ELEX II Hands-on Previews
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Unless something goes wrong, you'll be able to revisit the sci-fi world of Magalan when Piranha Bytes' ELEX II goes live on March 1, 2022. And if at this point you're still not entirely clear on what to expect from a Piranha Bytes game, you can now check out a couple of hands-on previews below.
Outside of the new jetpack mechanics which improve world traversal quite a bit, ELEX II doesn't feel a whole lot different than its predecessor, although things do look and feel smoother. Combat is still on the simple side of things, a basic action combat system with Stamina mechanics, but even then, the weapon variety seems to be on point, as the game features both short-range and long-range weapons, and the weapon of choice influences how players should approach the many enemies on their path, ranging from beasts to members of other factions and more. A robust skill tree system will also allow players to build their character around their weapon of choice, so the final game will definitely not disappoint when it comes to customization options.
But the thing is... although I spent a lot of time raging at this game and reloading (the ratio of hours actually spent in the preview vs. hours logged according to my save file is currently about 3:1, I reckon), the first time I managed to successfully beat a group of marauders to death with my lead pipe was magnificent. I could have wept. It was such a hard-won victory. And when I finally did switch up to a sword, it was transformational! I killed a raptor dinosaur, a monster that I had previously run from in terror! I can imagine people being into Elex II. It looks like it's going to be a better version of Elex, which means you're getting overwrought sci-fi fantasy, some cool side missions, and absolutely no concessions.
Like its older sibling, Elex 2 struggles a bit when it comes to faces and lip-syncing. They’re an improvement over the first game but not as much as you’d hope. A few of the faces — Jax’s young son, Dex, for example — are nightmare inducing. Elex 2 also has some trouble with smooth movement, whether it be character animations, melee combat or leaves tossed by the wind. While the release is several months out, janky movement was part of the first game as well. In a way, it was part of what made Elex charming and helped garner a cult following. But this is almost 2022 and there are a lot of games that do animations, lip-syncing, and movement much better. Still, I’m happy to cut the team some slack until we see the final game.
