It's not often that video games mix genres, but Nordic Games and Piranha Bytes decided to blend science fiction and fantasy into one seamless setting and story in Elex.
The setting of Elex is a familiar one. It's a post-apocalyptic world once devastated by a catastrophic meteor strike. But the meteor also brought something else to the planet: a mysterious substance called "Elex." That substance is found everywhere, but each faction that lives in this world uses it differently.
The Albs faction ingests Elex as part of their cult-like religious practices. The Clerics group bans the ingestion of it, though, but uses it for high-tech weapons. The Berserks convert Elex to mana and make magical weapons. The Bandits do whatever they want with it whenever the mood strikes them because that's what Bandits do.
Elex is now the most important thing on the planet, which makes it that world's most valuable resource. Everyone wants it and has a use for it.
"Elex is all about contrasts: science vs. fantasy, magic vs. laser weapons and logic vs. emotions," reads the game's website. "In Elex, Piranha Bytes combines all the game elements that RPG fans love and has placed them in an entirely new environment: a science-fantasy setting. These contrasts are also evident in the various factions."
A previously released video by Nordic Games and Piranha Bytes shows how these fantasy and science fiction elements blend together during story and gameplay:
"We've been thinking about the setting for Elex for almost 10 years, and we finally have the chance to implement our ideas," Björn Pankratz, Piranha Bytes game director, said. "The mix of sci-fi and fantasy offers an incredible number of opportunities and cool contrasts that we can play around with. The fans of Gothic or Risen will recognize our unique game philosophy and Elex builds on that solid basis. Elex will be the most dynamic and realistic RPG sim ever!"
Elex also features many aspects that RPG fans love: decisions made during gameplay and character dialogue affect the final outcome of the game. The developer also promises an "epic combat system" that allows complete control of all characters, including the ability to "read" enemies. But it's the in-game transportation system that might thrill gamers the most: players use jetpacks to get from point A to point B.
Nordic and Piranha Bytes also promise "100 percent authenticity," meaning that the AI handles in-game decision-making in a logical way.
Expect Elex to arrive on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 during the first quarter of 2017.
