The video game market is incredibly diverse. Gamers only need to look at subscription services like Xbox Game Pass to see that even that small slice of the gaming landscape is teeming with a variety of different titles. Although this is good news for players, it does mean that it's very easy to miss out on games that might not receive the same attention as AAA titles like Elden Ring or Horizon Forbidden West.
THQ Nordic and Piranha Bytes' action-adventure RPG Elex 2 has been one of those games that players might have skipped this year as its March 2022 release date passed them by. Others might have played it, but dismissed its slightly nostalgic elements or considered it a mediocre follow-up to 2017's Elex. Whatever its faults, Elex 2 is definitely an underrated game that players shouldn't sleep on.
A Charmingly Chaotic Game
Nothing quite sums up the hilarity and chaos of Elex 2 like the inexplicable Billy Idol concert that players can attend. This event has absolutely no context and seemingly no relevance to the plot or the game world, and yet it exists. Elex 2 is full of a mishmash of elements that on paper shouldn't work at all, and yet somehow they kind of come together to create a charmingly eclectic experience of post-apocalyptic mayhem. The open-world role-playing experience takes players back to the sci-fi fantasy world of Magalan, where magic meets aliens and even underground dwelling cultists.
The plot is overstuffed with sci-fi tropes and a truly random collection of factions that look as if they're from different franchises, but the choice-driven story and the drive to unite the disparate groups to take on the new threat brings everything together in a satisfying and entertaining way. There's often an expectation for games to be slick, overly-produced affairs where the worlds make sense and the story follows expected routes, but Elex 2 shows that there's room for games to be much more weird and wonderful.
Not Without Its Drawbacks
As with a lot of past Piranha Bytes titles, Elex 2 can be a little clunky and the controls have their clumsy moments to battle through, but that's sort of part of the studio's charm. It's a reminder that this is a game made by a fairly small team, and can even be a pleasant contrast to the super-stylized AAA offerings that players might be used to. The balance of combat is pretty inconsistent, but that just keeps gamers on their toes, and the addition of the jetpack is a really fun way to get around the map.
The characterizations in Elex 2 are a bit of a puzzle and could be seen as a nuanced satire about violent video game characters and their penchant for unpleasantness, or they could just be thinly written renditions of action game personalities. This is particularly apparent with the women, who receive the full brunt of the stereotypical writing. Flawed characters with troubling traits can have their place in games – some of the best characters in recent years haven't exactly been likable – but Elex 2 doesn't quite handle these with the necessary tact.
Characterization aside, Elex 2 is still a fun and goofy game. Its companion-focused storylines and faction-based elements appeal to a narrative-minded role-playing audience, and the plot is full of intriguing sci-fi elements and tough choices that drive the gameplay. The player's decisions have consequences and can help to shape the in-game world, and the overwhelming variety of quests and things to do in Elex 2 is one of its greatest strengths.
Elex 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.