ELEX Review

By Marcus Jones  |  Posted: November 8, 2017

ELEX, from developer Piranha Bytes, is the latest in their series of massive, open-world RPGs. Known for the Gothic and Risen franchises, ELEX maintains several familiar aspects while departing from fantasy to explore a sci-fi setting on the planet Magalan. Nearly destroyed by a comet that spread a mineral called Elex across the planet, three major factions wage endless war against each other and a more dangerous fourth faction. Each group uses Elex differently and maintains its own philosophy about surviving in this ruined world.

The game's massive scale immediately captured my attention. The map is enormous - almost ridiculously so. While travel becomes easier once you discover warp spots throughout the world, you must first reach them on foot to activate them. The three main factions - Berserkers, Outlaws, and Clerics - are spread across vast distances, making the pilgrimage to each of their great cities a hours-long journey. Though not a straight path, as I spent considerable time fleeing from dangerous local fauna, witnessing the landscape's progression proved fascinating. The Berserkers inhabit a lush, verdant forest dotted with ancient ruins, while the Outlaws carved out their home in a monster-filled desert. The Clerics occupy an advanced mountain fortress surrounded by lava flows, while the Albs (your former faction) are entrenched even deeper in the frozen mountains. Each region features stark environmental differences and often hosts its own unique hostile creatures.

The control scheme initially felt counterintuitive, leading to frequent accidental weapon sheaths or ill-timed strikes. Beyond my personal adjustment struggles, the controls themselves felt unresponsive. Attempting to flee, I'd click the left analog stick to sprint, only to experience a noticeable delay before my character reacted - often resulting in just a few stuttering steps forward. The auto-lock system, controlled by the right analog stick, sometimes refused to switch targets mid-fight. This led to numerous unintentional attacks on innocent bystanders when I meant to target nearby mutant creatures.

Combat follows straightforward principles. Ranged attacks require equipping your weapon (bow, shotgun, plasma rifle, etc.) and using the triggers to aim and fire. Enemies close distance quickly, so ranged specialists must maintain proper spacing. The jetpack, activated by holding the jump button, can help create distance, though enemies often counter with their own ranged attacks. Melee combat revolves around stamina management, dodge timing, and combining light and heavy attacks. Building sufficient combos unlocks devastating special attacks. However, the combat system lacks polish, and death comes swiftly. I eventually resorted to avoiding combat through creative positioning or relying heavily on powerful weapons like grenades.

ELEX's strongest feature is its deep character customization and meaningful choice system. The game divides attributes into five categories: strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, and cunning. These govern melee combat, health, ranged combat and accuracy, mana/PSI, and social interactions respectively. Additional skill points can be invested through world trainers, with categories including faction-specific abilities (Berserker/Outlaw/Cleric). All skills require specific attribute thresholds before training becomes available.

These thresholds often prove challenging to reach early in the game. I frequently carried unused skill points while working toward minimum requirements. Equipment follows similar restrictions, demanding specific strength/dexterity/intelligence levels before use. Faction equipment adds another layer of complexity - in my first few hours, I couldn't meet most requirements, and I hesitated to join the Berserkers before exploring other factions and their cities (as faction choice is permanent).

Your Cunning and other skills significantly influence world interactions. Conversations often trigger "character doesn't like that" responses, similar to other party-based RPGs. The game tracks your "cold level" (emotional detachment from the world), and your decisions increasingly affect how others react to you. It's remarkably easy to create enemies through callous responses or misreading situations. This system proves particularly engaging when early conversation choices yield consequences hours later. The multitude of available quests and branching outcomes provides substantial replay value.

However, these strengths can't fully compensate for the game's shortcomings. I encountered several glitches, including one that prevented access to looting or adjutor menus (the in-game system for quest logs, inventory, etc.). This required saving, closing, and restarting the application. While initial load times prove tolerable, frequent deaths create frustrating wait periods between attempts.

Simply Put

ELEX struggles under the weight of its lofty ambitions. Its admirable goals often overshadow fundamental necessities. The vast world, rich backstory, and overwhelming content variety impress, but technical issues, punishing difficulty, and overcrowded systems diminish the experience. While technical problems alone prove frustrating, combining them with frequent deaths against minor enemies strongly suggests playing on easy difficulty - though be warned, even then the challenge remains significant.