Been playing for 3 hours already (to my shock, because I hardly get any sleep because both my little girls have had all the usual harmless but uncomfortable children diseases in a row lately). I am enjoying it so much!

Know what you are getting, however. This is euro-jank at its finest. At first glance, you see dated graphics, clunky animations and combat, and sub-par voice acting. But give that the benefit of the doubt and 10 minutes in you'll realize something: THIS is what "open world" was always meant to be. Pyranha Bytes were one of the first that got it right with Gothic, and they never forgot the formula. In this game again, you immediately notice that leaving no stone unturned is what you want to do. There's interesting loot everywhere. Areas are properly level-gated. The only way to know you're going out of your main quests area is when you get eaten by a fat, giant spider or one-shotted by a bum with a gun.

And let's not forget the RPG element. Same thing with the open-world aspect: PB never forgot what makes a proper RPG. Here, every level-up feels like a great reward. Every point in every skill or attribute makes you noticeably stronger or better at said skill. Joining one of the factions completely changes the way you experience the game. Both in how the story progresses and in gameplay and the way you'll look.

Dying Light 2 looks great, has awesome gameplay and on paper is simply superior in every single way. However, one hour in I was already enjoying ELEX II 10 times more that DL2. Apples and oranges, maybe, but whatever.