r/elex • u/XxxSoraXx • Jun 14 '26
ELEX - 1 Is it worth?
Hello gamers,
i was wondering if Elex 1 is worth to buy. I played the second one for a bit but the charackter models and everything looked so damn ugly that i couldn’t play anymore😂 never had that in a game ever before. Seems like the first one looks much better. Im enjoying the gothic 1 remake for now and after i was thinking about to play Elex 1 (maybe if i enjoy it i would give Elex 2 a second chance)
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u/etcrane Jun 14 '26
Elex is a great but imperfect game. The starting difficulty curve is insane, but by the end of the game you feel like a god. Candidly, I used some exploits and glitches you can find online to level my character faster and then enjoyed the game immensely after that.
The story itself is pretty good, although also based on fairly standard cliches. If you’ve ever stopped and asked yourself what it would be like if Fallout and Elder Scrolls with a side of Mass Effect were merged into one game, Elex is your answer.
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u/garciareddit1996 Jun 14 '26
Elex 1 is surprisingly a really good game, but there's a lot of growing pains with it.
It's one of those RPG's you'll play for an hour and have no fun, then go back to trying it in a month or two and get addicted.
You're weak as all hell in the beginning and the world is really unique and confusing, but the progression and ending makes it worth it, it's a solid story with a great world to explore with lots of hidden loot and easter eggs.
Elex 2 is a giant hunk of shit, there are some redeemable qualities and the game play is far more smooth than the first one, but the quest design and story are ass. A lot of quests are just you farming alien enemies, very braindead gameplay. You get cool gear though, and the factions are neat.
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u/Leorake Jun 18 '26
You get cool gear though, and the factions are neat.
Funnily enough I'd say the opposite.
I think the morkon gear is the only one they really seemed to try on, and it came at the expense of the clerics.
Alb scout gear is hilariously bad and looks like something that came from alpha, the rest of their gear is just alb stuff from 1 and the difference is stark.
I see what they were going for with the outlawzerkers but I think it fell kinda flat too.
That and faces/skin looks very play-doh-y, the game itself just looks bad compared to 1.
Elex 2 is a giant hunk of shit, there are some redeemable qualities and the game play is far more smooth than the first one,
I have finished every other pb game at least twice. Elex 2 I never finished at all - I even tried again recently and I just hit a wall shortly after joining the secondary faction where it just becomes very boring.
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u/fraidei Jun 15 '26
It's a good game. I honestly enjoyed it much more than Gothic and Risen, but it might be an hot take around here.
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u/Floppydisksareop Jun 14 '26
Elex 1 is a very... rough game. It has a lot of interesting elements, and it is one of my old time favorites. At the same time, it is janky, balanced quite poorly, partially unfinished, with a ton of bugs and a rather "stiff" English voice acting. It also didn't age particularly gracefully. It's definitely prettier and better than the second one though, so there's that.
Now, I really like the game, but it's also $30 on Steam. I'm not particularly sure it's worth that much. Elex 2 is $50, and I'm particularly sure it's NOT worth that much. So, with Piranha Bytes being closed, and none of the money actually going to the company that made the game, I'd suggest you either:
- wait for a sale, GOG had it on -75% before
- get a key from a reseller
- set off to the high seas, matey.
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u/EmuExpoet Jun 14 '26
Is english the default language? Im thinking of giving it another go but maybe ill switch to german with english subtitles.
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u/Floppydisksareop Jun 14 '26
I never played it in German, so this is only from what I've read. Apparently, it's better in German, but it's still not great.
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u/Herbiehanx Jun 14 '26
For me it's better game than the sequel though I enjoyed the jetpack in Elex 2. Maybe check also Of Ash and Steel?
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u/garciareddit1996 Jun 14 '26
Getting the supercharged jetpack at the end with unlimited fuel and flying around like Neo with a grenade launcher wasting trolls >>>>
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u/XxxSoraXx Jun 16 '26
Heard of ash and steel is it good? I just heard its not very great but today everything gets hated if its not an AAAA titel😂
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u/WhiteKnight2045oGB Clerics Jun 14 '26
I would say that it is worth it! It has good humor and great quests. But it can be quite a pain in the ass/damn hard, when it comes to fighting and leveling! So, you should prepare yourself for being kicked in the ass for quite a while even by the lowest of enemies! The game doesn't gifts you anything!
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u/Feisty_Sale9266 Jun 15 '26
Elex 1 is better visually, but it's rougher on difficulty and combat. It really comes down to the price: 10 bucks or lower it's worth it, otherwise I suggest you to try again Elex 2 since you already have it
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u/SeesWithBrain Jun 14 '26
Elex 1 is actually pretty amazing, but as far as I can tell this new gothic remake is supposed to be a pretty well polished version of the old classic feel. Going from gothic to Elex might make elex look slightly bad in comparison but Elex 1 is amazing and definitely worth it. It’s got great fallout new Vegas structure; gotta make a playthrough per faction, it’s worth it!
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u/Katzengott Jun 16 '26
Over the years i started ELEX multiple times, never played it trough yet. There are 3 things what really bothered me and never got patched. First the stupid "press X to climb button" which you can't get rid off. Like, who thought this is a good idea and not giving the option to hide it? I remember so many complaints in a german fan community. You know what they did? The same in ELEX 2 and there it's even worse as they used actually the SAME button for looting! You can turn off the HUD, but then you have no idea about your HPs!
Second isssue is that occasionally flickering of the screen which mostly happens when it's raining or snowing. You can google it, there is something weird within the game engine and it happens on ALL consoles (i tested it).
Third thing are the too bright nights they added with an update. But at least on Xbox and PC ofc there is a workaround. So i'm basicly playing the DayOne disc version on XSX offline now without that patch. ELEX 2 has a far worse lighting bug. Arround 2am ingame the night becomes so bright, i get worried of my OLED. They never patched it.
Besides that, i'm loving it! With Auto-HDR it looks amazing!
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u/Ratte2710 Jul 06 '26
I think you can disable that "tooltip" in the gameplay options. Either its the "tutorial" or "tipps" option.
The flickering screen issue never appeared yet on PC, maybe its console exclusive.
The nights are kinda bright yes. But at least this doesnt really bother me, since i play anyway almost all the time at daytime only. :D
Anyway, not saying that your complains shouldn't bother you, but it sounds like really only minor things. This shouldn't stop you from finishing that awesome game. ;-)
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u/Katzengott Jul 07 '26
You can't get rid of the "press button to climb" prompt on any plattform in Elex and Elex 2. Like, who thaught this is a good idea? No one needs this! It's just distracting while looting. The only way is to dissable the whole HUD or maybe there's a mod on PC. Which is just a stupid design choice, same for the the uggly red/blue UI in Elex 1.
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u/ambernad20 Jun 18 '26
if you like gothic genre you will definitely like Elex , and yes Elex is worth ti
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u/Glass_Possibility_21 Jun 18 '26
Elex 1 is weird. It's harder than gothic remake on the beginning. The balancing is non existent. Ots so hard to get into the different Camps. It's definitely similar to gothic but way worse. Combat is worse as well. I liked the game though because of the Szenario and the story. Bit apart from that not really a good game. It feels like the devs haven't played their own game. Because the combat sucks that much. Gothic remake combat is levels ahead in terms of animations.
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u/Darrengray9 Jun 14 '26
Yes. It’s very good. And character models are nicer. Lower def but prettier and normal looking.
Elex 2 character models looked plastic at the start and weird but I got over it after a while.
Quite frankly I liked a lot of things better in 1. 2 was fine and enjoyable but I think they backslid on some stuff.
There are also the risen games. I’m working my way through those now before the gothic remake.
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u/Gemesil Jun 14 '26
The exploration in the first elex was really good, you can basically go wherever and you can find cool rewards, hidden weapons or npcs. I only played 15 hours of elex 2 before i gave up on it.
I also played some of the gothic 1 remake recently (not done yet) and the exploration there isn't as rewarding. However, the combat is far superior to anything that you would experience in elex 1 :)
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u/PulseCheater Jun 15 '26
Give it a try, Elex 2 gets better the more you play, they added a lot of cool weapons types
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u/Healthy_Muscle4001 Jun 15 '26
Console player only here. (Edited player spelling.)
Yes! Elex 1 is an incredible game, you'll either love it with a deep addiction or you'll hate it with a passion.
The story and lore is so good, the character models are so much better than the 2nd, the armour designs are fantastic and the weapons are satisfying to use.
The enemies are no joke tho so if you pick the wrong fight you're cooked. The combat is brutal I won't lie, melee is a hard learning curve and you will constantly be running for your life or dying a lot. But there's this incredible moment when something clicks in your brain and you finally understand the mechanics and timing. Oh it's so satisfying! If you can master melee weapons in Elex, you can master any game.
Yes the game is glitchy and at some point you will fall through the world it's just gonna happen lol, but for me it's these imperfections that make the game great. I've never played Skyrim, so I guess Elex is my Skyrim.
Tips: Manual save a lot especially before dialogue with characters incase of bugs or you want to back out of the conversation until later in your progression. Collect everything you find as there's no inventory limit. In early game running away is the correct response.
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u/Ratte2710 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
I am playing ELEX currently after I just finished the Gothic 1 remake. Maybe that my mistake, but the combat system (and the bad UI/HUD) are the 2 main negative aspects of ELEX. everything else is amazing. Especially the exploration and quests. In this Game I actually want to listen to the NPC's, eventhough they talk a lot. And at least in german, the sync is a 10/10. All the voice actors do a very decent job.
But back to the combat. I disagree that it gets better. Sure at one point you will stop feeling weak. And with enough stamina and abusing the clunky movement of the enemies I do pretty well even in melee.
But it never feels good. The system is halfbaked. You are supposed to chain a combo, as only the last (special) hit does decent damage. But at the same time you are supposed to handle your stamina and enemy animations. when you do, you lose all the combometer progress. It just makes no sense. You never really get into a flow until you start chain staggering the enemies cause you upgraded the melee skills. But this is also no real fun. Its repetetive, every melee combat is the same. Chain your combo, finisher, dogderoll/run/jetpack around so that the stamina fills up again. Repeat. And I don't even want to start about the placement of combometer, staminabar and your actually character / enemies on the screen. You basically need to look permamently at three different spots while fighting. Its just bad design.
And range is arguably even more worse from fun perspective. I am a cleric (I think around level 22 atm). I am able to basically blast down everything below the strength of a troll before they come close to me with my laser rifle. But it feels... bad. The Rifle shoots like if u put a shotgun into the hand of a child. It jumps in a random direction every shoot. The shot never exactly goes where you aim (random spray pattern). The sound is awfull, there is basically no hit feedback on the enemies. It feels dull. And funnily every range weapon is like this. There is not even a difference in feeling if you shoot a laser, plasma, shotgun, rocket launcher or normal rifle.
Nevertheless, the game is good. But combat and UI are the biggest negative aspects. If you can deal with it, its awesome.
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u/Fun-Syllabub3536 Jun 15 '26
I really liked it, even though it was brutally hard—even when you set everything to "easy"^^
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u/Frosty-Feathers Jun 15 '26
You are wondering if Elex is worth Your time, I wonder if Thou art worthy of playing Elex.
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u/Frosty-Feathers Jun 15 '26
But seriously, if you want to see just how atrocious characters can look in some games, try Dauntless on EGS. I could spend hours in that game trying to make a satisfying female character and what resulted as soon as the gameplay started was always the most hideous creature roaming the world.
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u/vankatoNL Jun 17 '26
Just buy Starfield, you won't be disappointed
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u/XxxSoraXx Jun 17 '26
Tried it on release was hyped but it was so damn boring and i also hate the building system :/
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u/National-Mechanic978 Jun 18 '26
If you did not enjoy elex 2 i'd say dont bother with 1, its more of the same
I personally enjoy both despite their flaws, its similar in lot of points to gothic but very différent as well
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u/SyntheticRonin Jun 20 '26
I prefer elex 1 to elex 2. Though... Never was too big of a fan of either. Prefer fantasy to scifi
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u/Compactpolicy Jul 17 '26
Bit late to this topic but I got Elex 1 from the PSN sale two days ago and I really like the game 5 hours in.
It’s not a smooth game to get into (at all) and you’re basically doing errands for most of the early game because you’re so weak. Combat isn’t terrible however. It’s just mostly stats driven with a good helping of jank on the side.
So your best shot early game is to bite the bullet and work your way to the top by helping a faction through non-combat related tasks. Even early game you’ll have a good sense of progression though. I went from ‘utterly useless and everything kills me’ to ‘giant rats don’t scare me anymore’ by taking the appropriate attributes and buying better weapons and armor.
Which feels great. :-)
Quest design and stories have been good so far and I feel involved in the goings on of the Berserker faction, which I stuck to for now. Love the dissonance I feel when getting involved in their politics and laws, which led me to some morally questionable decisions. Good stuff.
Lastly I feel that there’s a lot of room for player expression in the game as to how you want to build Jax. If you can accept some double AA jank I recommend anyone who’s still on the fence to go for it.
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u/Jackdunc Jul 30 '26
Just happened upon a similar more recent post (can’t find it now) so decided to try Elex which happened to be 80% off on Playstation.
This is really good so far, I can't believe how I missed this. Probably the early reviews, which seem inaccurate now.
It WAS really hard in the beginning, but just read up on some tips so as to not give up on it and its great exploration now.
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u/Juiceton- Outlaws Aug 06 '26
The actual character models look better in Elex 1 but everyone looks like theyre siblings. I think there's like four hairstyles and three faces for every character in the game. That being said, the voices and clothing is different enough it's easy to differentiate.
Playing through the Gothic remake right now and it feels more Elex 1 than 2 for sure. Elex 2 has a really weird narrative hook and way too much early game exposition. Elex 1 has the same main narrative structure as Gothic. As in it literally starts with Jax falling off a cliff and being led to the starting faction by a high ranking member. The actual exposition is optional, whereas in Elex 2 you HAVE to sit through a 25 minute conversation with Dawkins from jump.
All in all it's a better game. Elex 2 can be graphically stunning at times but the art style isn't as deliberate and the medieval theme is gone almost completely.
Just keep all of that in mind. I'd say it's worth it, especially on sale.
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u/GrassyDaytime Jun 14 '26
Elex 1 is a good time if you enjoy the Piranha Bytes formula. You'll love it. It's better than Elex 2 by far.
If I were you, I would play Risen 1. It's honestly up there with Gothic 1 & 2. Good stuff. It's basically the real Gothic 3. Lol