Elex ?

Phelly2

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Anyone tried this new game from Piranha Bytes (the makers of Gothic and Risen)?


(The AI problems he mentions in this review were fixed by the day 1 patch, as far as I can tell)

I don't know what to make of this game. By any conventional standard, it's a mediocre(or even sub-par) game. The graphics are outdated, the controls are clunky, the acting sucks, the sounds are meh, the music is forgettable, and the characters lack any real depth. Even the dialogue is weak.

And yet, I am completely addicted to the game. Loot is very rare, combat is very difficult, and the world surprisingly feels lived in.

For all of its faults, the developers managed to do the exploration (for money & loot) just right, and they created an interesting science fantasy world--not for any individual characters so much as the overall atmosphere, which changes drastically for each faction and the zones they control. For example, the tree hugging, technology hating Berserkers personify the "fantasy" archetype with medieval lifestyle and magic use, while the Clerics are sort of this world's version of the Brotherhood of Steel.

It's definitely not a game for everyone. And if I gave it an honest review, I'd be hard-pressed to give it anything higher than a 7. Maybe 7.5. And yet it has me more hooked than any game has for many, many years. It's like they got all of the tangibles wrong and all of the intangibles right. Not sure what to make of that.

Anyone else playing this game?
 
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Anyone tried this new game from Piranha Bytes (the makers of Gothic and Risen)?


(The AI problems he mentions in this review were fixed by the day 1 patch, as far as I can tell)

I don't know what to make of this game. By any conventional standard, it's a mediocre(or even sub-par) game. The graphics are outdated, the controls are clunky, the acting sucks, the sounds are meh, the music is forgettable, and the characters lack any real depth. Even the dialogue is weak.

And yet, I am completely addicted to the game. Loot is very rare, combat is very difficult, and the world surprisingly feels lived in.

For all of its faults, the developers managed to do the exploration (for money & loot) just right, and they created an interesting science fantasy world--not for any individual characters so much as the overall atmosphere, which changes drastically for each faction and the zones they control. For example, the tree hugging, technology hating Berserkers personify the "fantasy" archetype with medieval lifestyle and magic use, while the Clerics are sort of this world's version of the Brotherhood of Steel.

It's definitely not a game for everyone. And if I gave it an honest review, I'd be hard-pressed to give it anything higher than a 7. Maybe 7.5. And yet it has me more hooked than any game has for many, many years. It's like they got all of the tangibles wrong and all of the intangibles right. Not sure what to make of that.

Anyone else playing this game?

Not me, but I read a review basically saying what you just said.

The games that stick with us are not necessarily the ones that are trimmed to be perfect, eh?
 
No but I've played a lot of Piranha Bytes games in the past. They're janky, they're mediocre in a lot of areas and sometimes you'll say to yourself, "this game is a pile of shit" but they always have heart. You can feel the developers were shooting for the moon but didn't have the talent, the budget and/or the creativity. I may pick it up down the road because my backlog is ridiculous right now.
 
No but I've played a lot of Piranha Bytes games in the past. They're janky, they're mediocre in a lot of areas and sometimes you'll say to yourself, "this game is a pile of shit" but they always have heart. You can feel the developers were shooting for the moon but didn't have the talent, the budget and/or the creativity. I may pick it up down the road because my backlog is ridiculous right now.
haha yea that's a pretty accurate way to put it. This is actually my first Piranha Bytes game, but from what I've read, it has the same kinds of pros and cons as their previous titles.

And yea, I hear you on the backlog. The nice thing about having a backlog is that you can afford to wait for sales.
 
Your review intrigues me. What system is this on?
 
Bumping out of curiosity if anyone else here has played this game and found it worthwhile?

Everything I've read about it sounds intriguing but it sounds like its also a bit rough around the edges. Selling for about $15 so not much risk but I'm wondering if the game is more geared towards the open world shooter crowd like Just Cause etc. or feels more like an action RPG?
 
I'm more curious about your apprehension to review it well than I am about the game.
If it has you hooked why say it is mediocre and not worthy of a good score.

The case could be made for a decent score in the face of it's flaws as opposed to a less intriguing game getting a high score based on it's lack of flaws despite not having a interesting draw.

A good example would be me giving my GOTY vote to Obra Dinn.
 
Just picked this up on sale. Hoping for a hidden gem but prepared for a dud. We'll see.
 
Just picked this up on sale. Hoping for a hidden gem but prepared for a dud. We'll see.
It's rough around the edges in parts, and you'll get your ass kicked early on (avoid most monsters at first), but it's worth sticking out. I love the world, atmosphere, varied biomes, and there are some great quests. The graphics can be stunning.

Watch this review, really captures its strengths/weaknesses and will help you avoid early frustrations

 
It's rough around the edges in parts, and you'll get your ass kicked early on (avoid most monsters at first), but it's worth sticking out. I love the world, atmosphere, varied biomes, and there are some great quests. The graphics can be stunning.

Watch this review, really captures its strengths/weaknesses and will help you avoid early frustrations


Will do, thanks. I think I read one of your reviews in another thread and it helped convince me to waste my $13.50 so this better be good. :D

The Steam reviews also say the gameplay is kinda clunky with horrible enemy AI but it's still fun so I'm looking forward to it. Graphics definitely look good and it has full controller support which is a must since my PC is hooked up to my TV so I can't do M+K unfortunately.
 
I remember when when this came out reviewers where on the fence like you are. They loved the biomes and stuff like that but found it ugly and clunky in a lot of places. so I guess you are not alone
 
Will do, thanks. I think I read one of your reviews in another thread and it helped convince me to waste my $13.50 so this better be good. :D

The Steam reviews also say the gameplay is kinda clunky with horrible enemy AI but it's still fun so I'm looking forward to it. Graphics definitely look good and it has full controller support which is a must since my PC is hooked up to my TV so I can't do M+K unfortunately.
Lol, if you like RPG's, this has a lot going for it

"The Steam reviews also say the gameplay is kinda clunky" Good old fashioned Euro Jank! Piranha Bytes are a great dev team, but they always struggle with combat, even though this is one of their better offerings in that regard. I used a controller too.

My biggest advice here is to get the flamethrower. One of its firing modes staggers every enemy. You can also hover longer in your jetpack while shooting.

Fighting enemies doesn't level you up (there's a skill you can get that gives you xp for killing monsters though). Eventually you'll start wrecking enemies, and payback is so sweet!

Questing and exploration gets you the xp you'll need to level skills. That jetpack for exploring is money. They give you just enough juice to explore almost everything, especially the crazy verticality of the world.

Btw, There's no wrong faction to choose, but you can play all sides for a quite a while before you have to choose to advance the story. I went with the Clerics.

Enjoy!
 
Lol, if you like RPG's, this has a lot going for it

"The Steam reviews also say the gameplay is kinda clunky" Good old fashioned Euro Jank! Piranha Bytes are a great dev team, but they always struggle with combat, even though this is one of their better offerings in that regard. I used a controller too.

My biggest advice here is to get the flamethrower. One of its firing modes staggers every enemy. You can also hover longer in your jetpack while shooting.

Fighting enemies doesn't level you up (there's a skill you can get that gives you xp for killing monsters though). Eventually you'll start wrecking enemies, and payback is so sweet!

Questing and exploration gets you the xp you'll need to level skills. That jetpack for exploring is money. They give you just enough juice to explore almost everything, especially the crazy verticality of the world.

Btw, There's no wrong faction to choose, but you can play all sides for a quite a while before you have to choose to advance the story. I went with the Clerics.

Enjoy!
Thanks for the tips! Hopefully I like it because I bought the whole Piranha Bytes package, lol. It also included all the Risens, Gothics and Arcanias for $30 total. Seemed like a good deal.
 
Thanks for the tips! Hopefully I like it because I bought the whole Piranha Bytes package, lol. It also included all the Risens, Gothics and Arcanias for $30 total. Seemed like a good deal.
That is a good deal, but the Gothics are rough and the first 2 are really dated. Gothic 3 is my fav, but you have to download some big community patches. They had a big falling out with their publisher as they were forced to release the game too early, so not only was it unfinished, the combat is worse. They left right after release, and didn't make the Arcancia Gothic's either.

I enjoyed the Risen series, namely 1 and 3. Coupled with Elex, they got better visually, but fuck me they need to outsource their combat lol

They are masters of world building, progression and intricate quest design, and have gotten better with graphics, it's too bad they can't seem to make decent combat systems.
 
Lol, if you like RPG's, this has a lot going for it

"The Steam reviews also say the gameplay is kinda clunky" Good old fashioned Euro Jank! Piranha Bytes are a great dev team, but they always struggle with combat, even though this is one of their better offerings in that regard. I used a controller too.

My biggest advice here is to get the flamethrower. One of its firing modes staggers every enemy. You can also hover longer in your jetpack while shooting.

Fighting enemies doesn't level you up (there's a skill you can get that gives you xp for killing monsters though). Eventually you'll start wrecking enemies, and payback is so sweet!

Questing and exploration gets you the xp you'll need to level skills. That jetpack for exploring is money. They give you just enough juice to explore almost everything, especially the crazy verticality of the world.

Btw, There's no wrong faction to choose, but you can play all sides for a quite a while before you have to choose to advance the story. I went with the Clerics.

Enjoy!
Finally started playing and followed Duras to Goliet. I really dig the atmosphere and music. Melee combat seems to be on par with Skyrim which was expected so no biggie. I guess I should just do the questlines in the order they appear?

You already answered my biggest question about factions. The clerics sound interesting because of their fascination with technology. How soon can I join them? Should I just follow the main quests until I stumble across them?

Any guidelines for levelling? I'm still trying to figure out the adjutor section or whatever it's called. Lots of options.
 
Finally started playing and followed Duras to Goliet. I really dig the atmosphere and music. Melee combat seems to be on par with Skyrim which was expected so no biggie. I guess I should just do the questlines in the order they appear?

You already answered my biggest question about factions. The clerics sound interesting because of their fascination with technology. How soon can I join them? Should I just follow the main quests until I stumble across them?

Any guidelines for levelling? I'm still trying to figure out the adjutor section or whatever it's called. Lots of options.
IIRC it doesn't take long for the main questline to introduce you to the other two factions. Conventional wisdom is to play all 3 faction questlines as far as you can before making your decision in order to maximize available XP.

You can also just run there right away. From Reddit:
Hey, you need to unlock the porter at the domed city which you can find on top left of abessa. Here is a picture https://guides.gamepressure.com/static/mapy/en/gfx/map_2013.jpg where you can see the city on the left. Just run there and stay on the streets. Flee from monsters if you encount any. When you unlock the teleporter you simultaneously unlock a porter to the top right of the map which is directly infront of the clerics city

Another helpful reddit response:
Talk to Duras for a quest to identify a murderer. You can ignore the quest itself, you just want the quest marker furthest from Goliet. That's at edge of the domed city.

You don't need to enter the domed city, just find it's teleport. Head east along the road from that teleport to find a cleric named Ridley. lie to him. And you'll wake up inside the cleric capital, in the building with the Cleric who gives you a quest to join that faction. As far as I can tell all 3 of the suspects in that quest are guilty. So it's barely worth reading the clues.

If you tell Ridley the truth it takes a bit more effort to get inside.
 
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IIRC it doesn't take long for the main questline to introduce you to the other two factions. Conventional wisdom is to play all 3 faction questlines as far as you can before making your decision in order to maximize available XP.

You can also just run there right away. From Reddit:

Another helpful reddit response:
Awesome thanks!
 
IIRC it doesn't take long for the main questline to introduce you to the other two factions. Conventional wisdom is to play all 3 faction questlines as far as you can before making your decision in order to maximize available XP.

You can also just run there right away. From Reddit:

Another helpful reddit response:

Finally started playing and followed Duras to Goliet. I really dig the atmosphere and music. Melee combat seems to be on par with Skyrim which was expected so no biggie. I guess I should just do the questlines in the order they appear?

You already answered my biggest question about factions. The clerics sound interesting because of their fascination with technology. How soon can I join them? Should I just follow the main quests until I stumble across them?

Any guidelines for levelling? I'm still trying to figure out the adjutor section or whatever it's called. Lots of options.

There's a skill you can unlock that shows you where every teleporter is, that really opened the game up for me. I love exploring the world, as there are tons of lore bits laying around, good loot, and xp for discovering new locations, plus quests you may never come across if you didn't explore. I always had tons of quests this way. Having every teleporter viewable makes getting around easier.

There's some special quest/reward that ulocks with pictures from the old world you'll find scattered around. They are of the dev team. I might shoot for it on my next playthrough if I ever do that. PB loves having quests like this in every game.

Before unlocking a skill, you want to choose wisely. There are a lot of redundant skills, and some outright useless ones. Google is your friend there.

"Animal Trophy" is the skill I mentioned earlier that gives you rewards for killing, very helpful early on.

Get a companion too. Duras is okay for a bit, but Caja is probably the best (will use magic if you start attacking from range). I stuck with Arx because he's fucking hilarious, though I'd make him stand back in some convos because he doesn't approve of kindness is anyway lol

Here's his location
 
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There's a skill you can unlock that shows you where every teleporter is, that really opened the game up for me. I love exploring the world, as there are tons of lore bits laying around, good loot, and xp for discovering new locations, plus quests you may never come across if you didn't explore. I always had tons of quests this way. Having every teleporter viewable makes getting around easier.

There's some special quest/reward that ulocks with pictures from the old world you'll find scattered around. They are of the dev team. I might shoot for it on my next playthrough if I ever do that. PB loves having quests like this in every game.

Before unlocking a skill, you want to choose wisely. There are a lot of redundant skills, and some outright useless ones. Google is your friend there.

"Animal Trophy" is the skill I mentioned earlier that gives you rewards for killing, very helpful early on.

Get a companion too. Duras is okay for a bit, but Caja is probably the best (will use magic if you start attacking from range). I stuck with Arx because he's fucking hilarious, though I'd make him stand back in some convos because he doesn't approve of kindness is anyway lol

Here's his location

Very nice, thanks. It's still really early but the game already has a charm to it.
 
Very nice, thanks. It's still really early but the game already has a charm to it.
Glad you're enjoying it, it's such a cool game, the atmosphere really pulls you in. The soundtrack is magestic too, cant wait for the sequel!
 

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