ELEX II

Elex II presents a world and narrative of immeasurable depth in terms of the freedom you have to play your way and the choices you’re presented with as a player. Couple that with an extremely gratifying sense of progression, and you have a world that begs to be visited for repeat playthroughs. If you can look past the inevitable lack of polish, and archaic presentation issues, do yourself a favor and don't let this absolute gem pass you by.

Elex 2 has come a long way from the first game back in 2017. Graphically it looks much better and the storyline feels much more robust. The story mode difficulty has made the game much more accessible for those just wanting to play and enjoy the story. The combat hasn’t pushed on too much but it’s not terrible, but it does feel a bit dated. But if you are a big RPG fan then there is plenty of content to sink your teeth into.

The combat system is weak and some parts of the graphics seem heavily outdated. But Elex II is much more than the sum of its parts. It is a highly atmospheric and intense role-playing game with marvelous quest design, a worthwhile open world with an ultimate vision of freedom for story-driven games whose overall experience will make you forget most of its weak points.

Elex II is a blast, both literally and figuratively. What Piranha Bytes was able to achieve in Elex I they were able to build upon, expanding on a world that lives and breathes independently and because of your character. Aside from those little technical issues, the game is sound. I feel like you could also easily get into playing Elex II without having played the first game. However, if you want to understand all of the references, maybe at least watch a recap video first. Either way, this game holds a lot of promise, especially when you consider all the different routes you can take on your playthrough. Who knows where you’ll end up?

ELEX II offers a continuation of the foundations that ELEX was built upon while providing you dynamic story options to choose your path, new characters and factions that enrich a narrative that thankfully continues. Faults and flaws aside, THQ Nordic created a game that was fun to play and, in the end, that's the only thing that matters.

ELEX 2 outdoes its predecessor in every way. The story is more interesting, the character writing is even deeper, and the threats are far more colorful and deadly. While the ending promises a third chapter to come, I only hope the devs fix the combat next time — perhaps they should just ditch melee entirely? Ranged weaponry is the only thing really working here, so perhaps double down on that and focus entirely on guns, arrows, and spells — it works well enough in games like Mass Effect, so why not try it in an open-world context? ELEX 2 is just one failed element away from being a truly great game — unfortunately, that element is ‘Action’ and it’s an Action-RPG.

ELEX II is a good example of being in the right place but at the wrong time. It’s a great action role playing with some killer gameplay mechanisms and quest designs, but it just can’t compete at the moment, and thus not getting the attention it deserves.