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Yeah, it's really well done. I like that a lot. PB also made great use of the Z-axis, which is probably what Fluent is referring to.
Quick example: The small area right outside Khorinis, on the way to the inn. It contains:
- The cave with the orc and the teleporter
- A small path down into a valley, with Field Raiders, Wargs, a Shadowbeast and a cave.
- Go along the path further up, and then go left and you're suddenly on a farm, seemingly completely awasy from all that other stuff.
- Go straight ahead instead and you go under a bridge, with a crime scene, another small cave and a guy with a quest. Further on is the inn.
- If you go to the previously mentioned farm, turn right and go across the bridge, you are actually just a few meters from the inn, but you'll still feel like you're in a different location (yet again), as you'll find a cave with lizards, a graveyard and another teleporter cave. You'll also bump into the bandits mentioned by the guy below the bridge.
This area, with all that content, never feels cramped, yet has more going on per meter than just about any game I've seen. It's a fascinating design.
Z-axis and overall density, really. The world is dense but with hand-placed stuff, so you never get the feeling you are exploring a randomly generated world. Every square inch feels lovingly made and with interesting things to discover.
ELEX also makes excellent use of verticality, more than any other open-world RPG I've played. I love the jetpack and think it's a must for future RPGs like this (or some form of vertical exploration ability, levitation or what have you.) Wouldn't be surprised if Bethesda brings back levitation after they've seen ELEX.
ELEX also obviously increases the scale greatly, but the world is not diminished in any way, actually enhanced. Gothic 3, which I've played recently, can be argued to be much emptier overall, whereas somehow PB with their 25 person team was able to fill the world with interesting things everywhere, everything hand-placed down to the coins you find in a chest. Remarkable and fascinating indeed.