THQ Nordic continue to hoover up studios and games that make many go “Oh huh, yeah, they could be neat,” today announcing they’ve bought Piranha Bytes. They’re the German studio who created Gothic, Risen, and Elex, three open-world RPG series with varying degrees of promise and wonk that make many go “Oh huh, yeah, they could be neat.” Along with the team, THQ Nordic have bought the rights to those three and do hint that a sequel to 2017’s Elex is coming. Perhaps THQ Nordic can give Piranha Bytes the cash they need to exorcise some of their jank.

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THQ Nordic, publishers of the Darksiders games and recent jankfest Elex, have bought Koch Media, the companies have announced. Koch are the father-company of Deep Silver, who publish games like Saints Row, Metro, Dead Island, and Homefront: The Revolution. That means THQ Nordic now own alllll of those bad boys, among others. Due to all the combined plates this company now spins, they could now make a game where the hero of Mighty No. 9 fights jazzy paint-monster De Blob in a doomed bid for supremacy on Mars, aka, Red Faction 3. Although, they probably shouldn t do that. (more…)

Magalan – a planet that sounds like the name of an early 80s high street shop that would have rented you a telly – has been ravaged by some evil space goop or other, turning a once Earth-like civilisation into warring bands of Character Classes, addicted to Blue Space Goop and all very cross about something. ELEX is very definitely about something>.

You play Jack Videogames, a man whose generic nature has caused him to rise to the very middle of obviousness, his peculiarly unruly right eyebrow a threat to the opposing forces on his homeworld. Abandoned by his Angry Goop Colleagues, he’s shot, falls off a cliff, and is then stripped of his armour and weapons. For some reason he decides to get better, and get his revenge, or not, or something – the game really doesn’t sweat the details. (more…)

People, people of Earth, for the second week in a row GTA V isn’t in the Steam Charts! And for the first time in human history, this week nor is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive! What’s happened? I’ll tell you what’s happened. Everyone’s got a copy now. Phew.

So instead, here are eight other games and Plunkbat, and one plastic box, in ascending order of dollar-eyes. (more…)

From the first Gothic games through to Risen, German studio Piranha Bytes have made fantasy RPGs. Today that changes with the launch of Elex [official site], taking the open-world RPG antics to a post-apocalyptic with jetpacks and guns. Oh okay, it is a little bit fantasy still, with technomagic, monsters, swords, and thatched cottages. But in the future. (more…)

Elex [official site] will launch on October 17th, publishers THQ Nordic announced today. Elex might sound like the name of of an app startup pitching itself with “It’s like Uber for laxatives” but Elex is, in fact, a post-apocalyptic open-world RPG from the creators of Gothic and Risen. German studio Piranha Bytes have sidled away from historical fantasy and gone a bit sci-fi fantasy (sci-fantasy?) for Elex, visiting a world where a meteor strike has trashed the planet and showered it with the magical element Elex. This can only lead to questing! … [visit site to read more]

As Old Father Time grabs his sickle and prepares to take ailing 2016 around the back of the barn for a big sleep, we’re looking to the future. The mewling pup that goes by the name 2017 will come into the world soon and we must prepare ourselves for its arrival. Here at RPS, our preparations come in the form of this enormous preview feature, which contains details on more than a hundred of the exciting games that are coming our way over the next twelve months. 2016 was a good one – in the world of games at least – but, ever the optimists, we’re hoping next year will be even better.

… [visit site to read more]

We haven’t heard much about Piranha Bytes self-proclaimed “xenial” open-world RPG Elex [official site]. The creators of Risen and Gothic did treat us to this nine minute gameplay video at Gamescom, though. It’s full of charming, awkward strafing animations, feathered velociraptor/bird hybrids, and jet packs. What’s not to like?

… [visit site to read more]

“Eclectic, Lavish, Exhilarating, Xenial”, was how Risen and Gothic developers Piranha Bytes described their forthcoming post-apocalyptic open world RPG ELEX [official site] when they announced it last year. I reckon they were being purposefully tongue-in-cheek, but either way we didn’t have all too much to go on back then beyond the initial idea.

Fast forward the better part of a year, and a website overhaul, a load of new info and a fresh “mood” trailer now offer us a better understanding of what it’s all about. Observe:

… [visit site to read more]