A Quick Recap

Magalan used to be a planet not dissimilar to our own, but everything changed the day the comet hit. The impact was nothing short of apocalyptic, decimating the population. The comet brought more than just destruction - it also contained a completely new element dubbed "Elex".

This new substance turned out to be a double-edged sword, and it changed the face of Magalan forever. The effects of Elex exposure were varied - some suffered horrific mutation, turning into mindless hordes of monsters, while others... others obtained special traits such as superhuman strength, intelligence, will, and even the power to control the elements, at the cost of their ability to feel emotions if used in excess. It didn't take long before the remaining population of Magalan was divided into several factions - the Albs, who embraced the consumption of Elex in an effort to become the next stage of mankind's evolution, the Clerics, who rejected Elex outright, relying on the power of technology instead, and the Berserkers, who rejected both, believing that only a return to the natural order could heal the scarred planet.

There were also those who found opportunity in conflict, becoming Outlaws and focusing on their own benefit first and foremost. After many trials and tribulations, and a series of unlikely alliances, the Alb invaders were defeated and the world of Magalan enjoyed a brief period of peace. This was all calm before the storm, however - a new foe was about to enter the battlefield, disturbing the fragile balance once more.

When in Doubt, Space Invaders

The story of ELEX II picks up a few years after the events of the first game. You reprise the role of Jax, a former Commander of the Albs turned renegade. Despite saving the Free People of Magalan, few have heeded your warnings about an incoming invasion. Disappointed, you've chosen to live a life of a hermit to collect your scattered thoughts. The predictions you've made in the past come true unexpectedly and, in your weakened state, you're unable to face the enemy that arrived through the weather anomaly in the skies. You're wounded in your scuffle with the alien creatures and manage to narrowly escape, just barely clinging to life.

Thankfully, you're saved by a mysterious stranger who appears to know more about this crisis than he initially lets on, and seems... eerily familiar. The Skyanids, as he dubs the invaders, quickly deploy terraformers across Magalan to prepare it for conquest, and worse yet, they appear to infect anything they touch with their pestilence - that includes you. You're given an offer that you can't refuse - assemble the heroes of Magalan, establish a new faction called the "6th Power", and repel the invaders. In exchange, the stranger will attempt to heal your otherworldly affliction, sparing you from the torture of turning into one of the dark creatures. This premise, while fairly simple, gives you ample motivation to play - let the adventure begin!

Magalan is an interesting setting, in the sense that it's a mish-mash of various fiction tropes, as if it was an attempt to please everyone. ELEX II can feel like a completely different game depending on which location you visit. Primitive Berserkers, futuristic Albs and Clerics and post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style Outlaws, now joined by a fifth faction of subterranean cultists known as the Morkons, all inhabit the same planet, and to say that it's somewhat jarring is an understatement. Does the game have an excuse for their simultaneous existence? Yes. Is it a good excuse? No, not in particular. Is it fun? Yes, yes it is, because it opens the doors to playing the game however you want. 

To some this will feel uncanny and disjointed, and that's completely understandable - it definitely requires you to suspend your disbelief. Making sense of a world where traveling from one area to the next feels like traveling back and forth in time is a tall order, but it comes with its own set of advantages, as bizarre as it may seem on the surface. Personally, I found the in-game world to be a joy to explore, in no small part due to the amount of effort put into worldbuilding. Although it's been almost two centuries since the impact, the remnants of pre-cataclysm civilization are still scattered all over the place.

If the idea of chasing dinosaurs on a dilapidated highway with a medieval sword in hand and a jetpack on your back sounds at all attractive to you, this game just might be crazy enough for you. Does it all make logical sense? No, but you're playing a video game, so stop complaining. It's also worth noting that ELEX 2 takes place in pretty much the same area as the original, so returning players will no doubt find visiting their old stomping grounds and discovering what's changed over the years a real treat.

A Steep Climb Makes for a Fun Slide

From the very beginning ELEX II makes it clear that it's not going to hold your hand - you're welcome to proceed however you fancy, which mirrors Piranah Bytes' past titles. The game has no training wheels attached, and the only boundary in your path is the game's steep difficulty curve. After all, Jax is weakened due to abstaining from Elex consumption, and all of his overpowered equipment ended up under a pile of convenient plot rubble. As such, your journey is very much a "from zero to hero" kind of tale.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that you'll get absolutely wrecked by anything that happens to cross your path until you manage to find suitable companions and "beef up", in a true late '90s/early '00s-style RPG fashion. It's odd to play a brand-new game that feels like a blast from the past, but that's exactly the impression I got from ELEX II, and I'm not considering that a flaw - I expected it, bah, wanted it to be this way. If you've ever played a Piranha Bytes product, you know exactly what ELEX II is and nothing I write will surprise you going forward.

The first chapter of the game consists primarily of building up your stats, discovering the various factions scattered across Magalan and forming alliances with those whose ideals align with yours. By the time the 6th Power is ready for business, so is your character, which is where the fun really starts. Each time you level up you get closer and closer to what can only be described as Godhood, and there's a wicked kind of pleasure in steamrolling over foes that not so long ago were the bane of your existence. In a way, the game gets a little "too easy" in the later chapters, but by that point I already knew the game was divorced from any semblance of balance, so it didn't bother me as much as I'd expect.

With a world that dabbles in so many vastly different kinds of fiction you'd expect it to be reflected in the kind of companions, the bestiary and the gear you can acquire, and you'd be correct. The weapons you wield in ELEX II include swords, rocket launchers and everything in-between, giving you plenty of freedom in designing a character that perfectly suits your playstyle. Depending on the alliances you forge you can even learn to wield magic, so for all intents and purposes, the world is your oyster.

The same applies to your companions, many of whom are familiar faces. Want to travel with a combat drone? Go on ahead. How about a mage? Sure, why not. In Magalan, anything goes, as long as you travel with one companion at a time. To top it all off, and I can't stress this enough, you have a jetpack, and jetpacks make everything better - fact. The ability to fly adds verticality not just to exploration, but also combat, which has been streamlined compared to Piranha Bytes' previous titles.

That's not to say that it isn't "clunky", but I can't deny I had fun with aerial combat, slashing at my foes from above like a real rocket knight. It's a great competitive advantage, and you'll need it as you face a great variety of enemies ranging from dinosaurs through cyborgs and mutants all the way to alien invaders. Did I mention that the world of ELEX is a mish-mash of ideas? Because it is a mish-mash of ideas.

One thing I have to praise the game for is not falling for the trap most open-world RPG's get helplessly stuck in - offering a huge game world that's mostly empty. In comparison, the map in ELEX II is pretty average in size and by the end of the first chapter you will have explored most of it. The game tries, and succeeds, at being tight, concise, and to-the-point. It's just large enough to offer a myriad of interesting biomes, including destroyed ancient cities, lush forests, frozen wastes, and scorched wastelands, without being a chore in terms of travel, and you'll be traveling a lot as you do your quests. My only complaint is the awful map system which only shows the surface of the world map without accounting for individual locations. 

Speaking of quests, that's another strong point of this title. Most of them, especially early on, are branching, which keeps you on your toes. A simple fetch quest or a kill list can quickly turn into a more involved adventure without warning, which was always a nice surprise. This aspect of the game became less pronounced the closer I was to the story's conclusion, which made sense given the fact that the objectives became more strictly oriented around the war effort, but it was clear that the developers put their best scripts right up front to get the player hooked and filled the remaining void with some time-wasters to push the title past the release date finish line.

So, What is ELEX II, Really?

Not all is sunshine and rainbows, as you might imagine. To put it bluntly, ELEX II, much like the first installment, throws everything at the wall in hopes that it will stick. It really tries to be an epic adventure, and for a game made by a studio with 33 employees it's an admirable effort, but you don't have to look too closely to see the cracks in the end product. 

The Genome game engine, which has been in service since the days of Gothic 3, was already showing its age, and the incremental upgrades made here aren't enough to conceal that it's dated. While not ugly by any means, ELEX II displays all of the tell-tale signs of a game running on old engine with a new coat of paint, from pop-in and draw distance issues to weird texture culling problems which made certain surfaces disappear when they weren't supposed to, particularly when exploring underground. The faces of some characters aren't eyecandy either, coming dangerously close to uncanny valley.

The overall story arc is pretty generic, with Jax being effectively a discount Commander Shepard. The factions are diverse, which is great, but not one of them is actually likeable - I didn't want to associate with any of them, ultimately choosing the Clerics for the sake of superior equipment. You have the option to challenge yourself and refuse to ally with anyone, sure, but it puts you at a disadvantage - it'd be nice if the game featured a skill tree specifically for lone wolves who game to the beat of their own drum.

If you're walking into this looking for a AAA experience, you need to lower your expectations accordingly. ELEX II stands on the shoulders of its AA Euro-jank predecessors, but on the bright side it stands firmly. If you look past the flaws, you'll quickly realise that what matters most is the journey, and that's where the game shines. It's an old-school RPG which admittedly feels dated, but in many ways purposefully so, providing a much-needed respite from modern exercises in ticking boxes. Its openness provides you a degree of freedom rarely found elsewhere, and that inadvertently leads to some jankyness along the way - I accepted that as a given.

The three titles I selected in the introduction aren't coincidental - to describe the game briefly, it's a blend of Fallout 3, TES: Oblivion, and Mass Effect, made by an ambitious team on a shoestring budget, which comes with a certain baggage. In bringing back the things we know and love, it also brings back the things we'd like to forget about the classics which won't be everyone's cup of tea. 

It just so happens that it's my kind of tea - I wanted it to be a more modern take on Gothic, and that's exactly what it was... with a jetpack. I'll say it again - jetpacks make everything better. If you're looking for a blast from the past, give ELEX II a spin. Better yet, do the same with the original, if you still haven't. There's plenty of room in the industry for games like this; games that aren't made using a tickbox from the marketing department to appeal to a specific audience. Piranha Bytes plays fast and loose, going wild in the game's execution while holding tight to classic RPG elements that are often watered down in bigger budget productions. Now that I like, and I hope you will too.