Cons:
- Factions are too far away from each other - this is a problem because your introductory faction is on the edge of the map and if you do not like it you have to either walk a LONG WAY to reach another faction while bypassing monsters that can one shot you
- No vehicles/horses/mounts - wouldn't be a problem if the map wasn't so big. You are essentially forced to fast travel
- Copy-Pasted Converters (dungeon-like areas) - Converters are something closest to the dungeons that this game has, and through the journey you have to disable 5 Converters which are literally Copy-pasted which is a shame because this was a potential for game to break away from open-world and introduce some puzzle-like linear areas
- Stamina bar depletes to fast in beginning of the game
- Light attacks are too slow / use stamina / no way to upgrade attack speed in skills
- Bows feel like guns - in this game you shoot arrows by just pressing a left-click instead of holding it to draw the bow and releasing it to shoot the bow, which is just bad considering that you have guns which (are really good) in this game
- Backstory told through boring cutscenes - Main character is Ex-Alb Commander that actually had very interesting story, but it is told in game either way too late, or in "flashback" cutscene of two people standing in place and talking. Would much rather prefer if game threw me in a linear playable area where I would be able to control my character and complete mission as Alb commander (similar to how Ciri's story in Witcher 3 is told)
- No flashlight - this one feels weird as you have robot companion that has flashlight, but you as character can only use some "magnesium torch" which emmits very dim light in small cirlce around you (instead of direct light beam like flashlight would)
- Lack of enemy variety - visually you have a lot of variety, but their attack patterns and behaviors lead them to a feeling like you are fighting the same 4-5 enemies through entire game
Pros:
- Jetpack (vertical exploration)
- Beautiful and unique atmosphere and world
- Very good side-quests
- Ability to recruit companions + modify your own camp :)
- Freedom to do quests in multiple ways + you can kill almost all NPCs if you want
- Choices matter (whatever choice you take impacts the game in one way or the other)
- Living world - guards patrol area + have shifts (there are night guards who sleep during day, and vice versa), travelings merchants travel with bodyguards. Animals will fight each other over territory...
- Animals you kill won't respawn (ex. if you kill area guarded by 5 raptors, either a new animal/monster will take it's place or there won't be anybody there)
- Day night schedule + you can interact with world (sleep in beds, sit in chairs...)
- GUNS - I generally don't like guns in RPGs, but Elex is an exception as they are my favorite way to fight in this game. All guns have 3 different firing modes and they just feel great, especially if you combine them with Jetpack or some of the spells you get from Clerics
- Sunglasses - they are essentially like Witcher sense - provide a way to highlight collectable items so that you won't miss loot which is pretty cool
- No UI that pauses game - when you open map it's actually an holographic implant that your character has on his arm and time isn't paused when you use it (some NPCs might even comment "hey what are you doing with that technology?" which is pretty immersive and cool)
Summary
Elex is unique "old-school" RPG experience which had some very good and interesting ideas but was somewhat ruined by the way it told main character's backstory and frustrating (for the wrong reason) early game causing some people to drop it after few hours of playtime, but if you stick with it, watch few tutorials on where not to go in early game, what quests to save for later etc. (essentially how to survive for first 5-10 hours) you will have a great time! 😊
It's NOT a game for those with no patience - if you want to be able to kill stuff and feel great from the beginning then skip this game, as you WILL be essentially useless for the first 10-15 hours and will have to either leave most of your killing to your companions or try and finish quests in non-lethal way!
