Likely to fall under the umbrella of being called a Dark Souls clone, ELEX, by German studio World of Piranha Bytes, is one you should most certainly keep your eye on. Best know for their Gothic and Risen series’, their latest seems to be focusing more on the action side of action/RPG. Adopting a “science fantasy” approach, ELEX takes you into a technologically advanced, but functionally backwards world. Blending together advanced weaponry and equipment, with swords and roving monsters out to nom nom your tasty din-dins.

The almost ten minutes of gameplay we have, courtesy of a presentation at Gamescom, suggests a grueling fight for survival, where even a relatively minor example of the local fauna can still present a major threat. But time and patience, and a liberal dose of grinding, will have you kitted out to do battle with titanic beasts if you stay the course.

As the video states, this is clearly in a very early stage of development. The place holder sounds, in particular footsteps, are thoroughly underwhelming, and animations are clunky as…a clunky thing. But the backbone of a really rich, diverse virtual playground are already shining through. With multiple factions to choose from, a variety of different and very distinct environments to explore and some really nifty gear to kit yourself out with. So as already said, keep an eye on this. We sure will.

ELEX is currently in pre-Alpha, with no clear plan for a release date at this time.