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2 months out, any excitement for Piranha Bytes' Elex?
- Thread starter Banzai
- Start date
I don't know what platform to grab this on. On one hand playing on console is ideal for a game like this - on the sofa in front of the tv. But at £24 for a Steam copy and the possibility of janky console performance I'm not sure what to do. I know it's getting an X patch but I believe they said they weren't sure if it'd be at launch or not.
MosquitoSmasher
Member
So I watched that video of the guy who said you should embrace the jank and it will embrace you and I watched a few other videos, one being about why you should be excited about ELEX. It compared the worlds and NPC behavior of games like Witcher 3 with this and honestly I have to say I am starting to look forward to it.
Apart from the not so super great combat and yeah, jank it could turn out really nice. Especially that game world.just hope the Xbox version will be decent. The dev did say it will be 1080p on PS4 and 4K on Pro, so it should be fine on One X.
That being said, yeah I'm looking forward to it. Even Risen 2 actually, I have to admit it was rather addictive despite the meh bits. PB games offer something that these other games don't. Hard to describe. That dude even claimed Risen 3 was actually rather good despite again, combat.
Apart from the not so super great combat and yeah, jank it could turn out really nice. Especially that game world.just hope the Xbox version will be decent. The dev did say it will be 1080p on PS4 and 4K on Pro, so it should be fine on One X.
That being said, yeah I'm looking forward to it. Even Risen 2 actually, I have to admit it was rather addictive despite the meh bits. PB games offer something that these other games don't. Hard to describe. That dude even claimed Risen 3 was actually rather good despite again, combat.
Humdinger
Member
Hype:
Elex, from the makers of Gothic and Risen, might be a disaster
What even is this game?
"Ive seen it twice now, and I still cant make heads or tails of it."
[After detailing the complex lore and factions], "But it could just as easily be a series of fetch quests. I have no idea."
"So far, the game demos Ive experienced have proven to be very uneven. There have been crashes and glitches, including a pretty distracting one related to breast physics. The difficulty curve is also all over the place. One minute Im sniping critters left and right with a bow and arrow, the next Im being smashed to death by a swamp troll.
"Bugs aside, the voice acting and the animation of the non-player characters is painfully bad. Likewise, the dialogue system appears to be paper thin."
"My experience so far has not filled me with confidence."
https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/1/15720686/piranha-bytes-elex-e3-preview-gothic-risen
Elex, from the makers of Gothic and Risen, might be a disaster
What even is this game?
"Ive seen it twice now, and I still cant make heads or tails of it."
[After detailing the complex lore and factions], "But it could just as easily be a series of fetch quests. I have no idea."
"So far, the game demos Ive experienced have proven to be very uneven. There have been crashes and glitches, including a pretty distracting one related to breast physics. The difficulty curve is also all over the place. One minute Im sniping critters left and right with a bow and arrow, the next Im being smashed to death by a swamp troll.
"Bugs aside, the voice acting and the animation of the non-player characters is painfully bad. Likewise, the dialogue system appears to be paper thin."
"My experience so far has not filled me with confidence."
https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/1/15720686/piranha-bytes-elex-e3-preview-gothic-risen
Well that's extremely promising. Interest increasing.
I dunno man for an rpg horizon is pretty threadbare from a systems perspective. 3/4 of the abilities tied to skill tree progression feel like they were just arbitrarily chopped off the base game and put on a content treadmill to help justify doing otherwise pointless side stuff. Which admittedly is sort of the thing in far cry and it's clones like horizon, but I wouldn't really call far cry an rpg either. Both I'd say are just action games with skill progression hacked in to justify the amount of content and give you a reason to engage in it.
Corleth the Fey
Member
Elex will end up being a jankfest and the combat most likely subpar, but what terrible article from Polygon.
If you don't fucking know what you are previewing, why are you previewing it at all?
I can take a couple of positives if the gormless writer who actually noted them as negatives wasn't just making it up.
Multiple quest outcomes sounds at least like the normal Piranha Bytes quest system, which is always pretty decent. The other being how he was fighting easy enemies and then was killed by a tough one. Again this sounds like classic PB gameplay. Guy probably wandered somewhere he shouldn't have and got smushed by the troll. No enemy scaling to player level in PB games unlike most games of this type these days - see Bethesda games.
If you don't fucking know what you are previewing, why are you previewing it at all?
I can take a couple of positives if the gormless writer who actually noted them as negatives wasn't just making it up.
Multiple quest outcomes sounds at least like the normal Piranha Bytes quest system, which is always pretty decent. The other being how he was fighting easy enemies and then was killed by a tough one. Again this sounds like classic PB gameplay. Guy probably wandered somewhere he shouldn't have and got smushed by the troll. No enemy scaling to player level in PB games unlike most games of this type these days - see Bethesda games.
MosquitoSmasher
Member
That Polygon article is unfortunate. But wasn't the first review rather positive?
Then again, didn't Risen 2 and 3 get bad reviews as well? I sure enjoyed 2 despite it's stupid things.
Then again, didn't Risen 2 and 3 get bad reviews as well? I sure enjoyed 2 despite it's stupid things.
That polygon article is literally a list of things that make a Gothic game. Read it through that lense and it's pretty glowing.
^it's polygon lol don't waste time getting mad about them. Elex isn't shooting for the crowd polygon caters to at all, so it's not surprising they don't like or get it.
As for the game itself: I don't trust the devs enough to buy it day1, or even year 1. It might eventually turn into something really interesting and competent but in no way do I expect that game to be delivered any time soon.
As for the game itself: I don't trust the devs enough to buy it day1, or even year 1. It might eventually turn into something really interesting and competent but in no way do I expect that game to be delivered any time soon.
Neuromancer
Member
Sounds good so far.
MosquitoSmasher
Member
Hmmm. Well personally I bought Risen on 360 on day one and aside from some bugs it was very playable. Well, very playable despite a bad bad framerate, lol.
I'm probably gonna wait too when I have games like ACO, I'm restarting Witcher 3 as soon as the patch comes out. But it should be interesting to see how the Gothic and Risen fans experience it.
texhnolyze
Banned
Take out the reports about the crashes and glitches from the article, and I might agree with you.
You just had to be there for gothic 3 man >.>
MosquitoSmasher
Member
Man, what a mess that was. Even more so coming from Gothic 2, one of the best games of all time.
It got a 85 from GameStar. The full test isn't online yet (unless you bought the magazine or have a subscription), but the Metacritic blurb sounds promising.
"With great quests and an even greater world Elex turns out to be the best game by Piranha Bytes since Gothic 2, but inherits the flaws of the latter."
For comparison's sake: they gave Gothic 2 an 86.
"With great quests and an even greater world Elex turns out to be the best game by Piranha Bytes since Gothic 2, but inherits the flaws of the latter."
For comparison's sake: they gave Gothic 2 an 86.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
This is coming to Switch too, I believe.
Edit: or not. Must be mistaking it for something with a similar name. My bad.
Edit: or not. Must be mistaking it for something with a similar name. My bad.
Drillary Clinton
Banned
Gameplay looks pretty awful
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Definitely interested if that's the case. I think Risen is their best game, but the series took a nose dive with Risen 2 and didn't really recover much with Risen 3.
Honestly, other than Gothic, Gothic 2, and Risen, their output has mostly been trash, I'd say.
cleveridea
Member
Supporting single player scifi action RPG even though it does look janky. I do like the idea of having both modern guns with the old style melee weapons and magic moves
Picked up for $24 at cdkeys
Picked up for $24 at cdkeys
NecromorphTX
Member
Nope, the gameplay looks mediocre.
loganclaws
Plane Escape Torment
Game star magazine is pretty much just advertisement. They are a German magazine and always praise PB games. I think they gave Gothic3 an even higher score when it was released! Lol
I'm a huge PB fan and I gotta say this game is not looking good so far, especially the combat. I hope I'm wrong.
Agree with your comment about their output, only G1&2 and R1 were good.
Ha, you're right.
They've scored all of them in the same ballpark.
Audioboxer
Member
Gameplay is always trash in these games. It's a rite of passage... To a wonderful land of jank, hilarious voice acting, no fucks given quests and characters, decent exploration and nostalgia of PC RPGs of the past.
I'd call it excellent mediocrity. It can't be beaten.
loganclaws
Plane Escape Torment
This isn't true for Gothic 1&2 and Risen 1.
Audioboxer
Member
Yeah, it is, their combat was hot trash as well. Gothic 1 might squeeze by for the time it was released.
Gothic 1 and 2 are some of the best games ever made. Risen 1 is great too, it's like Gothic, but years later. By that though I mean it's like it could have been released around the same time as Gothic. That is the charm of PB's Euro Jank, it's dated to the era it was renowned in. That's what the fans want.
I even enjoyed Risen 2 and 3! Pirates are awesome.
This is what I mean by "no fucks given" writing/quests/characters mixed with great voice acting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0I7TMbA-PU
Jaffar is one of the best characters ever as well. You do not get that kind of attitude and crazy writing in most overpolished AAA Western RPGs.
MosquitoSmasher
Member
This video got me a lot more excited about it. Hopefully it turns out well.
https://youtu.be/E8cYsLFTVMk
Watch part two as well.
https://youtu.be/E8cYsLFTVMk
Watch part two as well.
Humdinger
Member
lol, I feel like getting it, just to experience the jank.
I got the impression somehow that it was a discounted game, but I see it listed for $60 at amazon.
LordBaztion
Member
I've seem gameplay and looks janky indeed which is what I'm expecting. I'll get it when its 30 or less, probably by January
MosquitoSmasher
Member
Watched about 20 minutes of a 3 hour preview on YouTube, video is from April and the player is sitting next to one of the developers. The animations and combat and all that is janky but that world looks damn interesting to explore. If they can offer us great quests and the cool Faction system I can look past the jank.
Yeah they're not bad games at all, just not AAA standard polish nor even shooting for it. It wears its jank proudly and basically makes a bargain with the player from the moment the game starts that they didn't put their money into fancy animations or flashy combat, but instead put it into its systems to make a fun game on the backend less so than the frontend. Basically the devs are saying, "If you're along for that ride we'll keep you entertained as fuck, but if not you better bail now."
D
Deleted member 471617
Unconfirmed Member
Was interested in Elex because of the world and premise but then I saw the combat and was like, damn, that's bad. With a stacked October and November, I simply don't have time for unpolished janky games. Maybe in a dead month with nothing to play but not now. Shame too because the world looks good and very interesting. Oh well.
MosquitoSmasher
Member
It's really unfortunete that they can't seem to really improve on combat. I guess it slightly looks better than Risen 2 and 3. But i know how addictive their games can be despite the jank and mediocre combat. The atmosphere in their games is not something you see all that often.
If the game offers a interesting world for me to explore and discover things in, has nice towns/cities with people going about their day, has fun quests with interesting stories to complete and is playable in terms of framerate....i will be there. I probably would have bought Risen 3 as well if only it had come to Xbox One and not only PS4 and 360.
texhnolyze
Banned
I enjoyed Risen 3 but couldn't finish it. My biggest gripe was not the jank or combat, but the gear progression. I felt like I've been using the same gear for hours without noticeable upgrade that can be seen anytime soon. I liked the world, the factions, and its light-hearted story; and the quests are simple yet interesting, not just mere fetch quests. The combat is not a simple button mash, but it needs a rhythm. But with that gear progression, it got boring after a while.
Sentenza
Member
I've always been a "reluctant" Piranha Bytes fan.
While I loved Gothic 1 and I regard Gothic 2 (+NoTR) as one of the best RPGs ever made, I always hoped to see them finally making the jump in quality and start to polish and improve their core concepts.
Turned out G2 was their pinnacle and after that it was a long streak of questionable products, interrupted just by Risen 1 which, even if decent, felt in many ways a Gothic 2 remake but more modest in scope.
Still, even with all the uneven production value and broken mechanics, I always got some enjoyment out of their games, which is far more than I can say about Bethesda and most TES games, for a start.
I'm just growing tired to see them making so little progress over the years at this point.
While I loved Gothic 1 and I regard Gothic 2 (+NoTR) as one of the best RPGs ever made, I always hoped to see them finally making the jump in quality and start to polish and improve their core concepts.
Turned out G2 was their pinnacle and after that it was a long streak of questionable products, interrupted just by Risen 1 which, even if decent, felt in many ways a Gothic 2 remake but more modest in scope.
Still, even with all the uneven production value and broken mechanics, I always got some enjoyment out of their games, which is far more than I can say about Bethesda and most TES games, for a start.
I'm just growing tired to see them making so little progress over the years at this point.
MosquitoSmasher
Member
Yeah it's almost as if this developer is ok with having very mediocre and janky combat. I think they have a loyal fanbase that always buys their games and they seem satisfied with that, which is nice for them of course. But look at CDPR, from Witcher 1 to Witcher 3. Quite a step up for damn sure. They could expand, get more people there, work on the things that are dated as well. But maybe PB wants to stay small and keep it personal and friendly within the team.
Gothic 1 is one of my favorite games with 2 not far behind it. So one would think i should be prettg hyped for PB's latest game, but i'm not.
After the fiasco that was Gothic 3, Risen should have been their return to form. But it was just a worse retread of their previous games. It was said they wanted to play it safe after what happened with Gothic 3.
Ok so i gave them a chance with Risen 2, which i found worse than one and 3 which while better than 2 still could not even hope to be compared to Gothic 1 and 2.
So now i hear the same old things from this game.
How many factions can you join? 3!...
I really hope they can leave Gothic behind one day, but if they make the same games time and time again, just with different settings, they will always be compared to their previous masterpieces. And i know they don't like it but they have to first stop retreading old ground.
After the fiasco that was Gothic 3, Risen should have been their return to form. But it was just a worse retread of their previous games. It was said they wanted to play it safe after what happened with Gothic 3.
Ok so i gave them a chance with Risen 2, which i found worse than one and 3 which while better than 2 still could not even hope to be compared to Gothic 1 and 2.
So now i hear the same old things from this game.
How many factions can you join? 3!...
I really hope they can leave Gothic behind one day, but if they make the same games time and time again, just with different settings, they will always be compared to their previous masterpieces. And i know they don't like it but they have to first stop retreading old ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBkx5aUrl0M
3 ( Actually 4 ) Highlights and 3 Negatives in this Video
Negatives:
- It pretty much looks bad. Animation is pretty bad, some textures are bland and sometimes you have clipping as shown in the video. They haven't found major or gamebreaking bugs.
- Fighting is bad. As you can see in the Videos, fighting is not really fun. You have a standard combo of 5 in which only the last strike really does damage. At least you have a lot of weapons to choose from.
- Controls are bad.
Positives:
- The World. The world is huuuge, bigger than any other PB game and Gothic 3 was pretty huge. It has a lot of variet and is pretty much a mix of cyberpunk and fantasy. Works really really well.
- Quests. The Quests are amazing. Biggest pro Factor of this Game is you have to take decisions. Basically in every quest you have a decision to take. Having a lot of groups, doing a quest in a certain way benefits one but harms another. This video describes 2 Scenarios:
1. By snitching on a guy and telling the "government" he has a fake ID, then they basically manipulate his thoughts with mind control. By snitching him, you later have the possibility to learn mind control.
2. You have to find a bow and you can decide if you give it to the apprentice ( who gives you money ) or the teacher, who gives you nothing, but lends you a hand later in the game with a big fight. Of course you can win the fight without him, but a lot later in the game thus making the loot less useful.
- The Game is Huge. You can play up to 80 hours in your first playthrough and you have a lot of replay value just by the fact that you take so many decisions that are game changing.
- The Atmosphere is amazing. You can easily "loose yourself" in the game which according to them, hasn't happened in a long time and was also a strong point of the gothic series.
3 ( Actually 4 ) Highlights and 3 Negatives in this Video
Negatives:
- It pretty much looks bad. Animation is pretty bad, some textures are bland and sometimes you have clipping as shown in the video. They haven't found major or gamebreaking bugs.
- Fighting is bad. As you can see in the Videos, fighting is not really fun. You have a standard combo of 5 in which only the last strike really does damage. At least you have a lot of weapons to choose from.
- Controls are bad.
Positives:
- The World. The world is huuuge, bigger than any other PB game and Gothic 3 was pretty huge. It has a lot of variet and is pretty much a mix of cyberpunk and fantasy. Works really really well.
- Quests. The Quests are amazing. Biggest pro Factor of this Game is you have to take decisions. Basically in every quest you have a decision to take. Having a lot of groups, doing a quest in a certain way benefits one but harms another. This video describes 2 Scenarios:
1. By snitching on a guy and telling the "government" he has a fake ID, then they basically manipulate his thoughts with mind control. By snitching him, you later have the possibility to learn mind control.
2. You have to find a bow and you can decide if you give it to the apprentice ( who gives you money ) or the teacher, who gives you nothing, but lends you a hand later in the game with a big fight. Of course you can win the fight without him, but a lot later in the game thus making the loot less useful.
- The Game is Huge. You can play up to 80 hours in your first playthrough and you have a lot of replay value just by the fact that you take so many decisions that are game changing.
- The Atmosphere is amazing. You can easily "loose yourself" in the game which according to them, hasn't happened in a long time and was also a strong point of the gothic series.
It's a Piranha Bytes game alright
Well yeah, but the last two games fell short in the Story/Quest/Atmosphere department
Neuromancer
Member
I wish Kai Rosenkranz was doing the music. I loved the soundtrack to Risen. I don't know why they don't work together anymore.