ELEX II is the sequel to ELEX, released in 2017, in which Piranha Bytes continues the story of Jax who, once again, must save Magalan, this time from an alien threat. The game is certainly interesting and for those who liked the first episode, it is its natural continuation. Perhaps too natural, because the developers have decided to be very conservative with the past. But let’s not rush and see what this has to offer Jax’s new adventure in ELEX II in our review.
The ELEX II review
ELEX II is a open world which offers very classic RPG mechanics; we could say old school. This is not necessarily a fault, except that in recent years we have become accustomed, thanks to other titles, to games that are a little less punishing and with a softer learning curve. Piranha Bytes takes us back to an environment where it becomes important to weigh every single character enhancement based on your play style. For anyone complaining that games are progressively simplifying to promote accessibility, this could also be really good news.
ELEX II: a story that continues
The story told in ELEX II begins a few years after the end of the first episode. On Magalan comes one new alien threat: the Skyand. Jax will be forced to abandon his peaceful and secluded existence to try to unify the various factions against the new common enemy. To get the result, will have to face a long series of tests. Within the game, in addition to the main story, each settlement offers the possibility to undertake side missions. Some of these are very challenging but they provide more plot details, and more importantly, they allow you to better enhance the character.
But be careful, because there is no fixed and marked path. We will find ourselves within a very vast world and it is up to us to decide what the next mission to undertake is. Whatever we decide to do, though, it will have repercussions on the characters we meet.
From the point of view of the narrative, unfortunately, those who have not played the first episode may feel a little lost or lose a series of references. This is not to say that the game is not enjoyable anyway, but the overall experience could suffer.
Hardcore alla radice
The gameplay is, as anticipated, “the old way”. The game is tough and the player has to work hard if he is to survive. Going headlong into the fray is never a wise choice. The art of avoiding enemies can be our best ally. Character progression is slow and challenging. At each level we are given points to distribute on attributes and one on skills. On the one hand, the increase in attributes allows you to unlock the use of more powerful weapons but it gives us rather limited benefits, on the other hand the skills can only be acquired by a teacher by paying a considerable price. The end result is quite confusing, especially at the beginning of the adventure. In addition, we will have to take a lot of time (and levels) to find ourselves in a condition to be able to circulate safely.
Also the disposition of the enemies on the map helps to keep us always alert and never let us let our guard down. It often happens to face simple enemies followed at a short distance by others much tougher, if not out of our reach. This non-linearity in the level-design allows us to keep the voltage high, since we can never assume that an area is now free of obstacles just because we have leveled up. To avoid frustration, especially at low levels, the suggestion is to take advantage of the autosave option which can be adjusted to save every three minutes.
Another thing to note is that the game will not give us enough points to acquire all the skills. Therefore, the better immediately establish a strategy and aim to specialize on those most interesting to us.
A map to be explored
The ELEX II map is huge and spans multiple biomes. More, the territory is extremely well designed and attention to detailboth horizontally and vertically. Jax is also equipped with a jetpack which allows him to climb in height and quickly cover great distances. The jetpack will always be part of the character, and we will have to evolve that too to be able to move more efficiently. Being able to move around the map also vertically is important because it allows us to discover secret areas with special items and additional narrative elements.
Such a map it requires many hours of gameplay to be fully explored. In addition, let’s remember, it is always better to be cautious and take the right time to avoid ending up on an enemy that is still too strong for us.
Enemies and allies
The new enemies are the Skyand: an alien race arrived suddenly and determined to change the face of the planet; they are merciless and better armed than anyone else. Skyands use organic structures to infect flora and fauna, including people. The contagion is often fatal and when it is not, the victim is transformed into a Skyand in turn.
For allies, in Piranha Bytes style, the player is not offered a class for his character, but he is given the option to ally with a faction. There are five factions in ELEX II. We have in fact i Berserker: warriors and wizards who do not use technology but only spells. The berserkers are contrasted by i Clerics, equipped with laser rifles and robots. Then there are the Outlaws; classic figures that need no introduction. To these three factions already present in the first episode, two are added: the whites e i Morkon. the Albe are the previous antagoniststechnologically very advanced, while i Morkon they are a sect of fanatics out of the underground.
We really appreciated how we wanted to give continuity to the storynot only by maintaining and expanding the available factions, but also by building aevolution of their relations on the territory. For example, we will be faced with settlements that over the years have passed under the control of a different faction than the first ELEX. It is not mandatory to ally with a faction. We may decide to be a free spirit, but that will not benefit us. On the contrary, joining us will allow us to take advantage of bonuses associated with the characteristics of the chosen faction.
The technical sector
The technical sector of ELEX II is perhaps the aspect with which you need to have a little more patience. It is also true that, while game design choices are permanently fixed, technical problems can be progressively resolved with the various updates.
Our impression was that at ELEX II it could take a little more time to optimize the implementation. We have indeed noticed a little bit of occasional glitches like flashing shadows and stage elements that disappear and reappear. Nothing, however, capable of compromising the functionality of the game.
From a graphics performance standpoint, while the PlayStation version appears to have a fairly consistent framerate, in doing this review of ELEX II on PC, there were times when we were a little disappointed. And this even if our hardware met the minimum system requirements.
One thing that, on the other hand, makes the game a little less enjoyable is theartificial intelligence, which we hope will get a little more refined in an upcoming update. The problems in this case are reflected in both enemies and non-player characters. Enemies sometimes have weird melee behavior and become a little too predictable. Characters, on the other hand, tend to be uncommunicative. On this last point, unfortunately, even the scenographic and script choices for the dialogues are not of great help.
The review of ELEX II in summary
ELEX II is a game faithful to the tradition of old-school RPGs: puts the player to the test but rewards them with a large and complex open world. Unfortunately, the content with which this world is filled has sometimes edges that you happen to stumble upon.
As a result, it’s a bit difficult to recommend ELEX II to anyone who hasn’t played the first episode before or isn’t willing to tackle a game with a very steep learning curve. History and mechanics can be dealt with better if you already have a background. In addition, the game mechanics that inevitably push towards hardcore could be a problem for the player who is approaching Piranha Bytes products for the first time.