Elex Elex I don't know....

Was another wall-o-text really necessary, DArt? I vote no. You are really creating a wild scenario there in your head. But here's a wall for you, my good man. :)

Maybe ELEX just isn't for you. I didn't notice anything crazy about the early hours myself. Just adapted, I guess. Was still occasionally killing runt critters, etc.. Seemed like typical PB there, just runt biters/critters/clumsy rotboars in place of scavengers and molerats.

It is actually challenging to avoid enemies, though. Without high-tech sunglasses, you can get jumped a lot. Gotta stay on your toes then.

I think it's challenging to make good choices in quests at times early on. It's easy to misread a situation or a response. I've messed up a few, increased my Cold level by accident, had to pay a huge fine for a crime, even locked myself out of a couple by making NPCs angry. You have to pay attention. The game tells you Duras will help you survive, Magalan is dangerous, etc.. Gotta heed that advice, bro. So I worked to get Duras as a companion ASAP. Let him kill things and my dude will be a support character. Makes sense, he's a seasoned Berserker, I'm coming off ELEX. Now 70 hours in, I'm getting pretty badass. Finally. :)

The thing is, this type of world design leads to unpredictability, rather than a 100% repetitive game loop. The first several hours are about making friends, getting your shards up and acquiring a few skills. You avoid a lot of combat, moving in the world is dangerous, etc.. Even the enemies you can kill give you little XP, and that is not a good way to progress in the game.

Then the game loop changes a bit after you gain some strength and a companion. You can start surviving in combat a bit. Then you start gaining a little better XP, and by that time you've probably got Animal Trophies or something else to make hunting worthwhile. So that aspect starts to come together more. Yet it's still dangerous to move in the world.

Finally, when you get powerful, enemies start giving you a bunch of XP. Lots. And then you can actually hunt in a true sense and start slaughtering wildlife left and right if you like. Just watch out for the uber strength enemies that can still maul you, and were roaming in those same spots at level 1. :)

Point is, the early levels are different and the game is better off for it. It at least offers a change of pace and different stages throughout the game, rather than the typical "kill enemy, get XP, level up, kill slightly stronger enemy, get XP, level up, etc.." It actually leads to a much stronger sense of progression as you start developing your dude. And the unpredictability of enemy placement in the world plays greatly to that. It goes against typical conventions of "Dangerous area, do not enter. Higher level area, avoid. Low level area, okay to explore, etc.." Yes, those exist somewhat, yet within them there also exists different levels of strength that can vary greatly. So overall I find it just creates a very unique, very pleasing RPG experience for me. Much different than pretty much any open-world action RPG before it, and in these ways it is a pinnacle of the genre so far. For me.

Just felt like rambling a bit there.

And the UI could definitely be improved. The icons still confuse me all these hours in. But it just doesn't bother me all that much. I spend enough hours ranting and raving on forums like this to also spend time studying the game mechanics. :)

Just wing it, bro.
 
Well, I reached my teen levels doing nothing but questing and I never had a single issue or challenge during that time.

I guess I don't feel challenged picking an option in a dialogue that suits me. Maybe I'm a master at questing? Could be :)

Very much unlike how I build my character, I quest "from the heart" - and I never bother to change my choices. I do what seems most appropriate from a RP point of view, which is why I never fret about anything quest-related.

It's cool that you're not bothered by issues and you feel so passionately about defending it at every turn.

It's somewhat less becoming that you can't tolerate the opinions of others without trying to somehow persuade them to agree with you about everything.

I like Elex - and I expect to enjoy it. But I'm not living in never-never land where I need to ignore flaws because I'm scared of them. All games have them - and this is no exception.

Nice wall of text, though - if a bit off the point ;)
 
I have put ELEX aside for now. It is a very cool game and I like it but got bored as I like a bit more progression. Will return to it maybe over holiday break when I have some more time to spend on it.
 
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I have put ELEX aside for now. It is a very cool game and I like it but got bored as I like a bit more progression. Will return to it maybe over holiday break when I have some more time to spend on it.

Yeah, I'm also putting it aside. I'm hoping PB will release a few more patches - or I might not bother for a long while.

It just hasn't grabbed me like other PB games. It feels like NotR all over again, which is probably intentional.
 
I quite enjoyed Elex but it is still inferior to G1 and G2 in my book.
 
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Well, I reached my teen levels doing nothing but questing and I never had a single issue or challenge during that time.

I guess I don't feel challenged picking an option in a dialogue that suits me. Maybe I'm a master at questing? Could be :)

Very much unlike how I build my character, I quest "from the heart" - and I never bother to change my choices. I do what seems most appropriate from a RP point of view, which is why I never fret about anything quest-related.

It's cool that you're not bothered by issues and you feel so passionately about defending it at every turn.

It's somewhat less becoming that you can't tolerate the opinions of others without trying to somehow persuade them to agree with you about everything.

I like Elex - and I expect to enjoy it. But I'm not living in never-never land where I need to ignore flaws because I'm scared of them. All games have them - and this is no exception.

Nice wall of text, though - if a bit off the point ;)

Again creating nice scenarios in your head. I mean, I agree the UI needs improvement. But spending hours perusing reddit over a slightly wonky translation is ridirkulous, doggie. No wonder you're putting the game down. Sheesh.
 
Again creating nice scenarios in your head. I mean, I agree the UI needs improvement. But spending hours perusing reddit over a slightly wonky translation is ridirkulous, doggie. No wonder you're putting the game down. Sheesh.

I think you kinda missed that I specifically didn't want to spend hours perusing Reddit for that specific reason. Just a little detail you might have missed ;)

Anyway, thank you for making the monumental effort of not taking my differing opinion too much to heart!

Just think of how much Watch storage we could have saved if you'd just said "Yes, I agree, the UI has issues - but the game is still great."

Just a little wisdom for the future ;)
 
I quite enjoyed Elex but it is still inferior to G1 and G2 in my book.

Yeah, as far as the overall experience, I have to agree with that. Elex is really good imo, but Gothic 1&2 left more of an impression.

For one thing, the soundtracks were much better. The BGM in Elex is pretty good, but it pales in comparison to what Kai Rosenkranz did in those games.
 
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I think you kinda missed that I specifically didn't want to spend hours perusing Reddit for that specific reason. Just a little detail you might have missed ;)

Anyway, thank you for making the monumental effort of not taking my differing opinion too much to heart!

Just think of how much Watch storage we could have saved if you'd just said "Yes, I agree, the UI has issues - but the game is still great."

Just a little wisdom for the future ;)

You mean I shouldn't type wall-o-texts like you do every other post? :lol:

Clearly I'm making the mistake of actually trying to convey my thoughts on RPGs in an online forum. I must be a masochist because I keep coming back for more, smh.
 
You mean I shouldn't type wall-o-texts like you do every other post? :lol:

Clearly I'm making the mistake of actually trying to convey my thoughts on RPGs in an online forum. I must be a masochist because I keep coming back for more, smh.

I think your mistake is repeating yourself and being exceptionally predictable about it ;)

I think every single Watch member active in the last month understands that you absolutely love Elex - and I believe you've already told us so in a large variety of ways.

I mean, that's cool - but at least try to accept that other people might not agree and you're not being paid for trying to make them into you.

Remember, you're new to PB games - we're not. I know exactly what the appeal of them are - and I see that appeal in Elex as well. I mean, I played Gothic 16 years ago - and the formula is nearly identical.

You're trying to tell me as if it was a new paradigm.

A few things have changed though, including how much patience I have for bad design decisions and lazy UI work.

But that's me - not you. Deal? ;)
 
Yeah, as far as the overall experience, I have to agree with that. Elex is really good imo, but Gothic 1&2 left more of an impression.

For one thing, the soundtracks were much better. The BGM in Elex is pretty good, but it pales in comparison to what Kai Rosenkranz did in those games.

Yeah, Gothic really knocked me out cold.

That world was dangerous - and in a good way. It impressed me so much with how it handled things like day/night cycles, NPC schedules, faction quests, progression, power curve - and so on.

It really was a masterpiece.

For my part, I think Gothic is THE PB game - and while I love all the others, they never quite matched the first one.

That said, I think G3 music is the best.
 
I think your mistake is repeating yourself and being exceptionally predictable about it ;)

I think every single Watch member active in the last month understands that you absolutely love Elex - and I believe you've already told us so in a large variety of ways.

I mean, that's cool - but at least try to accept that other people might not agree and you're not being paid for trying to make them into you.

Remember, you're new to PB games - we're not. I know exactly what the appeal of them are - and I see that appeal in Elex as well. I mean, I played Gothic 16 years ago - and the formula is nearly identical.

You're trying to tell me as if it was a new paradigm.

A few things have changed though, including how much patience I have for bad design decisions and lazy UI work.

But that's me - not you. Deal? ;)

Sure, seeing as I don't have the patience to go back and forth like you do.
 
The thought is scary, though.

Just imagine a Fluent with the patience to keep it up.

Now that's Ultra difficulty if ever there was one ;)
 
I quite enjoyed Elex but it is still inferior to G1 and G2 in my book.

Agreed. I'm very fond of G2's soundtrack in particular, but nothing about Elex's music really stood out to me much (and music is a very large contributor in immersing me into a game).

Tooltips can certainly be misleading at times. The health one threw me off, too. I kept asking myself "Is this retroactive? Is it just a flat bonus?", I really didn't know.

Admittedly, I haven't finish it either. After joining a faction and completing a large portion of the side quests (3/4 or so), I sort of lost interest. I'm not sure what it was, but the game didn't hook me quite like G2 did. I may return to Elex some time in the future, but lately I've been bombarded with so many great games and not nearly enough time to play them all.
 
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The thought is scary, though.

Just imagine a Fluent with the patience to keep it up.

Now that's Ultra difficulty if ever there was one ;)

It will never happen. I give up easily nowadays. Too much hassle. Let the world burn, I don't care. :D
 
I played ELEX in two weeks with all time I had for playing because I wanted to see how the story/factions/world evolve with my choices and how it would end.

This is the highest praise I can give for a game - if it fascinates me and I can't stop playing.

I had no problems with the game on normal difficulty. I had no crashes or glitches, no quest bugs etc.
The descriptions of skills, quests etc. in the German version are sometimes vaguely formulated. But I know PB long enough - they want you to think, to experiment, to try things - even skills. I had fun with it.
 
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I played ELEX in two weeks with all time I had for playing because I wanted to see how the story/factions/world evolve with my choices and how it would end.

This is the highest praise I can give for a game - if it fascinates me and I can't stop playing.

I had no problems with the game on normal difficulty. I had no crashes or glitches, no quest bugs etc.
The descriptions of skills, quests etc. in the German version are sometimes vaguely formulated. But I know PB long enough - they want you to experiment, to try things - even skills. I had fun with it.

HiddenX stamp of approval. Coolio. Glad you enjoyed it so much. :)
 
I'm with HiddenX on this. I've finished it and loved it - couldn't stop playing it! - and would have gotten through it even faster if it weren't for my kids and their Sims/Star Wars Battlefront addiction that kicks me off our one truly decent gaming machine [grumble grumble].

I ended up with a Cleric tank/PSI master, but I felt that I barely touched the surface of what I could do with that, let alone the fact that I haven't tried the Berzerker or Outlaw side of things. There is plenty on the exploration side of things I haven't completed either. I'm saving it all for a future replay :)

People complaining about a certain "jankiness" I think are being overly critical. At least I didn't have a single breaking bug or CTD, something I've experienced in every Bethesda game I've played, and plenty of other AAA devs.

There were a few plot elements that had me saying"that was a bit crap" (e.g. the Jackal transformation bit fit at all IMO), but overall I thought the plot and setting were pretty good. Give us an expansion, I say!
 
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I'm with HiddenX on this. I've finished it and loved it - couldn't stop playing it! - and would have gotten through it even faster if it weren't for my kids and their Sims/Star Wars Battlefront addiction that kicks me off our one truly decent gaming machine [grumble grumble].

I ended up with a Cleric tank/PSI master, but I felt that I barely touched the surface of what I could do with that, let alone the fact that I haven't tried the Berzerker or Outlaw side of things. There is plenty on the exploration side of things I haven't completed either. I'm saving it all for a future replay :)

People complaining about a certain "jankiness" I think are being overly critical. At least I didn't have a single breaking bug or CTD, something I've experienced in every Bethesda game I've played, and plenty of other AAA devs.

overall I thought the plot and setting were pretty good. Give us an expansion, I say!

Here, here! :party: An expansion would be awesomesauce.

One thing that surprised me so far is the payoff in story and "coolness factor" of the setting so late in the game. Sure, I guess you could rush to those parts earlier than I did, but at about 70 hours into the game the main story really started getting so interesting. I loved learning the little bits of lore up to that point about the factions, meeting interesting faction characters and starting to piece together what happened in Magalan. The inclusion of audio logs from the Old World and other bits before the comet hit are great, too, and again they introduce them so slowly and organically (i.e. through your own exploration), it really is remarkable when it starts to add up. Interesting little lore bits are a reward all of their own when you're exploring ruins and so forth.

I really, really hope they take that idea and run further with it in ELEX 2.

Overall, I don't remember a game that was this slow, this methodical about the approach and paying off this much in the later stages of the game. Gothic 1, my favorite Gothic game so far, is somewhat similar, but even then I had beaten the game by the 40 hour mark (and probably missed some stuff, but yeah.) At 40 hours in ELEX I hadn't even joined a faction! Really remarkable stuff.
 
I didn't care for the game. Yes the world is big and full of flowers and toilet papers to collect, but gameplay-wise it was not to my liking. I decided to play as a ranged cleric supporting his companion on battles and played the whole game that way, but once again PB decided to change the rules for the last battle and had me without a companion (had to watch the ending in youtube).

Didn't like the level-scaled respawns, the super-high-density of level-scaled mobs everywhere I went, how stats were so restricted (5x for a stat point, seriously?), the lack of character progression (I used the same cleric gloves and abilities for 95% of the game), etc. Definitely not my type of game.
 
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