ELEX 2

ELEX 2 PC is a third-person science-fantasy action RPG from Piranha Bytes and THQ Nordic. The game is officially listed as ELEX II on Steam, GOG, and the publisher's channels, while “ELEX 2” remains a common search and catalog name. There is no verified storefront rebrand or definitive-edition replacement. Its identity comes from a hand-crafted open world, faction politics, consequence-driven quests, and a jetpack that changes how you cross Magalan.

Jetpack exploration and open-world progression

ELEX II follows Jax through a post-apocalyptic version of Magalan threatened by the Skyands and dark Elex. The campaign combines main objectives, faction missions, companion quests, exploration, combat, crafting, and conversations in a world designed to be approached with considerable freedom.

The jetpack is the defining exploration system. It supports vertical traversal, short flights, emergency escapes, and access to locations that are difficult to reach through ordinary movement. Fuel capacity and related upgrades give exploration a practical progression layer rather than treating the jetpack as a simple cosmetic convenience.

Magalan is not built around a tightly controlled sequence of arenas. You can investigate settlements, ruins, wilderness areas, and hostile zones in different orders, although the world still contains enemies and encounters that can overwhelm an underdeveloped character. Retreating, recruiting help, improving equipment, and returning later are normal parts of the progression loop.

Combat, skills, and build choices

Combat uses a third-person perspective and supports close-range weapons, ranged weapons, shields, explosives, and faction-linked abilities. The sequel presents an improved control system compared with the first ELEX, but its combat remains more deliberate and demanding than the fast, heavily assisted style found in many mainstream action RPGs.

Character development is classless. Jax improves through attributes, learned skills, equipment, trainers, consumables, and faction progression rather than by selecting a permanent class at the start. This makes hybrid builds possible, but early decisions still matter because stronger equipment and advanced abilities depend on meeting particular requirements.

Crafting and resource management support the wider build system. Players can improve weapons, prepare consumables, gather materials, and use merchants and trainers to turn exploration into practical character growth. The most effective progression usually comes from combining equipment upgrades with skills that match a preferred combat range instead of spreading every investment evenly.

Five factions and reactive relationships

One of ELEX II's main role-playing systems is its set of five playable factions: Berserkers, Clerics, Outlaws, Albs, and Morkons. Each faction has its own identity, equipment, abilities, political goals, and route through Magalan. The Berserkers use Elex-powered magic, the Clerics emphasize technology and combat robots, the Outlaws retain their pragmatic criminal culture, the Albs return as a playable choice, and the Morkons add a harsher underground society to the conflict.

Faction commitment is not just a cosmetic allegiance. It affects skills, equipment access, relationships, and the way certain missions are approached. Players can spend time meeting different groups before making a long-term decision, which makes the opening phase useful for comparing their values and gameplay rewards.

NPCs can remember actions, react to Jax's behavior, join or leave the group, and in some cases die with consequences for the story. Companion relationships therefore form part of the campaign structure rather than serving only as combat support. Dialogue choices, faction behavior, and moral decisions can change who remains available and how later situations develop.

Campaign content and commercial model

ELEX II is a paid single-player game rather than a free-to-play service or seasonal platform. The standard purchase contains the open-world campaign, faction routes, companions, exploration, combat systems, crafting, and character progression. The current Steam content listing shows the ELEX II Soundtrack as the separate DLC item.

There is no storefront-listed season pass or catalog of gameplay expansions comparable to a large live-service model. That makes the base game the central product: players are buying a self-contained RPG whose replay value comes from faction choices, different builds, quest consequences, and alternative approaches to the same world.

The official storefronts also bundle ELEX and ELEX II together in franchise packages, but the sequel remains a separate product. Players who want the complete narrative context should treat the original ELEX as a related predecessor, not as an edition or expansion of the sequel.

Who should play ELEX II?

ELEX II is a strong fit for PC players who enjoy old-school open-world RPG design, non-linear exploration, faction commitment, classless progression, and worlds that do not immediately make every encounter safe. It rewards patience, preparation, repeated visits to dangerous areas, and attention to what NPCs say.

The game is less suitable for players seeking seamless blockbuster polish, highly precise action combat, or a fully guided quest experience. Its strengths are systemic freedom, unusual setting design, companion reactions, and the feeling of developing a route through a politically divided world. Its rougher animations and uneven combat responsiveness are part of the practical trade-off.

Players who value faction-led exploration in older Piranha Bytes RPGs may also find useful mechanical overlap in classic third-person faction RPGs like Gothic, although ELEX II replaces medieval camps and magic circles with science-fantasy ruins, firearms, jetpack traversal, and Elex technology.

PC storefront features and localization

The Steam version is presented as a single-player PC release with Steam Achievements, Steam Trading Cards, Steam Cloud, and Family Sharing. It does not advertise co-op, split-screen, competitive multiplayer, or Steam Remote Play Together. The campaign is designed for solo play, with companions controlled by the game rather than by additional players.

GOG lists controller support, achievements, cloud saves, and a DRM-free build that can be installed and played without GOG Galaxy. The Steam and Epic versions use their respective storefront ecosystems, while GOG makes the launcher optional for the core offline experience. No multiplayer anti-cheat system is advertised because the game has no conventional multiplayer mode.

Language support covers English and German with full audio and subtitles, while French, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese provide interface and subtitle localization. Full voice availability is more limited than text support, so players who require a particular dubbed language should distinguish audio from subtitle coverage before purchasing.

ELEX II FAQ

Is ELEX 2 officially called ELEX II?

Yes. Steam, GOG, the official game site, and THQ Nordic use ELEX II. “ELEX 2” is a common alternate search phrase, but there is no verified rebrand, remaster, or definitive-edition replacement for the current storefront product.

Is ELEX II multiplayer or co-op?

No. ELEX II is a single-player RPG. Companions can join Jax and fight alongside him, but they are computer-controlled characters. There is no online co-op, local co-op, split-screen campaign, or competitive multiplayer mode.

Does ELEX II have a jetpack?

Yes. The jetpack is one of the game's central systems, supporting vertical exploration, flight, route discovery, and emergency movement. Fuel-related progression expands how freely Jax can travel through Magalan.

How many factions are in ELEX II?

The game features five playable factions: Berserkers, Clerics, Outlaws, Albs, and Morkons. Each provides distinct abilities, equipment, social structures, and political objectives.

Does ELEX II include gameplay DLC?

The current Steam listing shows the ELEX II Soundtrack as separate DLC and does not present a season pass or broad catalog of gameplay expansions. The base purchase contains the main campaign, factions, companions, exploration, crafting, and progression systems.

Does the PC version support controllers?

Controller support is listed for the GOG PC version. Steam lists the game's single-player platform features, while keyboard and mouse remain standard PC input options. Players wanting a controller-focused purchase should confirm the input details for their chosen storefront.