ELEX review (best rpg ever)

[dfrom975]

First let me say ELEX is not broken…. It's simply hard. It's genius. Smartest RPG I've ever played.

I've been wanting this game since release, Only to be held back by fixing. Come to find out nothing is wrong. I've also held back because of boring beginning, can't fight anything. It's actually exciting



Skyrim quality !!!
It's open world, DO WHAT EVER YOU WANT, quality progression of character, story behind everything, fantastic graphics. Better than meaningful combat, I'll cover that last.


Synapsis to level 7:
You start off with nothing, yes your helpless. You meet a guy named Duras that will lead you to the first town of Berserkers headquarters. Understand, it's one of three factions you can join, later you will have to select a choice, but for now your simply trying to stay alive..... Your plopped in the middle of town with nothing other than eventually talking to the leader.

At first it seems cold, you have no direction. You feel like a wet dog that's been in the rain all night. That's until you start talking to the towns people. Everyone has extremely meaningful stuff to say, complete with lore and often a task for you to do, very engaging and immersive every bit of it. Decide to do his task, walk the town, talk to the main guy... There is no wrong answer (Skyrim).

I was lead to believe the beginning was boring... If you can't fight what's left, a few fetch quest ?.... No No Nooo, it's huge meaningful stuff that builds your reputation and advances you character right from the start ….. Very engaging stuff like criminal activity for you to solve. Or leave town to fight a few bad guys.

Another example that will leave a lasting impression.
For the OutLaws, I met with Rat Man, he told me the shop Keeper wasn't paying her taxes, but she had a huge stash in here basement. I was to sneak in and steal it when she was off guard. Well Rat Man double crossed me and turned me in. I was♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥and went to kill him. He surprisingly talked me out of it, with a deeper plan !.... And Deep it was, I'll not spoil it.... This is what you get in the so called boring beginning.

Sure, your weak as hell. You have almost nothing. You must be tactful in your encounters. Stand their and think first, it helps to bring Duras as a squishy tank to ease the burden..... The combat IS NOT BROAKEN.... You can't button mash. I watched one YouTube that explains the simple problem where people refuse to digest. It's timing, strike and wait, strike and wait, this builds stamina to execute a finisher.... IT'S THAT SIMPLE. It has a DarkSouls feel to it, but not quite so hard. Strike a few times run away or out of arrow range and drink a potion. Shoot a few arrows and re-engage with close combat. Button mashing ?....come on already.

Tips:
Settings>difficulty>close combat focus, set to manual.
Find sunglasses early.

Progression of character:
It's all about molding your character to how you want to play.
ELEX is Genius.... It combines attribute spending with weapon choices, you must spend wisely or you can't equip. spend more points to use better and better stuff.... It's very deep and rewarding. Hard to explain, easy to understand in game, I'll leave it at that.



I was faced with a major question,
Berserkers- Close combat and bows
OutLaws- Guns
Clarics- Plasma weapons
How do I spend attribute and weapon points when I don't know my faction yet ?... After all I don't want to waist precious points until I know my faction.... I asked in steam.... The answer was simple !.... "Visit all Factions early".... Then I realized something outstanding. The first main story had me visiting all three factions.

Revelation !... I was set on a great journey to explore the land and avoid danger. That in it self was an intriguing adventure.

I did several quest for each, then easily decided on Berserker and "I'll equip Bows"... Now I can spend points !
Understand, I haven't joined them yet. I just know my future direction.




Important:
1) ELEX is not broken. I ignored all opinion to decide first hand. What I thought was broken was soon dismissed with practice. EVERYTHING !
2) It's a hard tactful game... More so than any other RPG ever played.
3) IT IS NOT BORING... every YouTube, every review, every walkthrough gives a false impression. Even the great fan's can't generate the real action and fun you will have.

It has to be played to understand !

[BuffHamster]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Schurge:

The game really was ♥♥♥♥ at launch due to the combat but they've since smoothed it out. Still, strike, strike, dodge, wait for AP gets tedious as hell and this is still one of the weaker implementations of it that I've seen.

Yes, that is what I have heard. I waited until some patches were released before purchase.

I agree that the melee combat could get tedious in the early to mid game, but during the late game, I found the melee combat to be rather quick.

AP? action points? Oh, yes, but late game, Jax's stamina did not appear to be very much of a problem, early mid game it was tricky.

___________________________________

@Nostrodamaz: Not threatened, not angry, just amused. Really? your opinion being right? How? I played the game and did not have the impression that you did, but your's is the right one? Or did you mean something different?

However you wished the term to be meant, the meaning as used in the Steam Elex forum is almost always derogatory and it is almost always used to belittle others. Want some examples?

And no, I gave you plenty of chances to explain it, you ignored them, and are trying to put it down to me not accepting that that may have been the case. (I asked, you didn't answer until now)

I also didn't "single you out" as the first rebuttal was primarily aimed at those who use childish terms to disparage/denigrate/insult other people's opinions.

However, if you didn't mean it that way, then I would have apologized directly, all you had to do was say that in the first place to avoid much of this discussion.

Believe me, I didn't take it as personally as you seem to have when you tried (and failed) to use amature psychoanalysis to paint me as being psychotic (oh, that wasn't a personal attack? oh okay.), ... You could have avoided the issue entirely by realizing that I was asking you if you were the type of person who uses the term to describe others in such a disparaging and derogatory way, ... a simple "No I didn't mean it that way" would have satisfied me then.

Please don't pretend that you have never heard or seen the term used as disparagement or in an insulting manner, it seems so, idk, lame?

I also didn't ask you to apologize for your opinion (just the term used to belittle others in this forum) nor apologize for any opinion you may have, just an admission that you were already biased based on your previous experiences with other PB games.

Much of what is in this forum (not just the thread or topic) is tripe simply because the comments so rarely offer an actual objective critique, just bland criticisms and when asked to clarify or explain or even rebutted, they invariably resort to name calling and disparagement.

I am guessing you didn't want to be stereotyped that way? And you took it personally?

That's not something you can easily change is it? An opinion based on personal experience is difficult to refute. It's like you're telling someone what to think, what they should enjoy, or hate. So yeah, most people's opinions are subjective simply because they are based on their own subjective experience. But if you want to split hairs on opinion consensus used in decision making, it doesn't apply very well here as the overall consensus is not that Elex is a terrible game, rather it is a vocal minority's opinion that it is a terrible game and anyone who disagrees with them is often disparaged and insulted.

Would you like a direct link to this type of behavior? You have to understand that this particular forum is unmoderated, there are no moderators to control the amount of abuse that goes on. Were you caught up in it? Idk, what do you think?

Does it irk the minority that many others enjoyed the game? Idk, does it?

My experience was different. I enjoyed it. My opinion will be different than someone who didn't enjoy there experience.

Your opinion is different than mine, so what? I took your initial comment as being a personal opinion and that it used false assumptions rather than just stating that you just didn't like the aesthetics nor the mechanics, to you it was just another janky PB game. I do understand your view there, ... unlike your inability to see mine. I had no initial bias to sway my opinion, you did.

I see now why you took it so personally, but admiting how it could have been taken the wrong way would have avoided all of this. Well, that and that you seem to take any rebuttal to your comments or opinions as a personal attack on you, I can't help that either.

Sorry to see you go, it was fun.

[ImSexyAndiNOED]

A very good game,much better than what we get nowadays but not the best RPG. For me,Gothic 2 is still the best out there.The grandfather of skyrim and an inspiration for Witcher series (saw an interview with the devs).

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Naota:

I'm starting to see a pattern here - stupid people hate this game.

So excuse me - while I buy it.

There is a pattern indeed. Typically, it's overly negative, pessimistic and grumpy players, who are not willing to understand and accept the gameplay mechanics, which are the foundation of this fine piece of gaming entertainment.

Opprinnelig skrevet av Schurge:

The game really was ♥♥♥♥ at launch due to the combat but they've since smoothed it out.

News to me. Game was released with a huge day zero update. Hardcore players completed it within the first days after release without running into game-breaking issues. Combat has been fine in Oct to Nov 2017 already, or else I would have waited some more. Instead, I've completed it a first time before the major patch in Dec 2017.

[Schurge]

Opprinnelig skrevet av D'amarr from Darshiva:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Naota:

I'm starting to see a pattern here - stupid people hate this game.

So excuse me - while I buy it.

There is a pattern indeed. Typically, it's overly negative, pessimistic and grumpy players, who are not willing to understand and accept the gameplay mechanics, which are the foundation of this fine piece of gaming entertainment.

Opprinnelig skrevet av Schurge:

The game really was ♥♥♥♥ at launch due to the combat but they've since smoothed it out.

News to me. Game was released with a huge day zero update. Hardcore players completed it within the first days after release without running into game-breaking issues. Combat has been fine in Oct to Nov 2017 already, or else I would have waited some more. Instead, I've completed it a first time before the major patch in Dec 2017.

If I remember correctly I pre-orded it; regardless I played it at launch. Combat was much less responsive compared to how it is now (which combined with unbindable controls was a pain). I don't know when they patched it, I just remember that after the first two bug fix patches I shelved the game because the combat wasn't fun. The gameplay had never been difficult, even back then. There were a handful of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ who didn't realize that this is a rythm game and got killed by rats over and over. Everyone else just did a combo and then retreated with their jet pack. Still didn't change the fact that it was janky and repetitive. It is still repetitive, you can randomly miss people at point blank range due to elevation (I assume), and the combat does not scale well when there are multiple opponents because of the lock system, and gets old pretty quick. But it is now smooth and responsive enough that it doesn't get in the way of enjoying the game.

I'm glad that you just needed the combat system to be functional...?

[nimrock]

What??? Best rpg ever???

My opinion here:
Judging it as rpg is not that bad. But "BEST EVER"? Nope. Old games like Fallout 1/2, Baldurs gate or Gothic were better. More modern? Mass effect 1/2 Witcher 1/2/3 beats it completly.

Other features:
Solid openworld.
But the damn graphics and visuals are like from 15 years ago.
Animations from acceptable to just crap (combat animations sucks. loved those when your flayers crash).
Absolutly pathetic combat, both melee and ranged (lol you and enemies cant even crouch to be harder to hit and are to dumb to use any cover, not mantioning there is zero cover system.)
Worst character I ever was forced to play with. It is not even that you cannot can`t make your own but Jax is lacking any personality and I would rather have him dumb then listening to his pationless flat voice.)
Same with most of characters. Kaja, Duras... ♥♥♥♥... compare it to 2nd line characters from Witcher 3.
Terrible voice acting.
Absolutely screwed up main enemy fight. I killed him in like 15 seconds... just walking around him and rapid firing with plasma weapon.

And I don`t give it a pass couse "PB is small team". Small studios with small budget shouldn`t charge this much for game like this.

[[{******---Dead4Life---******}]]

Opprinnelig skrevet av nimrock:

What??? Best rpg ever???

My opinion here:
Judging it as rpg is not that bad. But "BEST EVER"? Nope. Old games like Fallout 1/2, Baldurs gate or Gothic were better. More modern? Mass effect 1/2 Witcher 1/2/3 beats it completly.

Other features:
Solid openworld.
But the damn graphics and visuals are like from 15 years ago.
Animations from acceptable to just crap (combat animations sucks. loved those when your flayers crash).
Absolutly pathetic combat, both melee and ranged (lol you and enemies cant even crouch to be harder to hit and are to dumb to use any cover, not mantioning there is zero cover system.)
Worst character I ever was forced to play with. It is not even that you cannot can`t make your own but Jax is lacking any personality and I would rather have him dumb then listening to his pationless flat voice.)
Same with most of characters. Kaja, Duras... ♥♥♥♥... compare it to 2nd line characters from Witcher 3.
Terrible voice acting.
Absolutely screwed up main enemy fight. I killed him in like 15 seconds... just walking around him and rapid firing with plasma weapon.

And I don`t give it a pass couse "PB is small team". Small studios with small budget shouldn`t charge this much for game like this.

Even Fallout 3, Oblivion, New Vegas, Witcher 1 2 3, Dragons Age: Origins are much better RPGs. I think dude is exagerating but he ment that he really enjoyed his time with it.

[nobleberry]

Totally agree with OP! I won't say ELEX is the best game ever, but it is certainly well-crafted masterpiece!

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

I won't go that far and compare ELEX to Baldur's Gate - that would not make any sense.

The Baldur's Gate series brought CRPG gaming to a new level, since compared with older isometric CRPGs these newer games introduced realtime-with-pause movement in a modernized 2D graphics environment. However, not everything about the Baldur's Gate games is pretty. Those games aren't flawless, not even with nostalgia glasses equipped.

Opprinnelig skrevet av Continuum hypothesis:

Totally agree with OP! I won't say ELEX is the best game ever, but it is certainly well-crafted masterpiece!

+1

[gotch]

i especially laughed at this bit : "every YouTube, every review, every walkthrough gives a false impression."

false impressions?..like the live streams were all false impressions because they disagreed with you....hahaha now thats fanboying to the extreme,you should get an acheivement for that.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Opprinnelig skrevet av gotch:

i especially laughed at this bit : "every YouTube, every review, every walkthrough gives a false impression."

false impressions?..like the live streams were all false impressions because they disagreed with you....hahaha now thats fanboying to the extreme,you should get an acheivement for that.

There are good videos and good live streams, and their are bad ones. Some players outright demonstrate an inability to grasp the gameplay fundamentals, such as the stamina system and combo attacks. I mean, some video makers just don't get it, and instead of spending a little bit of time on dry practice as to look into how to handle a weapon and how to do combo attacks and special attacks, they ramble endlessly - and due to a false impression of themselves they find that funny even when it isn't, because one can see that they make fools of themselves, and people point that out in comments below the videos.

[H.U.N.K]

Opprinnelig skrevet av D'amarr from Darshiva:

I won't go that far and compare ELEX to Baldur's Gate - that would not make any sense.

The Baldur's Gate series brought CRPG gaming to a new level, since compared with older isometric CRPGs these newer games introduced realtime-with-pause movement in a modernized 2D graphics environment. However, not everything about the Baldur's Gate games is pretty. Those games aren't flawless, not even with nostalgia glasses equipped.

Opprinnelig skrevet av Continuum hypothesis:

Totally agree with OP! I won't say ELEX is the best game ever, but it is certainly well-crafted masterpiece!

+1

Lol to even put them in the same breath is laughable baulders gate is a masterpeice that has stood the test of time Elex is a shambling mess of a game in prity much every way which was forgotten a week after release by everyone but its small fanbase boring quests shambolic combat and annoying and souless NPCs and I loved every risen game even the second one had a quirky cham but this game is just terrible.

[nobleberry]

Opprinnelig skrevet av H.U.N.K:

Opprinnelig skrevet av D'amarr from Darshiva:

I won't go that far and compare ELEX to Baldur's Gate - that would not make any sense.

The Baldur's Gate series brought CRPG gaming to a new level, since compared with older isometric CRPGs these newer games introduced realtime-with-pause movement in a modernized 2D graphics environment. However, not everything about the Baldur's Gate games is pretty. Those games aren't flawless, not even with nostalgia glasses equipped.


+1

Lol to even put them in the same breath is laughable baulders gate is a masterpeice that has stood the test of time Elex is a shambling mess of a game in prity much every way which was forgotten a week after release by everyone but its small fanbase boring quests shambolic combat and annoying and souless NPCs and I loved every risen game even the second one had a quirky cham but this game is just terrible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation

[H.U.N.K]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Continuum hypothesis:

Opprinnelig skrevet av H.U.N.K:

Lol to even put them in the same breath is laughable baulders gate is a masterpeice that has stood the test of time Elex is a shambling mess of a game in prity much every way which was forgotten a week after release by everyone but its small fanbase boring quests shambolic combat and annoying and souless NPCs and I loved every risen game even the second one had a quirky cham but this game is just terrible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation

WAHHH you badmouthed a ♥♥♥♥ game I loved lol get a life.

[nobleberry]

Opprinnelig skrevet av H.U.N.K:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Continuum hypothesis:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation

WAHHH you badmouthed a ♥♥♥♥ game I loved lol get a life.

When did I say anything about your favorite games?

[nimrock]

Opprinnelig skrevet av H.U.N.K:

Lol to even put them in the same breath is laughable baulders gate is a masterpeice that has stood the test of time Elex is a shambling mess of a game in prity much every way which was forgotten a week after release by everyone but its small fanbase boring quests shambolic combat and annoying and souless NPCs

This.