Piranha Bytes. 12 studios that keep making the same game
Table of Contents
- Games or series: Gothic, Risen, Elex
- Copy-pasting since: 2001
- Copied elements: mechanics, world-building, crudeness
What is very, very likely – almost certain – is Elex 3... the ninth game of the German studio Piranha Bytes, which gained popularity with the first two installments of the Gothic series. I could write here that the developer is still reaping the benefits since then. However, I won't do it, because – judging by the interest that the release of Elex 2 has aroused in the world (well, in some countries) – it would be quite an overstatement, and harmful at that.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that all the installments of the Gothic, Risen and Elex series are iterations of the same formula. Each of them offers a hand-crafted, more or less open world that... needs a hero. The hero is of course the protagonist – usually nameless, although in Elex we had the pleasure to learn his name, which was Jax, and he, with all his gruffness and not very colorful past, turned out to be quite an interesting character. Certainly more interesting than the next blank character as in Gothic.
This can be taken as a sign that Piranha Bytes is changing, albeit gradually. Well, Elex 2 includes many cutting-edge solutions – you can even add markers on the world map! The thing is that this evolution is slow and limited to single elements. At its heart, the newest game is quite similar to the first one – enough for people who do not sympathize with these titles to be able to criticize them without much effort.
Fans don't care, though, and by default they end up playing with all character classes, eagerly rushing to the teachers to learn new skills and breathe some strength into a hero who – with or without a name – always has to start from square one. Because although the above-mentioned elements may be derivative in all games of the studio, the people from Pirannha Bytes invariably put their hearts into them anyway. No doubt these games are crude and uneven, but the true commitment to their craft is something that becomes increasingly old-school in our industry.
