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2 months out, any excitement for Piranha Bytes' Elex?

I haven't even heard of it before this thread.

But Gothic was kinda janky.. Will check out

EDIT: okay i had already seen this, didn't now it was piranha bytes, but it still look as janky as first time as i saw the videos. damn
 

Xater

Member
Gothic 2 was their last good game. Too much jank and bugs to be enjoyable afterwards. I still remember getting Gothic 3 at launch and it being unplayable.

I also think their combat design is bad.
 

MrCinos

Member
Definitely looking forward to it. I loved and played through every PB game with the exception of Gothic 3 which I hated. Yes, I loved even Risen 2 which is considered to be the weakest game in the series and to me it was certainly more enjoyable than Dragon Age: Inquisition (which single-handedly killed all the hype and potential I felt for the series, before DA:I it was one of my favorite franchises) for instance.
 

Lutherian

Member
Gothic 3 was a mess, each patch adding more glitchs and problems than the previous. With the unofficial patch, the game became a lot better. Nowhere near Oblivion but at least it was enjoyable.

What I loved about this game is when you want to get the neutral ending, witch is canon. At first I sided with the Orcs and sometimes with the rebels. But at one point, I've been too close with the Orcs and when I finally found the King Rhobart, he openly said that a human traitor was working for the Orcs and this man was me... and then, he attacked me. With his entire soldiers in the same room. It was one of the biggest battle I've endured (and many, many game over, glad I saved early). I managed to use the meteor storm spell (and god it's difficullt in this situation giving the time it takes to invoke). The game framerate got close to 5 or 6 FPS at this moment but then the entire room was full of corpses.

Fun fact : there's a way to avoid ending killing Rhobart or any leader you need to approach for the neutral ending because you need a relic they own. The ashishins gave me some troubles because I didn't wanted to do a sidequest to get in their ranks. So I ended up killing and stole the relic, with the ENTIRE TOWN running after me. It was epic ^o^.

I really liked the neutral ending, tho I wished I helped some of my companions who didn't have a good ending...

Also, the soundtrack is gold... but damn that battle theme become boring as hell.
 
ELEX is love. ELEX is life.

Eclectic
Lavish
Exhilerating
Xenial

no seriously really looking forward to this, been a long time since I played a proper open world ARPG.
 

Chrono321

Member
I stopped buying PB games after the mess that was gothic 3. G1 and G2 had problems but G3 was an insult, I steel feel burned. Elex needs to be very good to win me back and the combat isn't allowed suck (again).

Give it another try after applying the community patches!
For me the great music alone is worth the strife...
 

DPB

Member
I'm definitely getting it. I wouldn't call any of their recent games great, but they still do exploration better than most developers, and I enjoy the weird sense of humour they have.

I just hope that they improve the leveling systems this time so that it's not so easy to accidentally create a broken invincible character.
 

Vintage

Member
October 17th? It will be murdered. They had a chance to release it August-September when there's no big releases, now I'll definitely wait for other games instead of this.
 

loganclaws

Plane Escape Torment
I don't understand how they can make Risen 2 and then Risen 3 and still have the same shitty combat 2 games later. I remember the good old PB that made Gothic 2 and Risen 1, those were incredible games. I suspect they are going with the same shitty combat system to make it work on consoles because the G2 and R1 combat system was too complex and finicky to work with a controller.
 
Saw this video in my list, it talks a bit about ELEX combat options:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH1pe24yQqg

(GAF gets a passing mention). I also wonder if the game will be delayed to next year. Mainly because the lack of new videos/information. Either way, hope they add several magic-throwing animations, because having only one will get stale pretty fast.

"If you learn to love the jank, the jank will love you back."

Priceless lol.
 
October 17th? It will be murdered. They had a chance to release it August-September when there's no big releases, now I'll definitely wait for other games instead of this.

This was definitely a serious oversight. Even delaying it until a time when there is not Mordor, Destiny 2 (PC), Assassins Creed, Wolfenstein, Evil Within 2 and South Park in the same span of 2 weeks, and that is just games I want to play on PC. I will still buy it, but may wait until the holiday.
 

Ricker

Member

Animations for the attacks look a little better then Risen,a little lol,they still have that awful falling on your back one going though...anyway,dont mind the PB jank,if everything else is well integrated together like the first Risen...looking forward to more small video's of the system faction and all.

And yeah,that release date is weird,knowing whats around it.
 

takoyaki

Member
First review from German PC gaming magazine GameStar: 85/100
screenshot2017-09-16atqalg.jpg

They got an exclusive and the review is currently hidden behind a paywall. You can read the first page for free (in German) and there's one quote that should get people excited:

Das beste Piranha-Bytes-Spiel seit Gothic 2
The best Piranha Bytes game since Gothic 2
 

Ragona

Member
As much as i love the Gamestar, they have a long history of over-scoring Piranha Bytes games and their games are usually better received in Germany itself.
Seems to be the typically charming janky games they are known for, more creative than the Risen series and maybe the modern equivalent of Gothic 2.

People that like their games will love this one, people that cant get through the jank and mediocre technical aspects will look down on it as usual.
I expect a low 70s metascore on it.
 

Moff

Member
the review says that the combat is terrible again, that will put a lot of people off the game again and I doubt it will be reviewed well, my guess is again a 60-70% metacritic.

exploration, world design, quests and decisions are supposed to be very good, but that has always been PBs strength.
 

Arulan

Member
I'm cautiously excited. Piranha Bytes' Gothic and Gothic II remain some of the best examples of an open-world RPG.

Despite having a relatively small map in comparison to today's examples, the fantastic environment design, its excellent use of elevation, and the logical consistency in the world itself, its inhabitants, and settlements gives you a strong feeling that you're in a real place. I'd also argue that the lack of quest markers goes a long way to accomplish this, and in unison with the aforementioned makes exploration incredibly rewarding. I still remember my amazement at the ramifications for not paying protection money to the guards in Gothic. The subtlety and unexpected nature of how it occurs (and continues) is the enormous distinction between you playing through content and feeling like you're an active character in a world where anything could happen.

Unfortunately they've made some disappointing games as of late. I hope this isn't one of them.
 

Dezzy

Member
The low budget jank is real, but I don't care. PB in my mind has some of the best world building out there. I will definitely give this game a shot. I expect some ugliness and clunkiness, but for me it's easy to ignore that stuff and enjoy the quality that's hidden behind those things.
 

Carcetti

Member
Do they still make you play only as a white man with an ugly mustache or are we in 2000s yet?

I loved Gothic 1 and 2 but the standards have gone up since those times.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Yeah not gonna trust an exclusive review from a German magazine

Yea for reference here is what Gamestar gave all of PB's RPG's.

G1: 88
G2: 86
G3: 84

R1: 87
R2: 86
R3: 83

ELEX: 85

So yea. They don't know what they are talking about.
 

Moff

Member
Yea for reference here is what Gamestar gave all of PB's RPG's.

G1: 88
G2: 86
G3: 84

R1: 87
R2: 86
R3: 83

ELEX: 85

So yea. They don't know what they are talking about.
the worst game has the same score as their best game, damn.
I know, different times, different reviewers, still
 

Audioboxer

Member
Yea for reference here is what Gamestar gave all of PB's RPG's.

G1: 88
G2: 86
G3: 84

R1: 87
R2: 86
R3: 83

ELEX: 85

So yea. They don't know what they are talking about.

Those reviews seem legit. Bring on the king of Euro Jank.

Ain't got no time for that Bioware and Bethesda trash.
 

Xater

Member
Yea for reference here is what Gamestar gave all of PB's RPG's.

G1: 88
G2: 86
G3: 84

R1: 87
R2: 86
R3: 83

ELEX: 85

So yea. They don't know what they are talking about.

Just seeing their G3 score again infuriates me. Above 80 for any of the Risen games is a joke to me as well.

The introduction to their review makes it sound like I will again hate the game. Let's see how other outlets will score it, but my expectations are not high.
 
I loved Gothic 1 and 2 but the standards have gone up since those times.

Standards in baldness maybe, cause Gothic 2 is a masterclass of roleplay design. It has so many finesses and nuances and genius to it, it should be studied in games design classes. It trumps practically every open world game in the last 7 years
 
Yea for reference here is what Gamestar gave all of PB's RPG's.

G1: 88
G2: 86
G3: 84

R1: 87
R2: 86
R3: 83

ELEX: 85

So yea. They don't know what they are talking about.
I don't know about risen, but G1 > G2 > G3 sounds fine to me
(though i personally liked 2 more)
 

schlynch

Member
Yea for reference here is what Gamestar gave all of PB's RPG's.

G1: 88
G2: 86
G3: 84

R1: 87
R2: 86
R3: 83

ELEX: 85

So yea. They don't know what they are talking about.

Well yeah, Gamestar and it's german bonus. Same with the recent Daedelic trash that always gets such high scores. I mean I love PB and I think Elex will be a solid game, although nowhere near as good as Gothic 2... but this score. I don't know.
 

Buckle

Member
Hadn't heard of this until now. Looks pretty interesting conceptually.

Never actually played any of their games before. Doesn't look cutting edge but I still play stuff like Fallout 3 and think its looks fine without mods, doesn't take a whole lot to get an ok from me on graphics.

Been meaning to given Risen a shot. Everybody raves about the first two gothics but eyeing something abit more modern.
 

Dr.Acula

Banned
:watches gameplay vid:

Awwww yiiiisss, sweet jank how I love thee.

Game looks sick, I love sci-fi RPGs! Definitely on my radar now.
 

Green Yoshi

Member
the review says that the combat is terrible again, that will put a lot of people off the game again and I doubt it will be reviewed well, my guess is again a 60-70% metacritic.

exploration, world design, quests and decisions are supposed to be very good, but that has always been PBs strength.

I have the read the review as well.

The first hours of the game are also the worst hours of the game. Then it's getting better and better with every hour. If you enjoyed the Risen games, Elex should definitely be on your list.

I hope they won't fuck up the console versions. Risen on Xbox 360 was a joke.
 
G3 and the Risens were shit but I'm always excited for a new PB game because I consider Gothic 1+2 to be some of the best if not the best WRPGs in existence. So yeah, going to buy Elex, no way around it.
 

Kayhan

Member
They broke my heart when every game after Risen sucked ass.

I want this to be good but I am keeping expectations in check.
 

DarkStream

Member
Piranha Bytes, huh?

I used to ADORE them in the early 2000s. Gothic 1 and especially Gothic 2 were and still are masterpieces. I must have played them to completion dozens of times, doing everything and eventually just having fun with console commands.
People might not like this, but to me, 1 and 2 had the perfect environment sizes. Smaller but denser. So, so good to explore. The games remind me of Divinity OS2 in that regard.
Story was awesome in both games as well!

Sadly, ever since Gothic 3, Piranha Bytes has lost me. Elex does seem to continue this trend for me,
 
Core gameplay does indeed look atrocious, but at least they're getting the pricing right and not pretending their game is worth $60. Environments look stunning. Honestly if they're not going to bother improving their gameplay design then they should at least strive to create the best modding tools in the industry so gamers can improve their games for them. Works beautifully for Bethesda and their RPGs continue to sell for decades as a result.

I'm going to be far too busy playing through Divinity OS2 and Horizon Zero Dawn for the next few months, but I might check this out when it's on sale.
 

Ushay

Member
You know I always hoped these guys would develop into an amazing studio like Larian has, shame really.

Elex looks mediocre at best from what I've seen.
 
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