There haven’t been many RPGs on Xbox recently, and even fewer that are open-world and narrative-focused. The starved Fallout fans inside of us are eager for a new game to play.
Well, may we introduce Elex II from Piranha Bytes Studio, who have history in the genre: they produced 2017’s original Elex, but also the Risen and Gothic series. They are masters of the not-quite-AAA RPG, offering experiences that may be rough around the edges, but foster communities that are eager for more exploration, choice-based story and action gameplay.
Elex II takes place several years after the events of Elex, when the main character – Jax – defeated the Hybrid. He’s disappeared into the shadows in the intervening time, but a new threat has arrived from the sky, so it’s time for him to put down his knitting. If he wants to defend the peace on Magalan, including his own family, he’s going to have to unite with some pretty disparate factions.
Some may be familiar from the original: there’s the Berserkers, left to fend for themselves after a meteor strike; the Outlaws, hopped up on stims; and the Morkons, who fled underground and became a subterranean community; among others. Jax will have to find common ground for them all if they want to take on the murderous Skyands.
As with Elex, the emphasis is on a believable, lived-in world that ebbs, flows and changes according to the choices you make. Characters will leave and join your group according to how you behave, and they can even get killed, if you don’t look after them well enough.
For the adrenaline-inerested of you, Elex II has an improved battle system that aims to create fluidity in close-range and long-range combat. The team’s efforts have been focused on the controls in particular, which will hopefully alleviate some of Elex’s criticisms.
Elex II is out now on Xbox, PS4, PS5 and PC. It’s not on the store at the time of writing, but is due for release later on today. It costs £49.99 and is fully optimised for Xbox Series X|S, with full 4K visuals.
Game Description:
ELEX II is the sequel to ELEX, the vintage open-world role-playing experience from the award-winning creators of the Gothic and Risen series, Piranha Bytes. ELEX II returns to the post-apocalyptic Science Fantasy world of Magalan – with massive environments that can be explored with unrivaled freedom via jetpack, you will be able to move through the epic story any way you want. Several years after Jax defeated the Hybrid, a new threat arrives from the sky, unleashing the dangerous powers of dark Elex and endangering all life on the planet. In order to defend the peace on Magalan and the safety of his own family, Jax has to go on a mission to convince the factions to unite against the invaders and find his own son, Dex, who got separated from him … Dive into a huge, hand-crafted, completely unique world with multiple factions and diverse environments set in a post-apocalyptic science fantasy universe.
