ELEX - First Reviews

Apart from review (bugged and IIRC no gamesaving) copies, noone can play it before 7PM CET today. Add some minutes or hours onto that as there is no preload.

joxer said:

I suppose he ment to say "impressed noone".
But if that's that, why being skeptical?

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Yes. Because nobody wrote he liked the combat, and the established German sites / mags of course know the older PB titles. If it were "bad" in a way combat in Gothic was bad, somebody would have written about it.

To tell you the truth, i pay more attention to player reviews on this site more than i do the gaming press. So, i am not that concerned right now. Now, if Watchers have the same feelings on the game as the press, then i will be worried.

I wouldn't expect honest reviews from players for a game with such strong fan following as Gothic Series. You should wait till the honeymoon period is over and people start pointing out obvious flaws that for now are downplayed as insubstantial.

Really weak points for me:

- stiff/clunky/unsatisfying combat - it's an action rpg so if combat does not click it's a game-breaking offender
- bloated hp bars for enemies with simplistic attack patterns a.k.a artificial increase in difficulty - it's not even close to Dark Souls from which it borrowed stamina attack system
- uninteresting, cringe-worthy dialogues and uninspired main quest-line
- Mecha + Post Apo + Medieval Magic = incoherent mess where you shoot a high-tech robot with wooden bow / arrows and somehow damage it

I am not worrying that much. I am sure it will be a typical PB game with all the usual issues, but it will still be enjoyable.

Most reviews mention combat animations being bad. I was kinda expecting that but i think i am fine with it.

Zepp said:

I wouldn't expect honest reviews from players for a game with such strong fan following as Gothic Series. You should wait till the honeymoon period is over and people start pointing out obvious flaws that for now are downplayed as insubstantial.

Really weak points for me:

- stiff/clunky/unsatisfying combat - it's an action rpg so if combat does not click it's a game-breaking offender
- bloated hp bars for enemies with simplistic attack patterns a.k.a artificial increase in difficulty - it's not even close to Dark Souls from which it borrowed stamina attack system
- uninteresting, cringe-worthy dialogues and uninspired main quest-line
- Mecha + Post Apo + Medieval Magic = incoherent mess where you shoot a high-tech robot with wooden bow / arrows and somehow damage it

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Sorry, but you're wrong, at least partially.
I don't write reviews, but I tend to make posts with pros and cons when I finish a game. I'm PB fan, but that doesn't automatically mean I'm blind. Bad things won't escape my eye, per my taste, ofc. For example, numerous times I've posted PB games need more humor, some others (also fans) will disagree with me 100%. When I finish the game, you'll see me writing among pros "plenty of humor" or among cons "lack of humor". I'm not a pro reviewer from IGN that's not interested in a game but in how much a publisher paid for review.

On the other hand, I cannot stand Dark Souls and if I see anything that would smell like Dark Souls in a game, I'll instantly spit on it, hopefully uninstall asap and refund without wasting more than 2 hours on it.
See, what you call action, I call QTE2.0. And it has nothing to do with me being PB fan.

btw, did you ever check if a wooden arrow can breach metal armor? What is high tech even supposed to be? iPhone casing or car shell?

That aside, lemme get back a bit on Dark Souls (idiocy?) and it's realism context:
https://kotaku.com/dark-souls-dodge-roll-would-get-you-killed-in-real-life-1641298311
So arrows you didn't even try nor saw if capable of something are out, but dodgerolling is realistic mechanics? Man…
Okay, you're new so you can't know how much I vomit every single time Dark Souls is mentioned as an example of "brilliance".

One thing more. I'm not always right. Unless on the other side is a codexian.

joxer said:

One thing more. I'm not always right.

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What !? NO !!

Okay, can someone explain to me how in earth there are user reviews on metacritic when the game isn't even released yet! Who are these users that finished the game already?
http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/elex/user-reviews

joxer said:

Okay, can someone explain to me how in earth there are user reviews on metacritic when the game isn't even released yet! Who are these users that finished the game already?
http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/elex/user-reviews

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Good point. I thought I could download the game at midnight, the 17th. Went to GOG and I can't DL until about 12:30pm CDT.

A note on 'clunky combat': PB takes some crap about their combat system going back to G1. Yes, it takes some getting used to using it effectively. I much prefer PB's style of combat to say, jRPGs where some 10-year-old wields a sword as big as a California Redwood and wipes out a mob with a blurry 8-move combo in .25 seconds.
I don't like twitch type combat where it's all blazing fast button mashing. I'm not into manual dexterity drills or exercises. PB combat, to me, makes me think a bit and use timing and a bit of strategy. It may seem 'clunky' because it's slowed down and not twitchy; a plus for me.

rune_74 said:

Skyrim was *barely* playable at launch.

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Fixed.

Yup. Their combat will always be viewed as "clunky" because of the approach they take. It's meant to be challenging (although Risen 2 + 3 were too easy), and take timing and anticipation instead of button mashing or requiring super fast reflexes. In other words, it's slow, methodical and deliberate, just like every other system and mechanic in their games. This is nothing new to those who play and understand PB games and their design philosophy.

But again, this is exactly what I expected most reviewers to comment about. Same with animation quality, graphics, voice acting quality and superfluous features that PB doesn't really care that much about (nor do their core fans.)

The key here is focusing on the aspects they themselves focus on, and seeing how high quality those are. By the few accounts I've seen (I'm avoiding reviews and discussion about the game), people who are familiar with PB's style are saying it's one of their best games in terms of those qualities.

The bad combat reviews go all the way back to Gothic 1. Count me in the minority, but I've always liked their combat. It's janky-ness doesn't bother me... in fact I like it. It always feels like combat in PB games plays slower because of it which I like. It feels a bit more tactical and yet, unpredictable. One review criticized how your companion might not join you in combat sometimes, or might put their sword away mid-way in the battle. It's that kind of quirkiness that I love in their games (regardless of whether the devs meant for that to happen or whether it's a bug).

A french review says 3/10 and calls it:
Deutsche Katastrophe


Can't find any lower. Yet.
Waiting for Angry Joe.

I didn't have huge problems with PB's combat so much so that I got mad with the game etc. But lets not get carried away here, their combat can do with *lot* improvements. The issues with their combat systems are not features or quirkiness. They are in fact bugs! The same applies for the issues people have with PB's animation, AI and the like. These are all bugs. Let's call a spade a spade!

I know PB's games unfairly get bad press. They get 5/10 or 6/10 yet if the same game was done by a big publisher they will easily get 7 or 8! So I see why people want to defend them but putting them on pedestal doesn't help matters as well.

joxer said:

A french review says 3/10 and calls it:
Deutsche Katastrophe


Can't find any lower. Yet.
Waiting for Angry Joe.

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Wanna bet he'll complain about sweeping the floor again?

I wish they'd bring back the Gothic feature where the character swings awkwardly and can't wield the weapons properly without training. I thought that was cool, in that you start as an awkward dude swinging a rusty pickaxe and then end up as a bladedancer doing combos for massive damage later in the game.

And bugs are bugs and should be fixed. I'm not arguing otherwise. The AI should be patched and it will be as there is a day one patch already coming.

But in areas like I mentioned before, animations, graphics, etc., they just place very little emphasis on those and it seems to upset mainstream reviewers time and time again. It's like a running joke at this point. Which only core fans of PB can really understand and laugh at.

Looks like some nice fixes in already!

Day One Patch notes are here!
To my knowledge, reviews do not have this patch applied:

Crafting

You can now upgrade shields
Bugfixes for socketing weapons

AI

Improved awareness when sneaking
Improved navigation for NPCs and monsters
Better party behavior from NPCs

UI

Missing icons added
Connection bugfixes
Bugfixes for the world map
Bugfixes for the skills display

Gameplay

Bugfixes for item interactions
Sleep will now also replenish energy
Lock picks will break more often
Reduced fall damage with the jet pack
Appropriate behavior when you receive damage on a ladder
Additional slots for autosaves
Monster traps no longer have a focus

Cutscenes

Slight optimization of cutscenes

Story

Caja accompanies the player to all locations
Both PSI amplifiers are now distributed
Minor quest and display fixes

NPCs

Aesthetic improvements to some armor
Improved control of dialogue gestures
Improved facial animations for women
Improved transitions for motion sequences

Combat

Shields can now block ranged weapons
Improved targeting behavior from NPCs
Fixed the situation where companions were not helping with battle in certain situations
Grenades will now always ricochet off of obstacles
Ball lightning will now always jump to the next target

Dialogues

Improved camera in dialogues
Improved placement of conversation partners

Text

Updates and fixes

Engine

Improved shadow mapping to sun position
Eliminated flickering mist when the camera was too close to obstacles
Subtitles are now deactivated by default when the same language is selected for voice and text

Xbox One:

Graphics pipeline optimizations, including VSync activation to remove screen tearing

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2.5/5, decent review. Based on the text it should have been 3/5, me thinks!

http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/351765-elex-review-an-intriguing-world-of-tech-magic-and-flaws

The bugfixes sound good! I already know what to expect and this will very likely be my personal GOTY.

lostforever said:

I didn't have huge problems with PB's combat so much so that I got mad with the game etc. But lets not get carried away here, their combat can do with *lot* improvements. The issues with their combat systems are not features or quirkiness. They are in fact bugs! The same applies for the issues people have with PB's animation, AI and the like. These are all bugs. Let's call a spade a spade!

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Well, I did call a spade a spade - I said whether they're meant to be there or whether they're bugs, I like 'em.

And further, as far as combat goes specifically, I don't think all of it can be attributed to "bugs". You can argue whether its good design or bad design but their implementation of combat has been pretty consistent from Gothic 1 onwards so I'd argue it's pretty intentional in the way it works overall.