Freshly released post-apocalyptic RPG ELEX II has some nifty tricks up its sleeve (though given its hero Jax prefers to go sleeveless, perhaps we should refer to its 'toolbelt' instead). After a tutorial in which you cut through some purple alien dogs with relative ease, you emerge onto the open world of Magalan with a couple of pointers on where to go and a whole lot of freedom.
Here's the thing: there's more RPG complexity here than you may first think, and some things you really ought to know so you don't make the same mistakes we did. Here's what they are.
The world doesn't scale with you
With its jetpacks, explosive weaponry and even more explosive spells, ELEX II may sometimes feel like a wild theme park ride, but get complacent and you're in for a rude awakening.
That's because this world doesn't scale with you, so don't go thinking you can slice through trolls and ice beasts no matter how deep into the game you are. Enemy levels are fixed, which on the one hand makes the world more dangerous, but on the other gives you that satisfying sense of progression as you eventually start trampling the enemies that gave you trouble earlier on.
You can join one faction per playthrough
Even the best RPGs have this bizarre tendency to let you be everyone's friend, and rise through the ranks in conflicting factions. Want to be the King of Thieves, Head Mage and Warrior-General all at once? Most RPGs says 'go right ahead,' but ELEX II forces you to be a bit more discerning in your choices.
The game's five factions don't exactly get along, so when you join a faction you're committing to it for the rest of the game (dramatically affecting how your story unfolds). So choose your faction wisely or, y'know, don't choose a faction at all. Your choice!
ELEX II doesn't have to be a long game
If you get plagued with FOMO when picking one faction over another, then remember that ELEX II doesn't have to take 100 hours to complete. The game should take most people around 40-50 hours (unless you're a completionist, in which case it can be much longer).
That means you can always jump back in for a second run (and a third, fourth and fifth) to play as a different faction and explore all their unique questlines.
You can't respec
In another reminder of ELEX II's hardcore RPG roots, once you pick your attributes and abilities, there's no going back. It's a game that wants you to think about the choices you make and have them shape your path through the game. You shouldn't worry too much about picking a few abilities that end up not seeing much action, but you shouldn't make your choices lightly either.
However, if you're a bit of an RPG commitment-phobe, then the community - as ever - has got your back. Someone has already gone and created a Save Editor that lets you respec to your heart's content (just remember to create a backup of the save file you're modifying).
You lose karma for killing rats
ELEX II has a karma system called Destruction. The more of it you have, the more people fear you, which means they'll be less likely to help you in times of need. Destruction is affected by things like how you interact in conversations, attacking civilians, and joining certain factions.
Oh, and for reasons only clear to the mad geniuses at Piranha Bytes, killing rats is seen as a karmic no-no, so keep those age-old RPG rat-killing habits in check.
Ready to put all your freshly acquired knowledge to use? Then grab your copy of ELEX II and head out to Magalan.
