG history, along with the greatest choice and consequence and quest design seen in an open world game. It will take tens of hours to even begin to penetrate the surface... yet of course, "professional" reviews hammered out after 3 hours of uninterested play on console, while bemoaning the complexity and challenge of the game will be here to inform you as to whether or not you should buy it on PC.

    Such is the state of the industry. Awe well. So it goes.

    Regardless, no lootboxes, no DLC, no DRM, no season passes, hundreds of hours of content, no multiplayer nonsense and zero pandering to anyone but their core demographic should be enough to encourage anyone with a PC from the past 5 years to pick it up ASAP. Support games by people who make games for themselves, not people who make games for yachts.    … Expand
  28. mindw0rk
    Oct 18, 2017
    3
    Im disappointed. Although I missed Gothic series, I liked Risen and Risen 3. So I expected a new fun game from PB. But after playing little less then a hour, I feel like giving up. Its just not enjoyable.

    -Graphics is mediocre and feels like worse then in Risen 3. -Combat is slow, clunky, unresponsive and plain boring. -Controls are also clunky and stay clunky even after you rebind    Im disappointed. Although I missed Gothic series, I liked Risen and Risen 3. So I expected a new fun game from PB. But after playing little less then a hour, I feel like giving up. Its just not enjoyable.

    -Graphics is mediocre and feels like worse then in Risen 3.
    -Combat is slow, clunky, unresponsive and plain boring.
    -Controls are also clunky and stay clunky even after you rebind defaults.
    -Music is terrible. I turned it off because it just annoyed me.
    -UI is bad.
    -The worst of all if writing and dialogues which are key thing for RPGs. They feel very amateurish. It is especially noticable after playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 where dialogues were excellent. Every time NPC spoke to me, I was like "Cmon, shut up already".

    PB, word of advice: start getting out of your comfort zone and making modern games.    … Expand
  29. ttt2233
    Oct 17, 2017
    4
    I just want to say this: don't look at user score, because there are "reviews" from people who specially made new account to give this game 10 points on every platform(PC, PS4, XONE). I mean, I'm sure they bought this game 3 times.

    About the game: game have weak story, at least to the point where i am (i played for something like 5 hours, maybe a little more) and i have not real hopes    I just want to say this: don't look at user score, because there are "reviews" from people who specially made new account to give this game 10 points on every platform(PC, PS4, XONE). I mean, I'm sure they bought this game 3 times.

    About the game: game have weak story, at least to the point where i am (i played for something like 5 hours, maybe a little more) and i have not real hopes for some good plot later, world design as mis of fantasy and sci-fi is the worst game feature. Graphics is not spectacular, just like in 2005. i can not enjoy exploring such game world.

    Animations are very poor, i woulds say as poor as I expected, a they will be (Piranha Bytes game).
    There are also some technical issues and many bugs.
    Overall - i would like to give it a 4,5 score (or even 0 just for the sake of Piranha Bytes fanboys), but unfortunately there is no option to give half scores, so it gets 4 from me.
    I think that this is the game which you can hate and can't love, so there is many ways to waste your money but this game is the worst of them.    … Expand
  30. JackieBoy
    Oct 17, 2017
    3
    If you are familiar with the risen series, then you already know what to expect from this game. Bad combat and animation, laughable story and boring game world.
  31. JakeBlackie
    Oct 17, 2017
    0
    This game is just currently unplayable. The frame rate drops, technical issues and crashes are so common. Please ignore the fanboys here and don't buy this game. At least wait for the technical issues to be sorted out with patches or get the game during a sale if you must play it, but you would not be missing out on much anyway.
  32. Tylaris
    Oct 17, 2017
    0
    Elex is like an Uwe Boll movie: hilariously clumsy, dumb and poorly directed, but with occasional "quirk" that it enters so-bad-it's-good at times, but most of the time, it remains simply crap.

    You enter A world that seems based on child's weekend project and one that is incoherent and illogical in every sense of the word: whether we're talking about narrative, themes, factions, or it's    Elex is like an Uwe Boll movie: hilariously clumsy, dumb and poorly directed, but with occasional "quirk" that it enters so-bad-it's-good at times, but most of the time, it remains simply crap.

    You enter A world that seems based on child's weekend project and one that is incoherent and illogical in every sense of the word: whether we're talking about narrative, themes, factions, or it's geography. You have vikings, magic, lasers, robot worshipping cultists, dinosaurs, mechs, post apocalyptic outlaws, all standing on even footing, no matter how silly and ridiculous it seems.
    Only thing missing here are the Amazons, pirates and of course, the samurai. :P

    Gameplay is easily some of the worst from both third person shooting and melee, ever created...incredibly unsatisfying, janky, sluggish, inprecise and designed around getting around massive hitpoint bloats than centered on defeating actually good and responsive, dynamic AI. Elex does not challenge your skill and tactics, only your patience.

    Story, writing, dialogue, characters/design, voice acting, facial animation, direction, presentation are all of poor quality.

    Mobile game "quality" of UI design. Completely bland OST and art. Game that is technically far behind it's contemporaries And somehow manages to run worse at same time.

    There are some good ideas, such as offering more freedom in how to handle quests, but no matter your choice: execution remains poor across the board.

    Overall: stay away from this.

    In 2007, this could make for a decent title, but today there are better games in every respect, on both indie and AAA market.    … Expand
  33. Chadpowers
    Oct 23, 2017
    4
    Graphics: 6/10
    Poor assets, effects and animations. However they manage to use those resources to create a beautiful, but cheesy world.
    Sound: 8/10 Probably the best aspect of the game. Nothing memorable and a few sound effects are rather weak, however the overall composition is satisfying enough and just misses that little bit to be really great. The voiceover however often sounds    Graphics: 6/10
    Poor assets, effects and animations. However they manage to use those resources to create a beautiful, but cheesy world.

    Sound: 8/10
    Probably the best aspect of the game. Nothing memorable and a few sound effects are rather weak, however the overall composition is satisfying enough and just misses that little bit to be really great.
    The voiceover however often sounds rather unmotivated.

    Gameplay: 4/10
    The combat is just horrible in various regards. It's an uninspired and clunky mess of failed attempts to copy other games, and that is just the melee combat. The ranged and magic combat are just a one button joke. All of that doesn't get better with the poor animations. The balancing also has some issues with spamming or abusing the jetpack that is available way too early and a few unintuitive mechanics like the weird combo mechanic in the game.
    The character development is also lackluster, lazily done and navigating the various menus is a nightmare due to the poor UI design.
    At least the game offers some decent quests, gathering and exploring. Too bad the player won't ever find anything of value because everything in the game just feels like a cheesy and cheap copy of something better from other games.

    Story: 3/10
    To sum it up, everything in the story, the setting, plot, writing and storytelling are poorly done. Not really worth going into detail, many of those things are just embarassingly badly written. But here is one example, right at the beginning of the game the hero talks to himself: 'What is that? Emotions? Must be the Elex withdrawal!'
    There is just so much wrong with just this one setence already. First of all it's poor style if you have to drop exposition like that. Then emotions are something the player will experience when he does so himself not when the game tells him to (duh). Further the whole sentence sounds so incredibly artificial it's just beyond cringy. The whole concept of emotions being a gameplay mechanic and story element is poorly thought out and even more poorly implemented.
    The whole game is riddled with things like that and overall gives the impression it has been written by some 10 year old after he played Fallout and Skyrim for the first time.
    It's just embarassing to watch. However 3 points are awarded for the little amount of fun once can have with some of the better written quests and the amount of effort put into the game. Though a smaller world, with less cheesy locations would have done the story and gameplay a big service.

    Overall: 5/10
    It hardly even deserves that since basically anything positive you can say about the game doesn't really effect the core gameplay and I can't recommend buying a game just to run through a somewhat pretty, but cheesy world to talk to NPCs.

    It's a shame that so many people abuse the review mechanic for this game. It definitely isn't a zero and it also isn't anywhere near a 10. The devs have stated themselves, that they largely rely on their communities wishes, so if blinded fanboys keep rating that high, the devs will never learn from their mistakes and this has been going on since Risen.

    Update: New Score 4/10

    After some testing I have figured out, that most of the ingame stats and skills have no function or don't function as they are described. Many of those stats are completely hidden from the player in an effort to conceal those bugs. So in terms of gameplay the game is a 2/10 at best, which lowers the overall score to 4.    … Expand
  34. ScienceAdvisor
    Oct 17, 2017
    4
    Game mechanics are meant to be chosen to drive the narrative. In this case Piranha Bytes decided to toss that out and just put a bunch of random mechanics into this because the individually looked cool. Then they ran out of budget, or more likely interest, before getting to the rest of the game. Story, animation, and especially combat are all sub-par, even for PB. Add in a lot of bugsGame mechanics are meant to be chosen to drive the narrative. In this case Piranha Bytes decided to toss that out and just put a bunch of random mechanics into this because the individually looked cool. Then they ran out of budget, or more likely interest, before getting to the rest of the game. Story, animation, and especially combat are all sub-par, even for PB. Add in a lot of bugs that range from massive FPS drops to CTDs, and even the shill brigade handing out GOTY 10/10s cannot save this from being known what it is: Avoidable.… Expand
  35. AngryJoey
    Oct 18, 2017
    0
    Elex is an incredibly long and boring RPG that is damn near torture for any sane person to play. Why anyone would subjugate themselves to Navigating an unforgivably backward-ass Map & Quest Interface in this Grindfest – that on occasion looks as if it was developed in 1999, for little to no reward is beyond me. Especially when there are far superior RPG choices out there. Do yourself aElex is an incredibly long and boring RPG that is damn near torture for any sane person to play. Why anyone would subjugate themselves to Navigating an unforgivably backward-ass Map & Quest Interface in this Grindfest – that on occasion looks as if it was developed in 1999, for little to no reward is beyond me. Especially when there are far superior RPG choices out there. Do yourself a favor and stay far away from this one! Or at least wait for a bargain bin price to satisfy your morbid curiosity.… Expand
  36. MikeCosimano
    Oct 17, 2017
    0
    This game is horrendous in every way, the graphics sucks, the controls sucks, and just the combat system itself is one of the worst I've ever experienced.
    This game is plain awful. The voice acting sounds like it's from a 2005 game. The sound and animations are probably the worst I've ever seen in a game. Sometimes the music just disappears right in the middle of cutscenes. The texture    This game is horrendous in every way, the graphics sucks, the controls sucks, and just the combat system itself is one of the worst I've ever experienced.
    This game is plain awful. The voice acting sounds like it's from a 2005 game. The sound and animations are probably the worst I've ever seen in a game. Sometimes the music just disappears right in the middle of cutscenes. The texture looks like something from a PS2 game.
    Frustrating, ugly, broken, irritating, dull -- I cannot recommend this game to a single person. Please do not buy Elex. It is a very bad game.    … Expand
  37. EdwardElric
    Oct 17, 2017
    0
    Well, I have to hand it to PB, they did the unthinkable, they managed to make a game more worse than risen. This is the worst game i have played so far this year.
  38. Jurigag
    Oct 17, 2017
    0
    If you already played Risen 2 and Risen 3 you can know what to expect. This game exactly copies all the wrong things which were in previous games - bad graphics(like really bad, it has graphics on same level or even worse as skyrim/witcher 2). The combat is the same bad as it was in risen 2 and 3. Totally unresponsive, with really bad animations. They dialogues are rubbish and writingIf you already played Risen 2 and Risen 3 you can know what to expect. This game exactly copies all the wrong things which were in previous games - bad graphics(like really bad, it has graphics on same level or even worse as skyrim/witcher 2). The combat is the same bad as it was in risen 2 and 3. Totally unresponsive, with really bad animations. They dialogues are rubbish and writing seems lazy. Same with world - put everything we can, mix everything we can and check out what we got. They should stop making sandbox games really. Just go back to linear rpg games with small worlds like gothic 1/2/risen 1.… Expand
  39. GReviews
    May 2, 2018
    7
    I really like this game. The world, factions and interactions with its characters are very well realised. To me that's the best part of any good game. Yes it has some flaws and a fair few technical glitches. I had more than one chat with NPC's where they simply skip lines of dialogue and jump to a whole new conversation. But really when it comes down to it, the most important thing is thatI really like this game. The world, factions and interactions with its characters are very well realised. To me that's the best part of any good game. Yes it has some flaws and a fair few technical glitches. I had more than one chat with NPC's where they simply skip lines of dialogue and jump to a whole new conversation. But really when it comes down to it, the most important thing is that when I was at the pub the other day I was thinking to myself "I can't wait to get home and play ELEX."… Expand
  40. ZaPaAl
    Jan 19, 2018
    8
    Full of potential, but flawed in execution.

    Nice scenery, strong atmoshpere and climate zones, interesting "handcrafted" level design. Sadly it has no children which destroys a huge amout of credibility, their absence is never explained, and no one characters seems to be bothered by it. What are they fighting for? Interesting quests and interactions full of consequences. Companions    Full of potential, but flawed in execution.

    Nice scenery, strong atmoshpere and climate zones, interesting "handcrafted" level design.
    Sadly it has no children which destroys a huge amout of credibility, their absence is never explained, and no one characters seems to be bothered by it. What are they fighting for?
    Interesting quests and interactions full of consequences. Companions lack quite a lot in emotional attachment, and their quests are hardly very good, except for Duras. And after they are done, they have nothing more to say, except sometimes repeating comments regarding the current area.
    The voicing in (in english) is found to be very good.
    Gameplay mechanics like stealing have been interesting since gothic, but they are starting to get a bit tired.
    Quite nicely fleshed out story and background, but it would have needed to be presented with more drama and tension build up. The ending felt rather underwhelming, preparing a lot for Elex 2.
    Exploring can be interesting, a lot of legendary weapons and little text stories to be discovered.

    Difficulty balancing across the game is terrible.
    Difficulty does initially motivate and there is nothing wrong with a challenge, but beeing scaringly unable to move through the world without beeing challenged even by a mass rat for about a third of the game, and after that going to near untouchable by spamming black hole does not make for interesting combat.
    I never really saw the need to invest in any other cleric powers and range weapons are difficult to aim and hardly fun to use. Maybe this is better as a pure bastard mage.

    Biggest problem is the overly big game map size which leads to problems of emptiness and repeating environments. Best area is the bastard starting area, the rest, especially the high tech areas tend to be very bland.
    If they had not repeated that Gothic 3 world size mistake, it could have been a far better 60 hour experience. Impressive they can pull that of and it was good for a while, but the last hours made me feel very glad it's over.
    Still interested in Elex 2 though.    … Expand
  41. Thothistox
    Jan 13, 2019
    7
    I've played through this game twice. At the end of my first playthrough I would have been ready to give it an 8 or 9. The promises it makes are wonderful: factions that care about who you've sided with, "emotional" and "cold" play styles that lead to different endings, interlocked questing with unpredictable results, three different skill trees that depend on your faction, companions withI've played through this game twice. At the end of my first playthrough I would have been ready to give it an 8 or 9. The promises it makes are wonderful: factions that care about who you've sided with, "emotional" and "cold" play styles that lead to different endings, interlocked questing with unpredictable results, three different skill trees that depend on your faction, companions with approval systems, a secret society, some romances, and a gluttony of exploration. Sounds great, right? Well, try playing it twice.
    The game delivers on only around half of what it promises. The factions are probably the best part. Unlike some games where you can join everything, here it feels much more meaningful because it's a commitment. The groups don't feel like believable societies, but at least your interaction with them is consistent, which gives some illusion of realism. The associated skill trees give the game additional depth and replay value. Turning your character from very weak to almost invincible is satisfying and addictive. The game map is three dimensional and deep. There will be valleys that surprise you and entire locations you can miss on your first playthrough.
    However... Let's put it this way: doing a "cold" playthrough does not feel believable or consistent. The last part of the game feels like a poorly edited B-movie when playing "cold". Most of what Jax does is suited towards the role of a hero and he repeatedly talks of no longer taking Elex, though I had him drink a few bathtubs of it. All this being so, it makes little sense that towards the end he would suddenly become a turncoat and betray almost everyone. In the epilogue his encounters with the NPCs who acquiesce to his decision made me laugh. The truth is that there is no "cold" play style. The game was made for "emotional" or mediocre middle and "cold" was added as an afterthought. Quite often the dialogue that counts as colder or warmer doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and the ultra-cold responses are confusingly marked as "enough emotion" in the dialogue option. It took me a while to figure out that "enough emotion" actually means cold.
    Another broken promise is your allies' approval system. You get to recruit around seven NPCs to fight along side you and they can approve or disapprove of almost any conversation you have... but it all doesn't matter. They don't leave you. You have no option to get rid of them. One of these NPCs is even the one who shot down your raider at the beginning of the game, but you have no option of punishing this person. Every line of dialogue with this character involves you being complicit and helpful.
    The two romances are abrupt and feel unnatural, but at least you have to choose one or the other (or neither).
    The worst thing about the game is the villains: the Albs. They are so platitudinous they seem to be straight out of a late Bioware game (after they were destroyed by EA). Everything about the Albs is a platitude. I found myself forgetting what they'd said immediately after they said it. They're a master race based around obedience of the main villain and The Directive, which means obedience. And they must evolve, which means become monsters.
    I know that realism is a strange thing to ask in a game like Elex, but why can't you make the villains a more believable society? In good fiction as in real life, no large group of intelligent beings conspires towards a bad thing consciously. They always have justification--a perceived injustice that turns out to be misguided.
    No. In this case we have the Albs--a group so wafer thin and uninteresting they seem like teenage fan fiction.
    Besides this there are also the technical aspects of the game. The combat is janky. Your character buffers his moves a second in advance and crowd control is terrible until you get the right talents. Targeting is sometimes problematic. Sometimes you hit your own people, other times you turn around to face something you wanted to avoid. Expect some frustration, especially early in the game.
    The graphics are a mixed bag. I've never seen a game that made such tawdry assets look so beautiful. Picture rays of light and wind swaying the tree branches and a pile of bones on the ground in a pool of blood--that's PB's idea of a dead body.
    I've never felt so much atmosphere in a game with sound effects that came out of someone's basement studio. Walking sounds like two little pieces of wood clanking on a table.
    Yet, it is addictive. Combat is fun when you get strong. The interlocking quests are refreshing in this day and age when quests tend to be self-contained modules that can be removed without affecting the whole. I am happy to say that PB hasn't followed that insidious trend.    … Expand
  42. kruci
    Dec 12, 2020
    7
    Mocno nierówna. Pierwsze kilka godzin męczące. Następnie się rozkręca na około 8h. Po czym pod koniec zabawy znowu poziom spada w dół. Robi sie nudnie, powtarzalnie oraz widać że zabrakło czasu i pieniędzy by doszlifować końcówkę przygody. Na plus rewelacyjna mapa, dużo lokacji które zostały wykorzystane tylko raz, dzięki czemu co chwila napotykamy na nowe miejsca
  43. Joewashere
    Aug 27, 2019
    7
    After having shat their ledehosen with Risen 2 and 3, it had seemed that the Piranha Bytes that gave us the GOAT Gothic 2 was no more. The mainstream gaming media was happy to confirm that; they wrote ELEX off as a broken turd. But, as we all know, the mainstream gaming media doesn't know ****

    ELEX is very flawed, I'm not gonna deny that. Some weapons are overpowered, the Cunning stat    After having shat their ledehosen with Risen 2 and 3, it had seemed that the Piranha Bytes that gave us the GOAT Gothic 2 was no more. The mainstream gaming media was happy to confirm that; they wrote ELEX off as a broken turd. But, as we all know, the mainstream gaming media doesn't know ****

    ELEX is very flawed, I'm not gonna deny that. Some weapons are overpowered, the Cunning stat is worthless, everything's poorly tutorialized, so on and so forth... but you'll quickly stop caring once you get to the exploring. It hits that "dog looking for truffles" spot in the way only Piranha Bytes can. Just like in the Gothic games, you have a hand-crafted world where you can snoop around for hours, plenty of enemy and weapon variety, and minibosses in fixed locations. After you wander into an Ogre's territory and get demolished, it's just satisfying to come back at a higher level, get your revenge, and never have to deal with him again.

    Sure, ELEX may not be quite up to the standards of the old PB, but it's fun, and that's what really matters.    … Expand
  44. keens
    Jun 6, 2019
    7
    ah, Piranha Bytes, what are we going to do with you?
    I'm a hardcore fan of PB games since Gothic 1 and played all of the Gothic/Rise series.
    I really like the style and atmosphere these games have. But PB must start changing things... Did I enjoy the game? Hell yea! Did I want to punch the developers in the face? you have no idea how much... Pros - a big world to explore -    ah, Piranha Bytes, what are we going to do with you?
    I'm a hardcore fan of PB games since Gothic 1 and played all of the Gothic/Rise series.
    I really like the style and atmosphere these games have.
    But PB must start changing things...

    Did I enjoy the game? Hell yea!
    Did I want to punch the developers in the face? you have no idea how much...

    Pros
    - a big world to explore
    - quite good voice acting
    - nice quests and plot
    - graphics are decent

    Cons
    - atrocious, clunky and unresponsive combat
    - bad UI
    - not polished enough

    I can recommend the game to players familiar with Gothic/Risen, others might have a hard time to like this game.    … Expand
  45. DaniloNovakovic
    Aug 30, 2020
    7
    A unique and interesting game that does manage to capture "Gothic" feeling but is ruined by a frustrating combat system, in core it had good ideas but needed way more polish (like the ability to sidestep, better enemy NPC indicators that they are going to attack, faster light attack (or ability to increase attack speed), etc.). If you are a fan of Piranha Bytes games then you will enjoyA unique and interesting game that does manage to capture "Gothic" feeling but is ruined by a frustrating combat system, in core it had good ideas but needed way more polish (like the ability to sidestep, better enemy NPC indicators that they are going to attack, faster light attack (or ability to increase attack speed), etc.). If you are a fan of Piranha Bytes games then you will enjoy this game too, but it would be really hard for me to recommend this game to somebody who hasn't played any of their previous games (or is new to RPG genre) as you can easily spend 20+ hours in this game and still feel useless unless you are min-maxing your stats :P

    That being said it has some very interesting side-quests (my favorites being around Outlaw & Doomed City areas) that actually impact the story and your interaction with the NPCs. The game also promotes vertical exploration with the introduction of the Jetpack, so if you don't mind watching some tutorials to get through the early game more easily you will have an enjoyable experience. Personally I have a love-hate relationship with this game, and in the end, despite its flaws, I just couldn't stop playing it :)    … Expand
  46. Cavekrieger
    May 23, 2019
    10
    A beautiful Game, with a good atmosphere. If you have not already played this Game, you should do this.
  47. Koyaniskaci
    Dec 5, 2019
    10
    Very good game. I really liked it. Thanks. But please do Russian voice translation
  48. Lobby
    Apr 15, 2020
    9
    This is easily the third best game done by Piranha Bytes (after Gothic and Gothic 2). So if you like their games just go and try it. Do no expect AAA title. it was on was created on smaller budget and it shows. The game could use some more polishing, but everything works. It is a good old school RPG with world that is not scaled to your level (some new more advanced monsters will appearThis is easily the third best game done by Piranha Bytes (after Gothic and Gothic 2). So if you like their games just go and try it. Do no expect AAA title. it was on was created on smaller budget and it shows. The game could use some more polishing, but everything works. It is a good old school RPG with world that is not scaled to your level (some new more advanced monsters will appear as you progress the main line, but that is tied to your level ). There will be monsters you would have avoid till you are strong warrior, but there is always a way around the dangerous territories. The story is quite good it is not KOTOR level, but will beat most of the generic stories in today RPGs. It also provides not so comon universe where magic and technology coexists. You will enjoy actual role-playing as most of the quest allows you different approaches both on what skill you use or what side you choose. The choices are also not just simple bad/good, but are more about what you think is right. So are the factions in this game. Lot of people says they are stupid, but I think they mostly hate that they are is not one super cool one they can totally relate to, but rather each have its problems. I think this quite well suites the narrative of the game and make it quite immersive. All of them have their agenda and different approach to technology vs magic, freedom vs laws etc. and each have their pros and cons and even some people inside the factions may have bit different opinion where the faction should really go. You are probably not going to find your perfect match, but rather pick one that is closest to your opinions or just go for the weapons/skills they provide, but should be just fine as it fits the narrative. Fight is pretty good is not just some button masher, but you actually have to thing a bit and strategize and use your jet pack to your advantage and sometimes run and come back later when you level/gear up. The exploration is really fund and rewarding and there is often multiple ways how get somewhere. Some may be have more enemies other will be harder to move through so you can choose. The compass is quite minimal and doesn't show you each cave like TES so you actually have to look around.

    Don really get all the negative reviews. Yes the games have some quirks and is not mainstream for everyone, but giving the game four and less is just weird. Those people also often writes some like I have played the game for 2 hours, they just peaked into they have not enough information to judge the game.    … Expand
  49. daLira
    Jun 19, 2020
    10
    Elex is an unpolished gem.
    You will either love it for it's classic rpg elements or hate it since it simply feels way too clunky and like something from 2 decades ago.
    But for some that's the charme of it. The leveling curve is very hard, unforgiving, combat takes time to get used to it's combo system, while using everything in your arsenal. No need to stack up tons of items you never    Elex is an unpolished gem.
    You will either love it for it's classic rpg elements or hate it since it simply feels way too clunky and like something from 2 decades ago.
    But for some that's the charme of it. The leveling curve is very hard, unforgiving, combat takes time to get used to it's combo system, while using everything in your arsenal. No need to stack up tons of items you never use, since you have to use them rather often to survive.
    The world is handcraftet and beautiful to look it. Every corner has something special hidden, be it loot, something story related or a gimmick.
    By itself it's Gothic 2 with a modern look.    … Expand
  50. BaldwinE
    Dec 30, 2019
    8
    A very unique Action-RPG game in two ways:

    - Unique from the style and design. One can run around with leather armor and sword and the same time having laser blaster and grenade launcher dangling on the back. One can choose one particular style or mix all together. Also very interesting that one can complete the quest in an ethical/unethical way but that doesn't mean that this is what    A very unique Action-RPG game in two ways:

    - Unique from the style and design. One can run around with leather armor and sword and the same time having laser blaster and grenade launcher dangling on the back. One can choose one particular style or mix all together. Also very interesting that one can complete the quest in an ethical/unethical way but that doesn't mean that this is what brings you further in the career path, I think this aspect is very nicely done. My only issue with it that they could have done the emotionless a little bit better, somehow nobody from them is actually emotionless and the power drug withdrawal is strongly introduced but not implemented in the story and gameplay as it should have been in my opinion. Also a little bit more background story on how the existing factions came to be the way they are, there is some information but rather scarce. One point minus for that from me.

    - It has a unique combat system for a RPG. Stats and level matter the most but one has still master the to move around and time attacks properly, very unforgiving for people who do not try to engage with this system and just run up close and spam clicks like it is in most RPGs. Not that it is a bad thing in other games but I really enjoy the more engaging system in ELEX. It is sometimes "janky" and has some issues on fighting on sloped terrains as well as some weird things happening with the hit box with projectiles. For that reason one point minus.

    Overall very enjoyable game. I would recommend this game to anyone who wants a third person RPG with a more engaging combat and an unforgiving world. Especially to people who liked one of the prior Piranha Byte games.    … Expand
  51. pA1N
    Jun 2, 2019
    8
    another good rpg from the creators of gothic. its something i like as a fan of "gothic 3 gameplay". so i give it a 8 for a good story and the rpg aspect only piranha could make. the game mechanics and the engine are too outdated. the controls like double tap A or D to dodge that cant be cancelled was the most annoying.
  52. KeonKG
    Jan 27, 2019
    9
    Very nice RPG. Visuals and audio is very good. There is some glitches but this game is very good. I love Piranha Bytes games.
  53. Lucky_Nike
    Feb 18, 2019
    9
    After finishing game on normal difficulty its 9/10 game.

    In the beginning game is rather 6/10. Once you leave Berserk city game start to show what is really about. There are 10/10 hours of gameplay where walking around and desire to learn more about the world, adapt to enemies and enviroment, its exploration part will make hours in real world pass like minutes. In fact after 70 hours in    After finishing game on normal difficulty its 9/10 game.

    In the beginning game is rather 6/10. Once you leave Berserk city game start to show what is really about. There are 10/10 hours of gameplay where walking around and desire to learn more about the world, adapt to enemies and enviroment, its exploration part will make hours in real world pass like minutes. In fact after 70 hours in the game there was no wish to turn the gamet off.

    I have been playing game on gamepad, but I believe mouse keyboard is better option to fight more effectively using jatpack. Nevertheless once you learn how patterns of enemies are and you adapt, you will be able to defeat each enemy on both: gamepad and keyboard/mouse. On the other side gamepad gives game its tempo and makes game in that sense very constant. I was trying with mouse and keyboard, its better in some ways, but gamepad still wins if atmosphere is what you are looking for rather than min maxing your character and confront enemies in most effective way.

    This game is RPG that really deserve to be called RPG game. Better stats, better weapons, boosts etc. all are changing how game feels and how to get through harder fights or explore unhealthy enviroments. Skipping fights was bread and butter in the beginning for me; but once leveled up and learned all those stuff game provides along how to fight, there was no reason to skip fights ever again.

    I would recommend this game for every player who likes RPG as there are no much games like that these days. For all new to RPG genre: with a bit patience, you will be rewarded with unique experience and it will make you think about real world as well as this game is touching topics, that are worth to think about.    … Expand
  54. ssharp
    Jan 19, 2020
    10
    The best RPG I played since Witcher 3.
    This is an example of how an RPG should look like: complex story, dialogs, characters, and finally a ROLE PLAYING option... The last is much better than in any AAA garbage like Skyrim, Fallout4 or DA: Inquisition. World's gone crazy if any action game in a fantasy setting is called "role-playing" now.
  55. Jabati
    Jan 5, 2020
    8
    Before I learned to play it my rating was at 6 and this was my review:
    Gothic was, and will be forever my precious. This is basically the same thing all over again in a different setting. Already Risen 3 was a big mistake. In a way, I think Piranha locked itself in this cage they themselves created. Get out of the f'n box, Piranha Bytes, do sth else. Nowadays, this sucks :D
    After the    Before I learned to play it my rating was at 6 and this was my review:
    Gothic was, and will be forever my precious. This is basically the same thing all over again in a different setting. Already Risen 3 was a big mistake. In a way, I think Piranha locked itself in this cage they themselves created. Get out of the f'n box, Piranha Bytes, do sth else. Nowadays, this sucks :D
    After the game spent bout a year just as a title in my steam library i decided to go commando on it and make it through the rough start, and... The game has a few flaws, but exploration is very satysfying, as you can see the rating went up to 8. It is a very good game. Its like a Fallout game with Gothic style controls. The so called high difficulty is due to the lack of knowledge on how to play. Once u figure out the only thing limitting your hero's power is the ammount of elexit u posses it suddenly becomes much more satysfying. So, apologies for my prev words Piranha, man I was wrong about this. Combat mechanics is what took the 2 out of the score other than that game is good.    … Expand
  56. InQuasi
    Apr 14, 2019
    10
    It the best of the work from PB. I love the developer and I love their deep games, and the depth in this game but mechanically and narratively is phenomenal.
  57. Andreark
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    Nice game
    Sehr stimmig, keine Ladezeiten, tolle Ideen, durchschnittliche Grafik, extreme Geschichte
  58. Genek13
    Nov 15, 2019
    8
    Great back to formula after disappointing Risen 3 :)
    Very enjoyable game but difficult on the beginning.
    Waiting for sequel :)
  59. watchm824
    Dec 11, 2019
    9
    YA ochen' lyublyu Gotiku1 i 2. Elex mne tozhe ochen' polyubilas'.
    Yesli eta igra vam ne ponravilas', to vy prosto nichego ne ponyali. Ogromnyy i interesnyy mir dlya issledovaniya. Atmosfera srednevekov'ya i nauchnoy fantastiki. V meru vysokaya slozhnost' igry.
    YA ochen' nadeyus', chto v budushchem vyyldet Elex2! I really love Gothic 1 and 2. I also really liked Elex. If you did not    YA ochen' lyublyu Gotiku1 i 2. Elex mne tozhe ochen' polyubilas'.
    Yesli eta igra vam ne ponravilas', to vy prosto nichego ne ponyali. Ogromnyy i interesnyy mir dlya issledovaniya. Atmosfera srednevekov'ya i nauchnoy fantastiki. V meru vysokaya slozhnost' igry.
    YA ochen' nadeyus', chto v budushchem vyyldet Elex2!
    I really love Gothic 1 and 2. I also really liked Elex.
    If you did not like this game, then you simply did not understand anything. A huge and interesting world to explore. The atmosphere of the Middle Ages and science fiction.
    I really hope that in the future Elex2 will be released!    … Expand
  60. mattjbourne
    Mar 25, 2020
    10
    The game environment is amazing, the combat could be an issue but you get used to it. In general, Elex definitely is a good game and has a future for Elex 2.
  61. FinnDement
    Apr 28, 2020
    8
    It's a very good game for fans of the old Piranha games. It's shows the old good RPG flair. Sure there are some bugs but I think Piranha Byte games without bugs are no Piranha Byte games
  62. hoanns
    Jun 6, 2020
    8
    The beginning is pretty frustrating, you're a total noob and get owned all the time. the clunky movement/combat doesn't help. but with the time you get stronger and the game gets quite addicting and enjoyable. A decent game if you power through the start
  63. Nyhes
    Aug 14, 2021
    10
    Amazing world with great story behind it. Best Piranha Bytes RPG since gothic 2 definitelty.
  64. Geralt123
    May 30, 2022
    7
    I had fun playing the game. It is a good, solid game with minor flaws like clunky combat. But you will get used to it.

    Pros
    ------
    - Beautiful world
    - Fun, weighty combat
    - Good story
    - Cool companions

    Cons
    ---------
    - Same faces/voices used for multiple NPCs
    - Combat sometimes unprecise, clunky
    - Some quests not triggerung, but not game breaking
  65. Ingepunk
    Dec 20, 2021
    7
    ELEX is actually a good Action RPG by Piranha Bytes, but I'll tell you now why it's not as great as it could be.

    GRAPHIC: Hui and ugh! Elex actually offers really pretty graphics in the representation of the world. However, the characters' clothes and armor are very modestly textured and look rather muddy on closer inspection. You have seen that much better. The fact that mostly    ELEX is actually a good Action RPG by Piranha Bytes, but I'll tell you now why it's not as great as it could be.

    GRAPHIC:
    Hui and ugh!
    Elex actually offers really pretty graphics in the representation of the world. However, the characters' clothes and armor are very modestly textured and look rather muddy on closer inspection. You have seen that much better.
    The fact that mostly female characters almost all have the same face wallpaper is almost ridiculous. In 2017 something was already out of date, today in 2021 it looks even worse.

    SOUND:
    Good. Dolby Surround is fine. Piranha Bytes typically you have the usual top speakers and the pieces of music are very well done.
    On my 7.1 system, the music is too loud, even if it is reduced by 50%, it sometimes annoys conversations. The same goes for sound effects. In a cutscene the growling of mutants was so loud that I couldn't hear the speaker. Something like that is ugly, but luckily it rarely happens.

    GAMEPLAY:
    Typical for Piranha Bytes Games and many other RPGs, you knock people and monsters, do quests, explore the big big world. Then you level up, distribute the attributes and learning points you have earned, the latter with teachers for expensive splinters (the currency in Elex).
    REALLY BAD SUCCESSFUL the developers here is the combat system. An attempt was made to create a Souls Like-like system with stamina bars, luckily this can be switched off, because it does nothing to improve the fights.
    The weapons and their command were also unsuccessful. The close combat is quite lame, the autofocus is superfluous, because it prevents you from running away quickly from the fight for example. To take a potion.
    If the autofocus is turned off, the fight is much faster, but it also harbors many a trap. So for example. the game character takes forever to turn, which makes it difficult to run away and turn to the opponent.
    The long-range combat is also not so well done, on the one hand very weak, on the other hand arrows and projectiles do not always hit despite precise aiming, it also happens that shots go through the opponent without effect.
    In addition, large opponents throwing rocks after one throw at one time have homing rocks.
    We know the principle of gravity, what you throw in front of you lands on the ground in front of you.
    Not so in Elex, the opponent throws the rock, you run behind the opponent, the rock turns around in the air (!) And hits a target! Wrong world.
    Also annoying, fight animations are stubbornly unwound, if you click, for example. the attack button four times in a row, you can't do anything else until the four attack animations have ended. If you drink a potion, you cannot attack until the potion has been taken. This is very annoying in hectic situations.
    For beginners in Piranha Bytes Games, the level of difficulty is also a number in itself.
    I know that the games are all quite difficult, especially at the beginning, but here the "easy" mode is already very difficult, you die a thousand deaths, leave quests aside until you think you are strong enough for it and die another thousand deaths. Although the game puts a comrade at your side.
    You can forget a “story mode” in Elex, nobody is taken by the hand here!
    Advantageous: Auto save every 3 minutes and free quicksave prevents excessive frustration.

    TECHNOLOGY:
    Well here too there are still construction sites, now nothing bad, no game breakers and crashes. Piranha Bytes, RPG and Open World typically contain smaller, noticeable but not particularly annoying bugs.
    The Genome Engine has been revamped since Risen 3 and offers nice DX11 effects.
    Animations could be more realistic, less old-fashioned and not as stiff, but otherwise okay.

    CONCLUSION:
    If you love the Piranha Bytes Games, you can't avoid Elex, everyone else should look at the gameplay material in detail whether they like it or not.
    Elex is not an easy game, has a high learning curve and requires patience and some hard nerves from the player away.
    The greatest strengths of Elex are in the wonderfully designed world, the quests and dialogues.
    However, the developers screwed up the combat system badly.
    Therefore my rating:
    7 out of 10 points. Recommendable    … Expand
  66. tshrimp
    May 22, 2022
    9
    I almost didn’t buy this game because the polarizing reviews. I am not the best at gaming, and reading about the difficulty I almost missed out on one fantastic game. If you can understand that it is not shameful to run from a fight until you level up then you will be fine. Sometimes you also have to abandon a quest and come back when you are stronger. If you are okay with that then II almost didn’t buy this game because the polarizing reviews. I am not the best at gaming, and reading about the difficulty I almost missed out on one fantastic game. If you can understand that it is not shameful to run from a fight until you level up then you will be fine. Sometimes you also have to abandon a quest and come back when you are stronger. If you are okay with that then I think you will like this game. The world is fantastic, the side quests are actually real quests that have meaning instead of just fetch quests. Story will always be subjective, but I would put this at the top of most rpg games I have played. The world has great design and not sure I can think of an rpg that is better. Factions that are actually different from one another is done very well. It actually made me want to take sides. The more I played quests for the Outlaws the more I realized there is no way I wanted to join those icks with a d. So then choices were between the others, and each of those pushed on my emotional buttons that made me want to join it not join. Never have I felt such a push/pull on my faction choice. Just fantastic. So we have a great world, great quests, great story, and even a good level up tree. So what are the negatives? Voice acting is terrible. Especially the main character. Character movement is good, but doesn’t translate well during fighting. Still better than the crappy Skyrim fighting mechanics, but could be better. There seems to be about maybe 10 actual faces they use across characters. The bartender Bob will have the same face as the commander Jeb. Very strange and noticeable.

    I think if you play this game and understand you have to level up before you can do much fighting, you will be treated to a fantastic game.    … Expand
  67. SaniCorpus
    Oct 25, 2017
    7
    Even I do not like the setting "science-fantasy" so much, I felt addicted to the game after a few hours. It starts not very interesting and at the beginning it it confusing what to do and where to go. The Best part of the game so far is that you can explore so much. And that keeps me playing and playing. Quests are nice, ist a good mix of simple and more complex quests. Unfortunately theEven I do not like the setting "science-fantasy" so much, I felt addicted to the game after a few hours. It starts not very interesting and at the beginning it it confusing what to do and where to go. The Best part of the game so far is that you can explore so much. And that keeps me playing and playing. Quests are nice, ist a good mix of simple and more complex quests. Unfortunately the NPCs do not have much personality compared to the Old Gothic NPCs. For example: The teachers that u have to find to learn more abilities sometimes give you quests aswell, but the fact that they can teach you something is not bound into the conversation. You just simply ask "tech me something" and they say: "OK"... Loveless in my opinion and the "eating Animation" "looting Animation" is loveless aswell... Immersion? Could be better. Compared to "Gothic 2" this game is a 5/10 for me. But compared to all the other RPGs it is still 7/10 for me.… Expand
  68. Gavnuken
    Jun 5, 2018
    8
    7.5./10 -
    PROS
    - Open World is very nice and fun to explore, it's really great and immersion is great too, until poorly cut dialogue and sloppy writing/translation ruins it. - Quests are fun and offer lot's of options to resolve them to get the rewards (some are funner than others), but there are a lot of quests and game overall feels rewarding - Decent plot, not the best not the    7.5./10 -
    PROS
    - Open World is very nice and fun to explore, it's really great and immersion is great too, until poorly cut dialogue and sloppy writing/translation ruins it.
    - Quests are fun and offer lot's of options to resolve them to get the rewards (some are funner than others), but there are a lot of quests and game overall feels rewarding
    - Decent plot, not the best not the worst. Its Gothicesque in a way.
    - I like that there are many gun types and really there are many ways to beat this game. People who complain about combat invested in crappy skills early on. Go combat and survival. I went Charsima and suffered needlesly.

    CONS
    - This Game lacks polish. Poorly cut dialogues are just horrible. You can be going through a main plot point in the game just for your companion to interrupt the dialogue and ask you to do their side quest whitch is very bad. It just feels like they rushed it, if they are a small team doing this it is fine, but release an early access instead of a full feature as this is a great game and you are killing it but releasing it with too many bugs... I hope part 2 is going to be more polished and Pirnahya Bytes invests into a damn QA engineer. Some of these bugs are too amature...
    -Not enough gear variery. Lots of guns but you can really beat the game using 2 guns and an upgrade. Gothic offered consisten upgrades for your chosen weapon type which made it more fun, here its basically you get 1 gun to get by, then get another gun later on that can kill any mob in the game, then find an IMBA gun that kills anything including final boss in 7 shots.. gg.
    - Stupid AI whitch is basically easy once you figure out how stupid it is and all combat ended up being for me is shooting mobs with a blaster while my companion NPC tanked (if it felt like it), otherwise you run away and shoot until mob dies... Or you hide in a place where they can't quiet hit you and dodge their shots.
    - Very difficult mobs, some are too difficult, where a little crap mob can run up to you end game and maul you to death... But if you played Risen or Gothic this is more of a feature    … Expand
  69. The_MightyM
    Nov 3, 2017
    7
    Not for casual gamer!

    The setting of this game is awesome! The mix of science-fiction with fantasy and Mad Max is refreshing. Dialogues and characters are funny and dirty, as we know it from Piranha Bytes. Biggest critic is the fighting system. Some say it's challenging. I say it is simply hard to handle. Especially the low stamina and the inflexible fights are annoying. If you're ok    Not for casual gamer!

    The setting of this game is awesome! The mix of science-fiction with fantasy and Mad Max is refreshing. Dialogues and characters are funny and dirty, as we know it from Piranha Bytes. Biggest critic is the fighting system. Some say it's challenging. I say it is simply hard to handle. Especially the low stamina and the inflexible fights are annoying. If you're ok with that (and with the not so good graphics), this game is entertaining. If you're a casual gamer, you will hate this game.    … Expand
  70. PrincessRose
    Jan 1, 2021
    7
    Despite how hard it is when you first start. I enjoyed playing this game as I love exploring and discovering things and it's an interesting well made world.
    I love seeing how your choices eventually affect things and like the infinite inventory space.
    Combat is the weakest part of the game, it feels very clunky and awkward and not very good, even so in time I got used to it even though    Despite how hard it is when you first start. I enjoyed playing this game as I love exploring and discovering things and it's an interesting well made world.
    I love seeing how your choices eventually affect things and like the infinite inventory space.

    Combat is the weakest part of the game, it feels very clunky and awkward and not very good, even so in time I got used to it even though the combat isn't fun.    … Expand
  71. Juancho1980
    Nov 27, 2017
    10
    After finishing the game, in 85 hours, I think is time to review it, as a disclaimer I will say that my review is probably biased because I am an old time Piranha Bytes fan.

    I loved this game, this is piranhas best game since Gothic 2 with TNOTR (their definitive masterpiece, and my most beloved game of all times with Morrowind and MM VI), huge world map with beautiful landscapes, very    After finishing the game, in 85 hours, I think is time to review it, as a disclaimer I will say that my review is probably biased because I am an old time Piranha Bytes fan.

    I loved this game, this is piranhas best game since Gothic 2 with TNOTR (their definitive masterpiece, and my most beloved game of all times with Morrowind and MM VI), huge world map with beautiful landscapes, very atmospheric with an immersive gameplay, a nice plot with interesting intrigues and twists, cool factions, a good (but not spectacular) soundtrack.

    There are some problems, first the combat system feels somewhat clunky, the early game hell that some players do not resist (old piranha bytes not only are acostumed to their early difficult, but love it), face animations, that are much better that their other games, but are subpar with other actual titles, some bugs and glitches (normal in almost games, and are being solved via patches), but none of this problems is really a hindrance to play this gorgeous game.

    In short words I heavily recommend ELEX for players who love old schoool rpgs and want a challenge.

    PS: My real score is 9.6, but since there are not decimals, and there are a lot of troll reviews with 0, I rounded it to 10.    … Expand
  72. K1ller
    Dec 16, 2017
    8
    I have just finished the game after 58 hours on normal. And I must say I had a blast. One of the best games I played this year.
    The game is a typical Piranha product from the good point of view as well as from the bad one. I will try to sumarize the good parts and then the bad ones.
    Good: Nice graphics, considering how old the engine is. Good story which will keep you interested till the    I have just finished the game after 58 hours on normal. And I must say I had a blast. One of the best games I played this year.
    The game is a typical Piranha product from the good point of view as well as from the bad one. I will try to sumarize the good parts and then the bad ones.
    Good: Nice graphics, considering how old the engine is. Good story which will keep you interested till the end. Thee different factions you can choose from. Variable landscape, eventhough it seems strange that on such a small area there are ice plains next to desert dunes. But it is a game.
    Bad: Sounds. There is a lot to be desired in the sound area. Wepons as well as footsteps sound strange and cheap. The cold system. It basicaly represents how emotional or rational you are. But it somehow fails to deliver. Also there is no way for you to find what level of could you have. I drank elex potions, I made different choices and I was neutral all the game.
    Something between: Combat. Many people say it is bad. Well it is not. It is just different. Especially the melee combat may be challenging. But you know what? You do not have to use melee at all. I went ranged all the way. The only case I used melee was the first rat you need to kill as a part of tutorial. I used bows from that moment till the end of the game. A small tip, you can get the warbow at the first ruins. Just upgrade this one as warbow III is the strongest ranged weapon in the game. See? No need to go melee.
    Many people also complain that everythig kills them. You know what? Go to any wild nature on Earth with an axe and tell us, how long you survived. The very first NPC meet even tells you, that you are weak and should at least use a companion. So do it.
    All things considered Elex is a really good game and I am about to start a second playthrough.    … Expand
  73. kaltorak
    Oct 29, 2017
    8
    The game is amazing. It has the usual pirrhana bytes small issues, but it's very good.
    It has a big problem IMO tho. The progression curve is absolutly ridiculous.
    Levels 1-8 more or less, you can't kill a friking thing. This stage of the game is very annoying. We are not talking about 1-2 hours of gameplay, but much more. Some players defend it, call it difficult, and it is difficult,    The game is amazing. It has the usual pirrhana bytes small issues, but it's very good.
    It has a big problem IMO tho. The progression curve is absolutly ridiculous.

    Levels 1-8 more or less, you can't kill a friking thing. This stage of the game is very annoying. We are not talking about 1-2 hours of gameplay, but much more. Some players defend it, call it difficult, and it is difficult, but not of the fun type. You will spend hours and hours running and completing quests in a way that seems like exploiting, but isnt because there is no other way.

    Levels 8-12 more or less you will kill things with effort. And again it's not a very fun effort. It's more like exploiting the AI and spamming potions way of effort.

    Levels 12+ more or less you will annhilate everything. Really, you will switch from having a hard time against any small group of monsters or humanoids, to beeing able to kill cyclops, trolls, goliats and small armies of enemies before they even reach you.

    And still I give this game an 8, that's how good everything else is. But come on, make some progression on enemies. 90% of the enemies go from impossible to cannon fodder in just a few levels. Instead of making some enemies killable at lower levels and some unkillable still at mid levels.    … Expand
  74. LevArris
    Nov 6, 2017
    9
    To make no mistakes: This game has crappy fighting mechanics. And yes: expect to die. And yes, while Piranha Bytes has its own idea of how to save high level zones ;-) there are definitive inbalances in the game. And yes... your first 15-20 hours are the most painful in the game. So why do i give 9 Points? Because it is satisfying! Extremely! The world is unique. The Story is very good.To make no mistakes: This game has crappy fighting mechanics. And yes: expect to die. And yes, while Piranha Bytes has its own idea of how to save high level zones ;-) there are definitive inbalances in the game. And yes... your first 15-20 hours are the most painful in the game. So why do i give 9 Points? Because it is satisfying! Extremely! The world is unique. The Story is very good. And did I mention the World ;-) Just breathtaking. So much little Stories to explore. So much Skills to learn. Collecting herbs makes a difference. Learning Skills does matter!!! Oh.. and did i mentioned the world? ;-)… Expand
  75. cerovam
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Best game ever! Wait till you reach higher level's meaning level 8 or so. Nothing like having a sword,shield than switch to gernades or a bow than toss some spells into the mix. Freaking great!
    Mad props to this web site for making the game look even more amazing than it all ready is.
    https://sfx.thelazy.net/games/game/1837/
    PB great job and thank you for making the best RPG of all time.
  76. Tegra
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Bon jeux a condition de pas faire n importe quoi, et de rester a proximite de la zone de depart histoire de pouvoir se stuffer sans peine en revendant les loots a un marchand specifique et non regardant sur l origine de ceux ci dans le village berzerk du depart...c est sur si vous la jouez presse de decouvrir le monde , vous allez juste servir de mac do a la faune locale, je joue en facileBon jeux a condition de pas faire n importe quoi, et de rester a proximite de la zone de depart histoire de pouvoir se stuffer sans peine en revendant les loots a un marchand specifique et non regardant sur l origine de ceux ci dans le village berzerk du depart...c est sur si vous la jouez presse de decouvrir le monde , vous allez juste servir de mac do a la faune locale, je joue en facile car le jeux est tout de meme tres dur si on fait n imp, cela dit agreable gameplay dans la lignee de gothic 3… Expand
  77. Kharn12
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Что бы не говорили любители быстрой игры - Elex не даст вам с ходу запрыгнуть туда, куда хочется. Elex - это вам не Skyrim, где в началае все розовые и пушистые.
    Тут вас может сожрать самая обычная крыса, и ничего с этим не поделать. Кроме вдумчивого расчёта и прокачки.
    Игра раскрывает себя примерно после 10 - 12 часов и привыкания к управлению. Нужно расчитывать свои сылы и трезво    Что бы не говорили любители быстрой игры - Elex не даст вам с ходу запрыгнуть туда, куда хочется. Elex - это вам не Skyrim, где в началае все розовые и пушистые.
    Тут вас может сожрать самая обычная крыса, и ничего с этим не поделать. Кроме вдумчивого расчёта и прокачки.
    Игра раскрывает себя примерно после 10 - 12 часов и привыкания к управлению. Нужно расчитывать свои сылы и трезво смотреть на себя, прежде чем лезть, например, на оплот бандитов и ракетницами и автоматими, имея за собой лук, топор и пару лечилок.
    Мир большой, он наполнен разными персонажами, мутантами, животными и растительностью. Причём никто не мешает натравить одних на других и потом собрать что останется (подсказка ;) ) Интересно иногда походить и посмотреть на различные пейзажи в одном кадре - тут и снег, и лава, и пустыня и деревья.
    Множество точек интереса никак не обозначенных на карте подстёгивает каждый раз осмотреть "вон тот домик и пора спать, а то уже 00:42" и ложиться только в 2:30.

    В общем и целом игра для тех кто любит искать, находить, разочаровываться, качаться и радоваться.    … Expand
  78. heluvutu
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Gothic 1 2 &3 and now Elex. good job getting back to a Gothic type game.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  79. xamid
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Прекрасная игра с кучей недостатков.
    Часть из них, уверен, разработчики исправят. Например, совершенно неадекватное поведение спутников.
    Часть же... Игра прекрасна своим окружением, но очень быстро начинаешь замечать, что погода всё время одна и та же, небо почти одинаковое, если вдруг в лесистой местности пойдёт дождик, то это будет мелкая морось иногда с практически ясного неба. Ни    Прекрасная игра с кучей недостатков.
    Часть из них, уверен, разработчики исправят. Например, совершенно неадекватное поведение спутников.
    Часть же...
    Игра прекрасна своим окружением, но очень быстро начинаешь замечать, что погода всё время одна и та же, небо почти одинаковое, если вдруг в лесистой местности пойдёт дождик, то это будет мелкая морось иногда с практически ясного неба. Ни грозы, ни молнии, ни песчанных бурь в пустыне вы не найдёте.
    Монстры... тут тоже засада. Мало что есть различные версии одного и того же монстра, причём молодй/детёныш не отличается от взрослой особи внешне, так ещё для модели многих монстров одинаковые - каких-нибудь рогопса и шакала отличить не так просто. Ещё в игре есть разного рода большие крысы, падальщики из прошлых игр, ящерки и т.п. Чуть изменён дизайн и вуаля - новый вид.
    Неписи аналогично - одно дело безымянных "изгоев", "труженников" одинаковыми делать, но уж для именных персонажей можно было бы уникальную внешность подобрать.
    Ну и всякие мелочи вроде того, что течёт бурный поток, а вам идти/плыть хоть по течению, хоть против - всё равно.

    Это, конечно, атмосферу несколько ухудшает.
    Теперь что в игре есть хорошего - огромный открытый и разнообразный мир. И он действительно огромен и открыт - и не только вширь, но и вглубь и ввысь. Вполне можно случайно упасть в какую-то пещеру, полную разбойников и выбираться оттуда на тяге возможно не только реактивного ранца. Перепады рельефа очень радуют.
    Мир красивый, пейзажи живописные.
    Кто-то ругается, что мир пустой, но это не так: повсюду какие-то строения, тайники, дневники, записки, мини-истории и т.п. Думаю, что мир - одна из самых сильных сторон игры.
    Квесты действительно интересные. Постоянно нужно выбирать, информации для выбора очень мало, неписи охотно обманывают протагониста, выбор, сделанный где-то в начале, могут припомнить через многие часы игры.

    Итого, на самом деле - отличная игра, которая, тем не менее, на каждом шагу говорит - "у нас было мало денег, да и людей не так много....". Но скоро к этому привыкаешь и спокойно наслаждаешься игровым процессом.    … Expand
  80. feather7
    Dec 9, 2018
    6
    This game has a big potencial. Good story, good dialogs. Good gameplay. Interesting landscape. BUT difficulty made idiot. Yes sorry for this. But this game could be very good, but is not. When you play and talk with other people in word you feel like Gerald from Rivia alias Witcher. But when start combat you feel like Marigold. Big noob without combat experience. Yes you can changeThis game has a big potencial. Good story, good dialogs. Good gameplay. Interesting landscape. BUT difficulty made idiot. Yes sorry for this. But this game could be very good, but is not. When you play and talk with other people in word you feel like Gerald from Rivia alias Witcher. But when start combat you feel like Marigold. Big noob without combat experience. Yes you can change difficulty to easy, but... you know...… Expand
  81. Panzerbjorne39
    May 25, 2018
    8
    Sad to see so many give 0 scores. Game is not perfect but definitely better than a 0. I'm not a fan of Piranha Bytes. In fact, before playing Elex I had never heard of them or their other games. I randomly came across Elex in a Kotaku review. The reviewer said that despite the games flaws, she was having a blast exploring its world. The game comes across to me as a cross between playingSad to see so many give 0 scores. Game is not perfect but definitely better than a 0. I'm not a fan of Piranha Bytes. In fact, before playing Elex I had never heard of them or their other games. I randomly came across Elex in a Kotaku review. The reviewer said that despite the games flaws, she was having a blast exploring its world. The game comes across to me as a cross between playing Fallout in 3rd person mode with SoulsBorne level difficulty. The world is vast and there is much exploration to be done but you can be sure there is danger around every corner. it's quite a shock at first, but once you adapt to the difficulty and understand your characters initial limitations it becomes more manageable.
    The way the game is setup, you truly feel a sense of accomplishment as you level up and complete missions. Once you've geared up and leveled a bit you can stop running from the little beasts and start fighting back which is very fulfilling. There is good mission variety and lots of choices to be made in your quests. I agree with anyone that says the combat feels clunky or sluggish and the ranged combat could also use improvement. But what it lacks there it makes up in engaging story and an interesting world that is as alive as it is harsh.
    I've always though that Bethesda games had really clunky combat but they always seem to get a pass from players and the media due to their expansive open worlds and interesting characters. I don't understand why Elex can't be given the same chance. On PC, I've experienced no major technical issues. The game has not crashed on me once and I have not come across any game-breaking bugs. I did have a visual glitch when trying to hack a safe. I backed out of the ui, went back in and it was gone. Anyway, it's a fun game. I'm about 10 hours in and still wanting to get back in and explore and fight some more. Give it a chance, you might be surprised.    … Expand
  82. Woolee
    Oct 30, 2021
    7
    I have a really nice time playing this game, there is something in it that makes you want go further.
    I like how the game rewards exploring the world, you can always find something interesting on a top of a mountain or deep in some well.
  83. Duras1
    Oct 26, 2017
    10
    Gothicシリーズの正当進化版といった感じで、グラフィックが良くなっている以外は同じような操作や世界が広がっていてそれだけで嬉しいです。緊張感もあって楽しい～懐かしい感じがします。
  84. Xardas336
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    An excellent RPG overall. A very fun and engaging experience with a lot of heart and soul. A complete and beautiful game.

    Pros: +Very original, breathing, and deep world. +Great progression and character building (you actually feel the ascent from random vagrant to epic badass). +Satisfying combat that doesn't get stale. +Varied enemies to fight, from battle droids and big mechs to    An excellent RPG overall. A very fun and engaging experience with a lot of heart and soul. A complete and beautiful game.

    Pros:
    +Very original, breathing, and deep world.
    +Great progression and character building (you actually feel the ascent from random vagrant to epic badass).
    +Satisfying combat that doesn't get stale.
    +Varied enemies to fight, from battle droids and big mechs to giant rats and trolls.
    +Three interesting Factions, each with their own lore and styles of combat (Magic, Guns, Bows, Melee) that add greatly to replayability
    +Excellent implementation of verticality with the Jetpack. A fun, easy to control and to handle way to get around, escape from encounters, find hidden loot and bypass pesky guards.
    +Engaging and fun lore. Lots of side lore that can be found as loot in journals and recordings adds meat and depth to the world.
    +Decisions will affect the ending, which is satisfying and extensive for all major characters. The best story of any Piranha Bytes game ever.
    +Character Models, movement, faces, and conversation environment vastly improved over past Piranha Bytes games.
    +It's not clunky, junky, ugly, or messy at all, in my opinion. Graphics are beautiful and only slightly dated, and controls are just fine.
    +Soundtrack is excellent, and voice acting is not bad at all. Sound effects are also okay.
    +Largely bug-free. Any bugs I spotted were few, negligible and certainly not game-breaking.

    Cons:
    -Merciless at the beginning of your first playthrough. Will require patience for the first few hours of gameplay.
    -Melee combat could use a better tutorial. It's not buggy or broken. It's just not explained properly.
    -A few balancing issues between combat paths. Certain faction-combat style combinations can make the game a cakewalk, at least on lower difficulties.    … Expand
  85. Padiniz
    Oct 29, 2017
    10
    Как перестать в нее играть??? Лучшая рпг за последние годы. Безумно затягивает и не отпускает. Хочется путешествовать еще и еще. Браво Пираньи. Спасибо вам от души за Элекс.
  86. Ordinator
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Classic PB game in the vein of Gothic. They've improved a lot of their systems, but I wouldn't expect anything ground breaking or new in the term of open world RPGs. It is a solid, relatively well put together game with a decent story and a strong difficulty level.
  87. SotaSil1
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Einfach insgesamt genau das was ich mir von diesen genialen Entwicklern erhofft und was ich erwartet habe.
    Vor allem die Berglandschaften, Engpässe verbunden mit kleinen Flüssen, Bächen oder Seen und kleinen Holzstegübergangen haben mir sehr gut gefallen. Dazu kommt, dass man hier keinem strikten Muster folgen muss.
    Wer auf wunderschön designte Welten steht , wie im typischen Piranha    Einfach insgesamt genau das was ich mir von diesen genialen Entwicklern erhofft und was ich erwartet habe.
    Vor allem die Berglandschaften, Engpässe verbunden mit kleinen Flüssen, Bächen oder Seen und kleinen Holzstegübergangen haben mir sehr gut gefallen. Dazu kommt, dass man hier keinem strikten Muster folgen muss.
    Wer auf wunderschön designte Welten steht , wie im typischen Piranha Bytes Stil, sollte sich umgehend dieses Spiel zulegen.    … Expand
  88. euu
    Oct 21, 2017
    8
    Your enjoyment of Elex will greatly depend on whether you like janky euro RPGs from the 2000s or not. It's definettly a game that's not for anyone but in my opinion is one of the better RPGs from the last few years, definitely better than Fallout 4 or Thumblr Age: Inquisition.

    The greatest strenght in Elex as well as its greatest weakness is withouh a doubt the Setting. The world of    Your enjoyment of Elex will greatly depend on whether you like janky euro RPGs from the 2000s or not. It's definettly a game that's not for anyone but in my opinion is one of the better RPGs from the last few years, definitely better than Fallout 4 or Thumblr Age: Inquisition.

    The greatest strenght in Elex as well as its greatest weakness is withouh a doubt the Setting. The world of Magalan is vast and beautiful, with a lot of things to explore, especially since the exploration is now much better by the use of a Jet Pack. The areas and locations are also diverse, from people living in huts in a fantasy forest full of Old World Ruins, to a post apocaliptic Desert Town that is a better Mad Max location than any of the locations in the last Mad Max game or the futuristic fortress of the Clerics. All of these locations are hand made by the developers and at least to me are more interesting to explore than the 50 Shades of Brown and White in Skyrim or the 100 Flavors of Slavic vilages in the Witcher 3.

    But, as I said, the sheer vastness of the world is also the game's main weakness, as it suffers from the same Bethesda syndrome that all open world RPGs seem to suffer latelly in that many places are just there to fill space but don't have that many things interesting in them such as quests or items. But a bigger problem than this is how it affects the faction system. In the first 2 Gothics in the first 5-10 hours you met all the factions in the game, you did some quests for them, learn about what they can offer and also made the decission on which to join. I have played more then 12 hors of Elex and so far encountered only the fisrt 2 factions. This wouldn't be much of a problem if access to better equipment wouldn't be restricted to only members of a faction so you will spend most of the time before joining running from enemies or hoping tht your companion can tank them long enough for you to kill them.

    On the writting, is definetely an improvement over the Risen series, but then again everything is. Piranha Bytes has always been better at creating Settings than stories so the story is just there to support its gameplay and Setting. Which is fine since this is a video game and not a movie. The music on the other hand is utterly forgetable, even compared to Risen, it's clear that the Piranhas have suffered in this departament since Kai Rosenkrantz left.

    Combat is another departament where the game is lacking. Instead of bringing back the combat from the first Risen, when enemies reacted to your moves, they went for the lazy Dark Sould route where they added a Stamina bar to make sure you won't stunlock your enemies. This wouldn't be so bad but they also added a Combo Bar that fills everytime you land a Strike and increases the damage the more you do, so now you not only need to watch your Stamina and Health Bars, but also your combo bar, enemy movement and then the Special attack prompt.

    Fortunatelly the game has enough content to forgive all the issues above. It's so refreshing to play a Western RPG that has a God damn Attribute System. The variety of weapons is also great, from swords, hammers, bows, shotguns, lasers and magic, the game has everything you need to create the type of character you want. Quest variety is a bit lacking since most quests are feth quests and they feel like a run from one Marker on the map to another but this is an issue with modern Open World RPGs in general.

    All in all Elex is a good, almost great in some areas. The main criticsm I heard is that Piranhas haven't improved since Gothic like most modern game developers had, but imo the main problems with Elex are sins of all modern RPGs while the old school stuff is the better part.    … Expand
  89. Aruzo
    Oct 20, 2017
    8
    ELEX is a classic Piranha Bytes game. It feels Gothic/Risen like, but with a fresh setting.

    Pros:
    -Huge and good designed world
    -3 fractions
    -A lot of good side quests
    -JET PACK!
    -7 companions

    Cons:
    -Bad combat
    **** main quests
    -some ugly textures

    8/10
  90. Vesemir1
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Hands down one of the best RPG's ever created. The feeling of really earning your strength, working your way up from the bottom. Starting out scared and running away from overgrown chickens to becoming a lord of battle. once you get the jet pack attack you will carve any ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ up. You really get the feeling you have acheived somthing. I lose sleep just to get a chance to dive into thisHands down one of the best RPG's ever created. The feeling of really earning your strength, working your way up from the bottom. Starting out scared and running away from overgrown chickens to becoming a lord of battle. once you get the jet pack attack you will carve any ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ up. You really get the feeling you have acheived somthing. I lose sleep just to get a chance to dive into this world after work. Cant wait to see future updates and DLC. These guys are the masters when it comes to progression RPG's. In a world where games have lost their soul, this is truly a masterpeice. AMEN!… Expand
  91. NyoNor
    Nov 1, 2017
    10
    Do not listen crap reviewers! The game is FANTASTIC! Do you like old school rpg like Gothic? This game is for you! And advice to crappy-reviewers who says that graphics are mediocre - go play **** and ****
  92. jax12
    Oct 26, 2017
    10
    -+ Grafik OK aber nicht High End (wie zu erwarten bei einem so kleinen Studio)

    -- Kampfsystem sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig

    + schöne offene aber trozdem reichlich detaillierte und liebevoll gefüllte Spielwelt

    ++ gegner leveln nicht mit

    +++ extrem geile Dialoge
  93. Robar3
    Oct 26, 2017
    10
    Je ne rédige que de rares évaluations, mais ne mérite pas les mauvaises notes des sites spécialisés.
    A mon sens ces influenceurs ne sont pas objectif et on du être biaisé par des tiers studios qui par peur de voir leur
    part de marché grignottées par ce jeu pas si buggé, ni moche, ni si en retard. Certe imparfait et très difficile (pas pour les casual gamer c'est sure) je le voit comme    Je ne rédige que de rares évaluations, mais ne mérite pas les mauvaises notes des sites spécialisés.
    A mon sens ces influenceurs ne sont pas objectif et on du être biaisé par des tiers studios qui par peur de voir leur
    part de marché grignottées par ce jeu pas si buggé, ni moche, ni si en retard.
    Certe imparfait et très difficile (pas pour les casual gamer c'est sure) je le voit comme un mix de dark soul/skyrim.
    Perso je n'attendait pas grand chose de ce jeu : je n'ai fait aucun jeu de ce studio, je comprend donc que certaint
    c'était fait une hype folle et sont déçu. Mais les jvc gamecult certains youtuber sont bien trop dur avec ELEX,
    Je le recommande au joueur de dark souls en attendant le prochain The elder scroll.    … Expand
  94. sweet
    Oct 20, 2017
    8
    I have read a lot of opinion negative and positive about this game, and at times I have agreed with both. I've finally fallen on the side of it being a good game, but it wasn't easy.

    The first ten hours of this game are brutally hard, hard enough that at times I've quit and felt like I can go nowhere and do nothing. I'm fine with it being hard, but the controls do feel sloppy and    I have read a lot of opinion negative and positive about this game, and at times I have agreed with both. I've finally fallen on the side of it being a good game, but it wasn't easy.

    The first ten hours of this game are brutally hard, hard enough that at times I've quit and felt like I can go nowhere and do nothing. I'm fine with it being hard, but the controls do feel sloppy and watching meters and your opponent in the middle of battle is difficult. It takes a bit of effort to get a sense of those things without watching them.

    I stuck with it and now the game has really opened up. It feels so satisfying now. I feel confident of exploring, getting quests done, approaching enemies and being able to handle them. You can never let your guard down which is good.

    The game really does give you a great sense of scale and adventure. This is a big game, and it doesn't lose anything by being so big. The quests are well designed, and even the simple fetch stuff is given a reasonable context.

    I am disappointed the trainers don't give you a cool training dialog when you learn skills though, like PB games of the past. It's a little thing, but it added so much to those games.    … Expand
  95. golovorub
    Oct 20, 2017
    10
    I finished both Gothic and Gothic II - really liked them. Sort of hated Gothic 3 and following Piranha Bytes games. This one, on the other hand, really tingles my nostalgia :) Yes, combat is difficult - but it always was like that. I guess it has the purpose to show you that the world around is really dangerous. It gets better when you get your first companion. Overall - I like the story,I finished both Gothic and Gothic II - really liked them. Sort of hated Gothic 3 and following Piranha Bytes games. This one, on the other hand, really tingles my nostalgia :) Yes, combat is difficult - but it always was like that. I guess it has the purpose to show you that the world around is really dangerous. It gets better when you get your first companion. Overall - I like the story, the graphics (yes, they are not perfect) and the quest branching (even the next morning, I thought whether it was worth betraying that guy...) . Yes, if you are after some Fallout-like experience - it's not for you. It's a difficult game. And yes, I created my first account here, because I wanted to leave this 'review'.… Expand
  96. Morfius01
    Oct 25, 2017
    8
    ELEX is not a game which you can start play and just have fun. It is hard, somewhere unbalanced and unpolished experience. It needs investments in terms of time and patience. But if you give it a chance and try to dig dipper, you find a gem inside of it. Rich world which is so interesting to explore, nice multi connected quests, interesting characters and really a lot of hidden stuff,ELEX is not a game which you can start play and just have fun. It is hard, somewhere unbalanced and unpolished experience. It needs investments in terms of time and patience. But if you give it a chance and try to dig dipper, you find a gem inside of it. Rich world which is so interesting to explore, nice multi connected quests, interesting characters and really a lot of hidden stuff, secrets, etc.

    And after a dozen of hours in ELEX you will have a feeling that you survived and really earned strength and respect. And will die after one hit of a troll. Unique experience of exploring which only Piranha Bytes can deliver. Far from perfect, but still i can't do anything but love it and I want to return to it in every single free minute of my time.    … Expand
  97. deathbringer
    Oct 20, 2017
    10
    As far as I am concerned this is the true sequel to Gothic I and Gothic II.

    From what I have played the atmosphere is amazing,the factions seem to be pretty good and the skills system is deep as well. This is one of those games that mainstream reviewers will never "get" so to speak so the Metacritic rating is basically useless. You will need patience and some brain capacity to    As far as I am concerned this is the true sequel to Gothic I and Gothic II.

    From what I have played the atmosphere is amazing,the factions seem to be pretty good and the skills system is deep as well.

    This is one of those games that mainstream reviewers will never "get" so to speak so the Metacritic rating is basically useless.

    You will need patience and some brain capacity to enjoy this game, the game won't hold your hand the whole time like a theme park, this is a true RPG so Skyrim and Fallout 4 fans beware.

    But for people that played the original Gothic games this is amazing.

    I highly recommend it!    … Expand
  98. WanderingJinn
    Oct 19, 2017
    10
    This is a game for Gothic fans, and I am certainly that. It's getting a 10 because it's quickly becoming my GOTY 2017.

    Exploration in a huge beautifully crafted world, character progression, equipment progression, trainers, skill system, faction system, challenge! These are all reasons why ELEX is excellent.
  99. BrainIsBack
    Oct 20, 2017
    10
    Don't mind about the negative ratings like IGN (49 WTF?!?!). ELEX is a really unique experience! Just buy it and give **** about haters, cryers and so on. Play it at first at the easiest diffyculty and choose the bow and guns. In real life I would do the same. Closed combat is more dangerous. And yes, ELEX have some little bugs, but the developers are fast in fixing and updating. There isDon't mind about the negative ratings like IGN (49 WTF?!?!). ELEX is a really unique experience! Just buy it and give **** about haters, cryers and so on. Play it at first at the easiest diffyculty and choose the bow and guns. In real life I would do the same. Closed combat is more dangerous. And yes, ELEX have some little bugs, but the developers are fast in fixing and updating. There is no comparison with Witcher, Fallout or Mad Max possilble, because ELEX is something special. The fractions, the world, and the atmosphere are perfect. Just buy it!… Expand
  100. Den880088
    Oct 17, 2017
    10
    Добротный сеттинг, тонны интересных квестов, вложенная в игру душа - это самое главное. И поэтому 10 из 10. Для сравнения, та же андромеда - это тонны высокотехнологичного и бесвкусного контента примерно на 3 из 10. Вкусы у всех разные и это лучшее, что вышло в жанре РПГ за последнее время.Добротный сеттинг, тонны интересных квестов, вложенная в игру душа - это самое главное. И поэтому 10 из 10. Для сравнения, та же андромеда - это тонны высокотехнологичного и бесвкусного контента примерно на 3 из 10. Вкусы у всех разные и это лучшее, что вышло в жанре РПГ за последнее время.
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
21
#21 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 31
  3. Negative: 2 out of 31
  1. RPG Site
    Feb 2, 2018
    70
    Elex is a hard game to genuinely recommend, it does so many important things to only an acceptable level or worse. It's a game that's carried based on the strength of its quest design, or more pessimistically, one that's let down by a general lack of polish and uninteresting combat. It feels like a nice refreshing counterpart to some modern rpgs that treat their quest lists more like chores, but as a complete package, it falls disappointingly short.
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  2. Games.cz
    Jan 2, 2018
    70
    A flawed jewel. Beneath its layers a sophisticated game is hidden, created with love yet with bugs and poor technical design. The game mechanics are the top, but they are nowadays detrimental. Whoever wants to find a treasure in Elex, must try very hard.
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  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Dec 30, 2017
    76
    Although dialogue writers were burning the midnight oil, the team responsible for combat was obviously slacking off and did nothing to really improve that mess of a close combat which ELEX inherited from Risen. Monster fights are as choppy, unnatural and buggy as ever, for example, enemies slide right up a steep slope if they happen to dodge in that direction. [Issue#225, p.68]
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