Elex gameplay video is 12 minutes of jetpack-fuelled exploration
...and there's some violence too, naturally.
The most effective way of warming my cynical, wintery heart is with jetpacks. Games that let you fly are, in my view, much better than games that don't let you fly. So this lengthy gameplay video of Piranha Bytes' forthcoming fantasy sci-fi RPG Elex is interesting to me, because it has jetpacks in it.
It's also got bow-and-arrow combat, shotgun combat, and bludgeoning-with-nondescript-melee-weapon combat: all also very appealing. I also like Elex's blend of post-apocalyptic and fantasy aesthetics, even though it's a fairly well trodden path nowadays (though PC is unlikely to get Horizon: Zero Dawn any time soon).
That all sounds like the game is great but, in truth, I haven't touched it yet. I am fond of the at-times-ropey Piranha Bytes RPGs (Gothic and Risen series' among them), so I'll definitely be checking this out once it releases this October.
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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.