Elex

The best-case scenario for ELEX is that it'll be worth picking up on sale a year or two from now after it's been heavily patched to fix its rampant bugs and infuriating balance problems. It has enough good ideas that one day it might be talked about as one of those hidden RPG gems that people play and wonder why it wasn't successful at launch. But the frothy mix of joy and frustration that ELEX presents today skews too heavily toward the latter. I wish it well, but I don't think I'll be calling it up for a second date.

Elex is an open-world RPG that aims big, but only manages to shoot itself in the foot.

Hokey, uneven and janky, Elex is nonetheless a compelling throwback to a time before open worlds became choose your own to-do lists.

Inventive in some ways and stagnant in others, Elex will appeal to die-hard RPG fans and few others.

All in all, though, the game remains an impressive, if flawed, effort. Toting an interesting setting and some standout design choices, ELEX goes farther than any previous Piranha Bytes game in making the case for sticking with it in pursuit of a certain old-school ideal of RPG gaming, even if it can come at a cost in polish and presentation.

Whether it's that unmistakable Euro-jank charm or its commitment to providing a surprisingly robust role-playing experience, ELEX definitely has something going for it – it's just that most players will likely never make it far enough to find out what that something is. Piranha Byte's latest has ambition, but barely any of it is realised. As far as B-tier games go, this criticism is nothing new, but when so many amazing action RPGs are already available on PS4, you can't be blamed for ignoring this seriously shoddy release.

It feels like a nice refreshing counterpart to some modern rpgs that treat their quest lists more like chores, but as a complete package, it falls disappointingly short.

ELEX is pretty much the gaming incarnation of a mixed bag. While exploring the massive world of Magalan is an enjoyable experience and the lore easily pulls players in with lots of interesting quests, the mediocre combat, poor companions AI and severe balance issues prevent it from securing a spot in the ever more crowded RPG limelight.

Elex is an unfortunate case where it appears to be too ambitious for its own good.

ELEX is a hilarious RPG game that announced a great comeback of Piranha Bytes developers. It is a classic honest-to-goodness RPG that offers well-functioning gameplay mechanics along with a diverse array of enemies, items and a world to explore. The side quests are also very well thought out and are not just an annoying element in the game, as with some competing titles in this genre. Unfortunately, the game still suffers from some ailments, but despite this, it is still a quality RPG that will definitely entertain, repeatedly, as the replayability is very decent for this title.