To preface this review, I need to state upfront that ELEX II is a game for fans of the first - which I am despite notable issues. Sure, there are gameplay and visual refinements, and the narrative is designed to help new players catch up quickly, but this is a Piranha Bytes’ game through and through. Interconnected quests, lots of player-choice, competing factional interests, slow and stat-heavy progression, and risky exploration are the highlights - and all with little hand-holding. It’s great on paper but, if you’re a fan “AAA” RPGs - lavishly written and cinematic but carefully directed and mechanically homogenized - there’s a lot of jank in ELEX II that might put you off.

ELEX II’s story picks up several years after the events of the first game. Jax, despite his actions in defeating the Alb threat, has failed to convince the factions of the impending alien invasion revealed in the final moments of the first game. The surviving factions - which include the free Albs and a brand new one - have come to accept and ignore an ominous celestial body orbiting Magalan. The nature-loving Berserkers have come out on top, but all factions are fragmented once again, aiming to conquer territory and push their ideology on others. For new players, this means you’ve got a decent amount of background lore to cover but you can still enjoy Jax’s new adventure without playing the prior game. That said, there are plenty of recurring characters and call-backs to past events, so I’d suggest newcomers at least watch a detailed story synopsis to get the most out of the sequel.

You’re welcome to take on the invaders straight away, but your excursions will end in swift defeat without decent gear, companions, and preferably an allied army.

For both new and returning players, Jax’s slow rise to power is made more tolerable thanks to a streamlined opening. Early questlines are more linear and cohesive, with fewer difficulty spikes (just don’t push main quests too hard, too early) and Jax quickly establishes a base of operations - “The Bastion”. This was a feature you could miss right up to the end-game in 2017’s ELEX but is now essential to confronting the alien menace. You can upgrade it as you progress, funding new fortifications and facilities for your army, and recruit leaders to manage them. The opening hours also introduce Jax’s new priorities - his wife Caja, his son Dex, and their strained family life. It ups the stakes and provides a more personal angle, but it doesn’t take long before you’re given a familiar overarching, multi-phase goal and given free rein to head out in any direction. Where the first game had a “Cold” level that influenced dialogue and the ending, ELEX II has a “Destruction” level - be nice for more diplomatic options, be nasty for more intimidation or violence-based options.

For both new and returning players, Jax’s slow rise to power is made more tolerable thanks to a streamlined opening.

For returning players, there are familiar locations to traverse and old acquaintances to meet, but power structures have changed and these old contacts only rarely allow Jax to bypass quests. ELEX II is set further east than the first game but about half of the map is the same, albeit often unrecognizable different thanks to the Beserkers’ terraforming efforts and the aftermath of the war against the Albs. I found it a joy to wander through a now lush Tavar - reminiscing on the hostile desert it once was - and discover the fate of many primary and secondary characters Jax had influenced in the past.


Unsurprisingly, being nice and avoiding violence lowers your “destruction” level, allowing for even more non-violent options during encounters.

Gameplay-wise, ELEX II slightly tweaks and refines the formula but is, ultimately, more of the same - aliens need defeating and factions need uniting. You’ll explore the large map, gaining experience and new gear for Jax; you’ll take on regional faction quests to gain their trust (and potential allies); you’ll recruit a diverse selection of powerful companions, both old and new, with their own quests and loyalties top consider; and, finally, you need to disable numerous alien landing craft to gain access to their leaders (as opposed to clearing Alb ELEX-converters in the first game before tackling the Ice Palace). I’ll admit it took me a bit of time - and reinstalling the first game - to truly appreciate the level of refinement and polish (gameplay and presentation) but it becomes more apparent the longer you play.

I’ll admit it took me a bit of time - and reinstalling the first game - to truly appreciate the level of refinement and polish...

For those after a lengthy experience, there’s a lot to see and do in each region of the map. Both beasts and humans go about their daily AI routines, often conversing or fighting with one another, making the world feel more alive as you explore. Faction hubs are full of interesting diversions - essential quests, companion quests, and busywork - that can keep you occupied for hours. Thankfully, many are interconnected - and some require waiting on the completion of other quests - and there are often multiple ways to complete them. Some of the key players you assist also influence your recruitment options back at The Bastion. In addition to restoring the old fort’s defences, you need to find appropriate leaders for your growing army - “The 6th Power”.


It’s dangerous to go alone!

For both narrative and gameplay reasons, travelling with a companion - who will grow stronger and manage their gear without your input - is always worth it. They’re not particularly smart in combat but they’re autonomous, deal more damage early on, and are always willing to comment on the current location or situation. I rarely found that faction-aligned companions allowed me to bypass quests, but having them around leads to unique dialogue, additional rewards, and some non-combat solutions. Companion quests also tie into regional or factional conflicts, ensuring that questing always feels purposeful even when bombarded with requests (the filler content is typically reserved for weird or quirky encounters).

When it comes to combat… it feels smoother, the animation is better, but it’s undeniably clunky.

When it comes to combat… it feels smoother, the animation is better, but it’s undeniably clunky. The melee lock-on usually works, melee attacks clip through enemies less often, and ranged ammunition veers towards enemies more aggressively, but ELEX II is still a game in which boosting your attributes, investing skill points, and finding better gear is how you improve your combat odds. You can block, parry, roll, and jetpack around the battlefield but the third-person melee and ranged combat just don’t hold up on their own - something more noticeable by the shift towards encountering more low-strength enemies, rather than empty space between tougher encounters. Those tough encounters are still there - and you’ll still stumble into them at the worst possible moments - but, overall, you’re more likely to enjoy general exploration without hitting difficulty spike after difficulty spike.


When all else fails, go put an arrow in the butt of something ugly and lead it back to patrolling guards or camps of humanoid enemies.

Talking of exploration, ELEX’s jetpack remains an essential part of the experience and you gain access to it almost immediately. How two tiny thrusters that should be scorching Jax’s arse manage to keep him airborne and stable remains a mystery, but it now comes with a dedicated upgrade path to unlock greater traversal abilities. Going hand-in-hand with these improvements is the more open feel of the map. Sure, the spaces between settlements still feel sparsely populated but exploration remains enjoyable thanks to the illogical verticality and diverse biomes. Any time you leave the main roads, you’re guaranteed to find resources caches, legendary weapons, quirky NPCs, or something that’ll kill you in a heartbeat. Oh, and you can still spend too many hours in ELEX II scavenging ruins, awkwardly hoovering up absurd amounts of crafting/cooking materials and trade fodder (though I’m going to add +1 to the score for no inventory limits).

Magalan remains a compelling environment to explore - there’s always something new to find and plenty of environmental story-telling.

Another reason I love exploring Magalan in ELEX II is the improved visuals. Sure, it still looks like a last-gen game - and far from the best - but the animations, world density, and lighting systems have been overhauled allowing for fantastically atmospheric moments, especially at sunrise and sunset. Current-gen consoles benefit from higher resolutions, framerates, and brisk load times, but - at present - it never feels as smooth as playing the backward-compatible original. The performance is variable and there are optimization issues that can drop the framerate into single digits - the most obvious being particle effects around fires or waterfalls. Despite those issues, Magalan remains a compelling environment to explore - there’s always something new to find and plenty of environmental story-telling. The sensation of exploring and vast and deadly post-apocalypse is also enhanced by the great ambience and a fantastic electronic soundtrack that takes more than a little inspiration from Inon Zur’s Fallout compositions.


ELEX II has a greater range of environments than the first game, but a sprawling post-apocalyptic cityscape feels less impressive when most of the finer details fail to load in.

Now, I started by mentioning a degree of jank and it’s worth expanding upon. Production quality and polish are - and probably never will be - comparable to a big-budget game. You can expect weird combat hitboxes, positioning and facial animation bugs during dialogue, voiced lines that feel strung together from multiple recording sessions, and world elements failing to load if you traverse the environment too quickly. Thankfully, quest stability is much better and, aside from one or two issues a quick reload solved, I experienced no major scripting issues or unsolvable quests. Just beware of quests that teleport you straight to a location or enemies you can’t handle - make use of those quick saves!

Ultimately, this jank comes with the territory. What I’ve always loved about Pirahna Bytes’ games is that their worlds feel alive - without artificially-dense spaces, and with AI NPCs and creatures that react appropriately when encountering one another. Sure, this is hardly a revolutionary idea in 2022, but in ELEX II it feels so raw and exploitable - not controlled and polished to the point you’ll only ever see and do what the developers dictate. While ELEX II’s core gameplay could be dismissed as traditional or dated, the way all the elements of the world interact with you and one another is what creates the magic.