LOC wrote on Mar 2, 2022, 07:03:

WannaLogAlready wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 18:13:

eRe4s3r wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 15:40:
Finally ,)

- Piranha Bytes, even if a new one.
- German world creation, detail, and sensibilities = pure gold to me.
Sold.

The Euro Jank is real with this one, but as you say that's what makes it so good (normally). ACG's review was pretty spot on with how I feel - it does look and feel like a generation off graphically (but still looks fine mind you) and again the Euro Jank is what makes it so appealing really. The outdated animations, stiff movement and weird buggy looking AI stuff just makes it more endearing lol

Played 3 hours now and love it so far

WannaLogAlready wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 22:23:
As in Gothic, you certainly have to explore and talk with everyone you can, and the history develops.
Read the Log/Diary, act upon the info that appears, think, as usual.

Thanks to you and Quinn, I might have to pick this one up, anyway. You're exactly right--you've nailed the way to play these games. Many people today will try and play it like an ARPG, just roaming the territory in search of fights and something to kill--which is the wrong way to play Elex and, I'm glad to hear, ElexII. You advance primarily by following the diary, etc.

I remember the old Gothic games, they too had plenty of Jank, but at least their combat was "mostly" jank free. I say mostly since by todays standards it would probably be considered pretty horrible, but at the time they were revolutionary. Unfortunately, they never much improved on that with their followup games. Action RPGs live and die based on how satisfying or good their combat is, and this well....it doesn't look that great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETZ1tSQrsn8

WannaLogAlready wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 18:13:

eRe4s3r wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 15:40:
Finally ,)

- Piranha Bytes, even if a new one.
- German world creation, detail, and sensibilities = pure gold to me.
Sold.

The Euro Jank is real with this one, but as you say that's what makes it so good (normally). ACG's review was pretty spot on with how I feel - it does look and feel like a generation off graphically (but still looks fine mind you) and again the Euro Jank is what makes it so appealing really. The outdated animations, stiff movement and weird buggy looking AI stuff just makes it more endearing lol

Judging by how abysmal the control responsiveness is (as viewed in videos) this looks like a good value once it inevitably hits the bargain bin just like Elex 1.

VaranDragon wrote on Mar 2, 2022, 02:13:
The Jank is strong with this one.

It's euro-jank the game, gotta love it or hate it.

The Jank is strong with this one.

Finally, man, although I am currently enjoying Kingdom Come Deliverance so I don't know when I'll be able to play Elex 2.

As in Gothic, you certainly have to explore and talk with everyone you can, and the history develops.
Read the Log/Diary, act upon the info that appears, think, as usual.

While the game world was interesting I found it to be poorly balanced. I kind of got stuck about halfway through with no quests to advance in levels.

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.

Xero wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 16:15:
The original looked interestingly odd... I didn't think it did that well to warrant a sequel.

This company however had some decent titles in early 2000s with Gothic and Risen. Those were pretty cool back then.

Yeah, most of the original designers/developers are long gone. One of the main guys (Alexander Brüggemann) who designed Gothic passed away in 2013 (who also designed The Settlers: Rise of an Empire), and I think the rest left the company years ago. They had some crazy financial issues early on that ended up in court. All sorts of f**ked up sh!t. I'm really hoping that the Gothic remake sees the light of day, as it's pretty much the best rpg I've ever played.

But this game? Eh... I'll wait for a sale if I buy it at all

eRe4s3r wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 15:40:
Finally ,)

- Piranha Bytes, even if a new one.
- German world creation, detail, and sensibilities = pure gold to me.
Sold.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Mar 1, 2022, 15:52:
This definitely looks like a "Wait for independent reviews and a discount" title.

Got it for 33€ which is my usual "jump in cold" price for games I am interested in. also funnily, a 33gb download.
Gotta support RPG's... we have absolutely horrendous amount of choice currently.

There was an ELEX I?

Yeah. Maybe Epic will give it away this year to drum up interest in the sequel.

There was an ELEX I?

I will probably wait on this, although I was looking forward to it. The first one was interesting, and what I liked about it was that you could play the open world your way and approach situations as you liked, when you liked. The story was sufficiently original, I thought. What any good RPG should be, etc. But initial impressions I've read by others who were looking forward to II, are disappointing, so I think I will wait on a patch and a sale. Probably...;) Elden Ring needs a lot of work, apparently, so I was looking forward to this. It's the "new" Piranha Bytes--I don't think any of the original G1 GII crowd is still around.

Had a fair amount of fun with the first one. Got a bit monotonous by the end, like "Hurry up and get to the point, already", but that's many games these days. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and game. Not super hyped about II, but I'll probably get it on sale.

The original looked interestingly odd... I didn't think it did that well to warrant a sequel.

This company however had some decent titles in early 2000s with Gothic and Risen. Those were pretty cool back then.

This definitely looks like a "Wait for independent reviews and a discount" title.