RPGWatch Feature - Elex Review

So how does this game (with regards to fun and quality) compare to risen 1,2,3 ?

Originally Posted by you
So how does this game (with regards to fun and quality) compare to risen 1,2,3 ?

Better than all 3 risen games.

Thank you for the great review, @Maylander!!

Originally Posted by lostforever
Better than all 3 risen games.

While I think the Risen games in general are a bit underrated, I would agree. ELEX is by far PB's best game since Gothic 2 or 3 (if you count 3 even though it was unfinished.)

Having just completed G2 + NotR a few months back, I would probably say that ELEX is my favorite game by them ever. I'd rank them like this:

ELEX
Gothic 1 (I like it more than 2 for the more memorable story and setting.)
Gothic 2 (More polished and expansive than 1, but see above.)
Risen 1 (Excellent PB RPG.)
Gothic 3 (Unfinished game but very interesting after patches.)
Risen 3 (Quality title but missing some of PB's classic formula.)
Risen 2 (Quality title but a bit less expansive than Risen 3.)

Just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by Fluent
While I think the Risen games in general are a bit underrated, I would agree. ELEX is by far PB's best game since Gothic 2 or 3 (if you count 3 even though it was unfinished.)

Having just completed G2 + NotR a few months back, I would probably say that ELEX is my favorite game by them ever. I'd rank them like this:

ELEX
Gothic 1 (I like it more than 2 for the more memorable story and setting.)
Gothic 2 (More polished and expansive than 1, but see above.)
Risen 1 (Excellent PB RPG.)
Gothic 3 (Unfinished game but very interesting after patches.)
Risen 3 (Quality title but missing some of PB's classic formula.)
Risen 2 (Quality title but a bit less expansive than Risen 3.)

Just my 2 cents.

To be fair, most games you currently are playing are your favorites.

Originally Posted by rune_74
To be fair, most games you currently are playing are your favorites.

Let's see if that's true. Last 5 games I played are:

Deadly Premonition
Risen 3
ELEX
Gothic 2
Planescape: Torment

Obviously PS:T and Gothic 2 are all-time classics for many, not just for me. Both top games for me, with PS:T outweighing G2 by quite a bit on my scale.

Risen 3? Not really. Decent but not close to a favorite. Deadly Premonition? It's cool, but also not on my favorites list.

I can also cite plenty of other games that are not favorites I've played before that. So I'm going to have to call your claim false.

You lose. Good day, sir.

Edit: Oops, forgot Vaporum. Dope 'crawler, liked it quite a bit, but ain't near my favorites list.

So to recap, 2 of those games are all-time favorites, very high on my list. ELEX and Planescape: Torment. Gothic 2 is in a lower tier (I'd probably put G1 in my top list, though.) And the others don't register.

2 out of the last 6 I played are major favorites. The evidence does not support your hypothesis.

C’mon Fluent - you know he was poking fun … you DO get very enthusiastic with new games, which honestly as a jaded older guy I find very refreshing!

Originally Posted by txa1265
C’mon Fluent - you know he was poking fun … you DO get very enthusiastic with new games, which honestly as a jaded older guy I find very refreshing!

And I was poking fun back. It's all good.

Just sometimes have to remind people not to take my enthusiasm as a lack of intelligence.

People don't realise that you have not so good experiences too. Which of course you are not enthusiastically reporting, as you're the kind of guy that likes to focus on the positive things in life. The Debbie downers can't relate.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
People don't realise that you have not so good experiences too. Which of course you are not enthusiastically reporting, as you're the kind of guy that likes to focus on the positive things in life. The Debbie downers can't relate.

Word.

I also post plenty of things I'd change in these games, too. Features that can be improved, etc.. But I just don't feel a need to harp negative aspects, as you said.

I also try to approach things with that childlike wonder I had as a kid. It can be very hard sometimes to do that in this world but I do try.

Now enough about me, sheesh. Elex reviews, plz. @Maylander is the RPG God Reviewer, IMO. Let's talk about him.

Originally Posted by Fluent
Now enough about me, sheesh. Elex reviews, plz. @Maylander is the RPG God Reviewer, IMO. Let's talk about him.

Haha, this has actually been a fairly calm thread, all things considered. I guess the verdict wasn't controversial enough, so the thread didn't blow up as expected.

Edit: And yes, I totally agree that it's the best PB has done since the Gothic series.

There's a skill related to gems that enables the crafting and equipping of gems, but only into items with gem slots. Most items do not have such slots.

wondering why soft toilet paper is slotless…

Great review. I especially like how you say they should go the Gothic 2 route not the Risen 2 route.

OTOH, Risen one had that horrible end game monster and they took out that nonsense in Risen two, so there was some growth there.

Originally Posted by baron
wondering why soft toilet paper is slotless…

Soft toilet paper should have a slot that let you upgrade companions' health, anything else is just wrong.

Originally Posted by Dajjer
Great review. I especially like how you say they should go the Gothic 2 route not the Risen 2 route.

OTOH, Risen one had that horrible end game monster and they took out that nonsense in Risen two, so there was some growth there.

That's true. It also had more variety in the second half, unlike Risen which was all lizards, lizards and more lizards.

I can't agree with the review, that the slow start to the game is a flaw. But I guess for Gothic fans, it's what we expect and part of what makes PB games great. It's realistic, I hate scaling in games. The ELEX world feels vast and dangerous from the get go. I'm 91 hours in now. I'm at work and keep looking at the clock because all I can think about is playing more ELEX. I can easily see 150 hours in this game, there's so much to explore. I was really disappointed with the last 2 Risens and was not sure what to expect from this, especially with the post apocalypse theme, but I'm more than pleasantly surprised. Definitely PB's best game since Gothic 3.

Originally Posted by Hyperion
Definitely PB's best game since Gothic 2.

I fixed that for you.

Originally Posted by Fluent

ELEX
Gothic 1 (I like it more than 2 for the more memorable story and setting.)
Gothic 2 (More polished and expansive than 1, but see above.)
Risen 1 (Excellent PB RPG.)
Gothic 3 (Unfinished game but very interesting after patches.)
Risen 3 (Quality title but missing some of PB's classic formula.)
Risen 2 (Quality title but a bit less expansive than Risen 3.)

Just my 2 cents.

I'm going to take a go at this.

1. Gothic 1
2. ELEX
3. Gothic 3
4. Risen 1
5. Gothic 2
6. Risen 3
7. Risen 2

Gothic 1 will probably never be replaced on that list for me as it's the first game I ever played that I truly loved. Most people also like Gothic 2 a lot better than I do. I hated the ending and the game had game killing quest bugs. I lost count of how many times I had to restart the game to finally finish it. I didn't play 3 until most of the bugs were fixed with patches and community fixes, so had a much better experience.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I fixed that for you.

I'm not typical in that regard, since I like 3 better than 2.

Originally Posted by Hyperion
I'm not typical in that regard, since I like 3 better than 2.

Yeah, I don't get how anyone could rank Risen or Gothic 3 ahead of Gothic 2, but it sounds like your experience wasn't optimal. Did you play it with NotR installed?