Review – Elex II – – Game Fallout

We’re back with a review of Elex II – the sequel to the Action Role-Playing Game (RPG) by Piranha Bytes. In our previous article, we discussed some positive aspects about this game that made it stand out from other games in its genre but sadly there are also some negative points and shortcomings as well which makes us think twice before recommending it.

Elex II is a game that has been in development for a long time. The game is finally released, with many bugs and glitches. However, the combat system is unique and fun.

When it comes to gaming, I like to concentrate on the good aspects. I search for the positive aspects of otherwise dubious games, applauding ambition while understanding that some things fall short. And it’s worked well for me, since I’ve discovered a lot of games that other people overlook. Having said that, there are still certain games that are just… not good. For a number of reasons, it falls short of any sentence I could come up with. For the most part, Piranha Bytes’ games have been the former. Both Gothic and Risen are series with flaws, but they also have a lot of potential and a lot to enjoy. Elex II isn’t one of those games. It’s bland, clumsy, and uncomfortable, and it’s simply not entertaining. It’s not the time to release it undercooked when it’s in the same window as Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077’s next-gen version, and Destiny 2: The Witch Queen.

The idea of Elex II is as bland as they come. You’re an elderly retired soldier who has been summoned from retirement to bring the people together in the face of an extraterrestrial menace. That’s all there is to it. The notion is never fleshed out, made fascinating, or, to be honest, taken seriously. The various groups and residents of the Earth are completely nonchalant about the extraterrestrial invasion. Even though there is a massive alien moon in the sky, everyone is still going about their regular activities. Everyone notes how it’s an issue in passing, but the game never goes out of its way to demonstrate it. And the hoops you have to go through to convince someone to even consider fighting undermines the game’s constant warnings about an impending “extinction level danger.” I was eventually perplexed as to why they bothered with an extraterrestrial menace rather than a general sandbox.

Elex II

I don’t want to suggest the alien design is a direct imitation of the MCU’s Chitauri, but…

The game’s gameplay isn’t any better. Because it’s an RPG, the same mechanics apply. And they’re all mushy and undercooked. The inventory system is one of the worst I’ve ever seen, particularly on console, where navigating it can be plain irritating. You have traits, but you’ve been awarded so many points that you may toss them about freely. Skills need trainers, who are a Piranha Bytes mainstay, but finding them is a pain, and everything is so pricey that learning fundamental skills seems like an unnecessary chore. The sensation penetrates the whole RPG adventure. All you have to do now is fill in more bars, pay more ranks to progress, and you’ll be fine. There’s nothing exciting, amusing, or creative about it. It’s all the same, so there’s no need to be embarrassed.

At the very least, this is an improvement over the fighting, which is where the game completely fails. To begin with, what the heck is going on with this button mapping? Crouch and leap are both controlled by the same button, with one function being a touch and the other being a hold. L1 is completely useless, triangle is for the fast menu, and there’s a kick button that I’ve never found helpful. I’ve never had a problem with button mapping before, but I’ve also never encountered a set-up like this that I couldn’t repair. The melee combat experience may be described as clumsily swinging a weapon about, clipping anything in sight, and attempting to cause damage. Remembering that L1 is really utilized in ranged combat, and then battling the slow controls to attempt to land a hit, is the ranged combat experience. Neither is smooth or simple, but happily, the opposing AI is so bad that you end up on equal footing.

I’ll admit that some of the speech choices are pretty amusing, but they don’t quite hammer home in the actual discussion as hard as you’d like.

The main fault, though, is how disconnected and immersion-breaking it is. I could tell right away that it missed the subtle touches that Piranha Bytes games were known for. You begin in a little cottage in the middle of a plain, which is later demolished. After then, the game transitions from cinematic to gameplay, and you find yourself within a walled canyon. The game then makes it seem as though you’re heading into a stealth lesson as you walk down the canyon and witness a herd of dinosaurs. However, as you get closer, the game switches to another cinematic in which you’re in a random desert, being followed by completely other beasts, and barely escaping. It’s all so disjointed, as if a bunch of different individuals threw stuff together at random. This is how the whole game feels.

I’d have interactions with folks where they’d casually drop vital facts that I should have previously known about. When you have companions in your group, they may sometimes intrude themselves into talks, which is very usual today. What isn’t is that all of the interjections are random, unrelated to the action, and have no bearing on the universe or mythology. I was conversing with a soldier from one of the factions, and one of the faction’s commanders was also in my group. Not only was she of no assistance, but she also intervened by declaring she couldn’t assist throughout the discussions. Despite the fact that he was the soldier’s superior. Nothing makes sense, and the game makes no attempt to explain anything, which is my greatest regret with Elex II.

Elex II

He claims this despite the fact that the remainder of the game repeatedly demonstrated that you were forgotten about and that your activities were practically meaningless.

Outward was a game released a few years back that harnessed all of the Piranha Bytes magic from the past. It even had split-screen, which was actually strange, novel, and entertaining. That should be fun to play. Elden Ring, for example, or Cyberpunk 2077. We’re honestly spoilt for choice when it comes to RPGs these days, with options for all budgets. Games like Elex II, in which no effort seems to have been made and no ambition is shown, are just unacceptable. This is just the tip of the iceberg, since I have yet to discuss the worst jetpack ever, eternal and completely uncustomizable buddies, or the sluggish framerate. I could go on for days, but it doesn’t matter since it can all be summarized in a few sentences. Get something else to play instead of this. Respect your time, your money, and other games that are just better at what they do. Outward is a good example.

The level of performance is quite low. I was under the impression that screen tearing was part of the art style, and the visuals aren’t worth it.	My feelings about the gaming experience are summed up by the fact that the crouch and leap motions are connected to the same button prompt.
Voice-acting is so poor that it briefly slips over into nice area, just to return because it’s plain horrible.	Elex II is the game for you if you like games that look as horrible as they play, sound terrible, play poorly, and have a plot that makes no sense and never explains itself to you.
Final Score: 2.5

Elex II is available on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X.

PS5 was used for this review.

The publisher donated a copy of Elex II.

As an example:

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Elex II is a game that has been developed by Piranha Bytes. It was released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles in October 2018. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its combat system but criticized the story., Reference: elex 2 ps5.