ELEX - First Reviews

Curious, I Google translated that French review into English. It did an ok job, but still rough of course. At least the final summary seems well translated and understandable, and gosh, it's pretty damning criticism!

"It's incredible but Elex is a catastrophe even worse than what we could fear. As soon as you feel you have found a branch to hang onto, it's the developers who come to sabotage everything with a frustrating system. The game is an obstacle to its own exploration, the evolution of the character is bridled and freedom an illusion.

The technical debt accumulated over the years by Piranha Bytes makes Elex an anachronism, all in a mixture of opportunistic and impersonal universes. At this level, it is no longer a question of straightening the bar but of going to rescue the carcass at the bottom of the ocean. And unless you commit to one or two years to get a miraculous enhanced edition, Piranha Bytes has just celebrated its twenty years of existence with a very sad example of an industrial accident."

Weirdest thing is all that sounds good to me. We've had a long time of everything being intuitive aka casualized and I have no problem learning to enjoy a game.

It's just nice to still have different approaches to design in RPGs, rather than a homogenization of everything. Everyone can find the styles they like and play the games they enjoy.

Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until release before blindly defending a game you guys have yet to play?

Some Let's Plays:

ColonelRPG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1snp1PLgp7M
Bumpy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwdT5f2ws4M

Originally Posted by Drithius
Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until release before blindly defending a game you guys have yet to play?

Their opinion is about as valid as the "reviews" coming in at the moment.

And who's defending really? We've seen this with all 3 Risen games. It's pretty much expected at this point. The game will be called clunky, slow, quirky, unbalanced, poor animations, bad voice acting and on. It will have all the things they do really well, and receive reviews around 6.5/10 on average. No real need for a defense because anyone who plays their games already knows what to expect. IMO.

The thing I want to see is if it launches with a lot of bugs and makes certain aspects unplayable. Hopefully the AI companion stuff is squashed immediately.

Originally Posted by Fluent
And who's defending really?

Oh, I don't know… how about the lead-in to the latest news article for starters.

The reviews show that ELEX is not made for casual gamers. The reviewers today expect handholding, questmarkers and a 'nice' difficulty curve.

If the game had been developed by Bioware, Bethesda, or [insert latest AAA studio people love bashing], this blind and apologetic fanboydom wouldn't exist. As it stands, the double standard is laughably pathetic and all too predictable.

And this is coming from a routine Bethesda basher - but at least I don't prostrate myself before smaller studios, rewarding them with praise for their backward games replete with the same mistakes and shoddy design of 15 years ago. While the exploration aspect of the game may be enough to offset the clunky combat, animations, and whatever else was lacking in Gothic 1, 2, 3, Risen 1, 2, 3 (and now Elex) - don't expect many outside of the hive mind to agree.

I don't see any lies in that line you quoted though. And I don't really understand the backlash for it either. I don't bash any developers, but PB are my favorite precisely because they still design RPGs that haven't assimilated to modern norms. That's a plus in my book. And I can still go and enjoy a Bethesda or Bioware game.

But I 100% agree with that quote in theory (haven't played the game yet obviously.) And it's ironic to call their core fans a hivemind when you can easily look at the mainstream fans the same way.

Originally Posted by Drithius
Oh, I don't know… how about the lead-in to the latest news article for starters.


If the game had been developed by Bioware, Bethesda, or [insert latest AAA studio people love bashing], this blind and apologetic fanboydom wouldn't exist. As it stands, the double standard is laughably pathetic and all too predictable.

And this is coming from a routine Bethesda basher - but at least I don't prostrate myself before smaller studios, rewarding them with praise for their backward games replete with the same mistakes and shoddy design of 15 years ago. While the exploration aspect of the game may be enough to offset the clunky combat, animations, and whatever else was lacking in Gothic 1, 2, 3, Risen 1, 2, 3 (and now Elex) - don't expect many outside of the hive mind to agree.

Oh, c'mon Drith. Don't be so pissy. We're not a bunch of rabid fanboys who refuse to see the shortcomings in a game. Maybe we're just willing to put up with some raggedness in what we like instead of insisting on a slick patina.
It's like wine; some are snobbish about what constitutes a good vintage while others just drink whatever tastes good to them. Both camps enjoy their choices equally. Maybe we get a bit weary of reviewers and other gamers yammering about what is or isn't a 'good game', as if they are somehow the arbiters of quality in games. Some focus on the warts, others see past them.

^Yup. And only speaking for myself, but I don't mind janky animations, clunkiness, etc., when I get all the features from their games that I love, which again, aren't really done much if at all today. How many open-world RPGs with entirely hand-placed everything are there? Or RPGs that still don't have level-scaling? I just finished Gothic 2 recently and loved it, so this is right up my alley.

Different strokes for different folks. I think it's cool they continue to do this type of game and have taken on an even bigger setting with a huge open-world this time.

I so have to remember this thread for later. Drithius made some excellent points. Have to give him credit for being fair in his criticism.

For me, the thing is, I love the Gothic and Risen games, but that doesn't stop me feeling a bit disappointed when each new game fails to really build on the good work started by its predecessor. It's like each new game comes with a whole new bunch of quirks, oddities and peculiarities, rather than really learning from what went before.

I'm looking forward to Elex when the collector's edition finally arrives (darn you Amazon!), but equally I was hoping that after all this time, it would evolve from Risen3 to deliver in spades. From the sound of things, it's just going to follow the typical cycle and be another load of janky fun. Which is fine by me

Lots of promising bits in the reviews on Steam. I suggest reading some.

Edit: Bits like -

"So far this game is oozing with the good old gothic 2 feeling! A return to form after for Piranha Bytes after the mediocer Risen games."

303 Steam reviews for a "Mostly Positive" rating as I'm writing this…

Originally Posted by Drithius
If the game had been developed by Bioware, Bethesda, or [insert latest AAA studio people love bashing], this blind and apologetic fanboydom wouldn't exist. As it stands, the double standard is laughably pathetic and all too predictable.

I gotta say I'm kind of confused by your post. Are you trying to say that quote isn't true? The companies you mentioned as examples are known for doing exactly the things he said. So what are you acting angry about?

If you want to complain about the clunky combat and animations that's cool, but getting your panties in a bunch over someone giving an honest opinion isn't going to help your argument.

Ya I gotta admit. I think I got lost in the conversation somewhere…
I see neither blind fan boys, nor rabid game smashers in this thread.
Maybe I'm not looking hard enough? Sounds like too much work for 4am…

Well, the game is out, and the steam reviews are mostly positive. I think it has to do a lot with the game not having too much hype and being purchased by old time fans.

Originally Posted by Sneaky_seal
Well, the game is out, and the steam reviews are mostly positive. I think it has to do a lot with the game not having too much hype and being purchased by old time fans.

Whoa!!! Sneaky_seal joined the other side of the forum!!! Welcome!!

Originally Posted by Fluent
Lots of promising bits in the reviews on Steam. I suggest reading some.

Edit: Bits like -

"So far this game is oozing with the good old gothic 2 feeling! A return to form after for Piranha Bytes after the mediocer Risen games."

303 Steam reviews for a "Mostly Positive" rating as I'm writing this…

If that's the case, i'd not be least bit surprised. Piranha bytes games tend not to fare well with the critics for some reason… Basicly every Piranha Bytes game has received mixed reviews. Some of those reviews were definitely fair and I have no need to claim otherwise while some (such as angry joe) never gave these games a real chance.

So this isn't anything new. I remember the Gothic 2 release and how gothic 2 was slammed heavily by most U.S game critics. Gamespy back then gave it 2/5 I think. Imagine that. Yet I consider it to be one of the best games I've played. So I will definitely take these early negative reviews with a grain of salt.

Besides as I've already purchased the game, these Elex reviews don't really matter to me. If it is a piranha bytes game, it is an instabuy for me. That's my rule. All being said I'm not going to defend this game, because I have not found time to play it yet since real life happens to be quite busy atm. I'll be saving this gem for later.

Not sure if I'd compare it to Gothic 2 yet, but it does share some traits. I'm playing on "Difficult" which is the 3rd of 4 difficulty levels, and the majority of enemies I've encountered so far have killed me instantly.