Yeah, I don't get the hype. Gothic 2 won me over but they lost me again with Gothic 3 and since then I couldn't really be bothered with the jank.
Especially not when Elden Ring is newly released. Why wouldn't you be playing that instead?!
To the first point, yes, Gothic 3 was a mess when it was released. The technical issues were pretty bad. I'm not even considering minor glitches and graphical errors, as those things dont bother me, but there was slowdown so atrocious it made more sense to talk about seconds per frame, rather than frames per second. Even worse, much of the storytelling was weak, like wandering through the snowy wastes, searching for the traitor Xardas, and when you finally confront him…you basically just say hi and get a quest. What?!
Still, in spite of all of this, there was so much to love about the game. The map was huge, varied, and it was worth exploring fully, as there was just so much to be found. The game was constantly rewarding you for the things you did, with items and experience and stat boosts (do a relevant quest, get a small skill boost), and character development was a joy. Archery was awesome, I loved to go hunting as aiming felt just right. The music and atmosphere was fantastic. The scope of the game was vast. It's certainly flawed, but Gothic 3 is right up there among my favorite role playing games, and one I keep returning to even though I have done it all many times before.
As for why anyone would play Elex 2 instead of Elden Ring, I don't think the games are that similar, or am I mistaken? Elden Ring seems to be a game focused largely on combat and boss fights, whereas I'm all about exploration and immersing myself in the game world, getting to know the characters who inhabit it. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but this is what I personally want from an RPG.