ELEX 2 GENRES UPGRADE

The game does run into annoyances in its second half, where all your quests become treks to every far corner of the world, or having to eliminate a random large group of enemies, which gets repetitive. The story carries a decent pace, and the quests will take you around the map to every faction eventually. There are even quick flashbacks, though they often don't have enough detail. He will also encounter many characters from the previous game, who will be quick to remind him of their differences and personal history. And the Clerics and the Morkons are two factions that place their beliefs above all else. The Berserkers and the Outlaws are rough and tough groups that do things their own way. As far as factions go, there's the Albs, emotionless people who Jax was once a part of. The scientist promises to help Jax find a cure for his infection, if in return he helps form a new faction and unite the others in the fight against the aliens.įrom here begins a lengthy narrative as Jax visits every faction in this open world, trying to win their favor and perhaps even join them as a member, all the while gaining companion allies and building up forces at the base called The Bastion. Now suffering from an unknown ailment and without support, he encounters a scientist who is trying to stop the alien threat as well. One day, that threat finally arrives in the form of apparent alien life forms named Skyands, and in his first encounter with them he manages to get infected. After pretty much saving the fantasy world of Magalan in the first game, Jax has been trying to warn people about the new looming threat, but nobody took him seriously. It's the first of many, many unique choices that the game makes that may appeal or discourage fans of more traditional western RPGs. He is a defined character, so there's no visual customization at all. Players once again assume the role of a gruffly voiced protagonist named Jax. For newcomers, the sequel could have done a better job of bringing them up to speed on the events and characters of that world, especially given that many return. If you encounter an enemy that’s at a vastly higher level than you (indicated by a skull, or three if even higher level), you should be able to sneak around them, or sprint to safety if aggro’d, though it may be several hours of playtime until you can take them on.ELEX 2 takes place some time after the events of the first game. You can also teleport to major settlements at any location once you discover the teleporter. Getting from point A to B throughout the large open-world isn’t too troublesome thanks to a generous sprint bar and a jetpack given early on. Fans of open-world games crave cracking down on the proverbial checklist and Elex II is great in attending to that, so much so that it dwarfs the main questline.

Thanks to great voice acting (aside from the protagonist Jax), characters come to life with vibrant personalities and understandable motives. Sure, there’s the standard “fighting rats” intro quest, but much of the other side content, which you’ll value if you want the much-needed experience, isn’t phoned-in. Thankfully, most of these conversations are actually quite enthralling and humorous. It didn’t help that all the upgraded gear cost an exponential amount of money that was hard to come by.Īs Elex II is a true blue open-world RPG, you’ll spend just about as much time exploring/fighting as you will interacting with NPCs. The daunting grind is mitigated by completing missions, but after several hours in, I still felt underpowered.

ELEX 2 GENRES UPGRADE

You start with 10 points in each constitution, and you’ll have to defeat a bevy of opponents for 10 upgrade points.

Playing on normal difficulty, I saw myself in the early-game getting killed in 3-4 hits and needing to connect with my weapon at least a dozen times, whether it be with a sword or a crossbow. The lore is fairly well-built, as “berzerkers” inhabit the lands and “outlaws” oppose them in the open world.Ĭombat in Elex II is a pretty standard fare, complete with stamina, dodging, and knockdowns. While those stories were more medieval, Elex looks to the future for its setting, incorporating a mix of energy-weapon-toting soldiers and robots with sword-and-shield brawlers. This title performed well enough to warrant a sequel, so how does it fare?Įlex and Elex II are developed by Piranha Bytes, who have a storied history in the RPG genre, developing Gothic and Risen to much acclaim. With narrative, linear tales such as God of War and The Last of Us eking out the frontlines, the genre saw a bit of a decline, but some franchises pushed on, one of them being Elex. The open-world RPG was the staple of the 2010s, with several franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and others seeing several releases to flood the market by decade’s end.

Elex 2 genres