Elex 2 has been officially announced by THQ Nordic and Piranha Bytes, with the goal of releasing this year. It follows the events of the first game, though several years have passed, and puts players right back into the shoes of Jax. THQ Nordic and Piranha Bytes' Eurojank RPG will see the aliens teased and basically promised in the first game arrive, but that's not the only plot point.
While details are scarce, fans of the franchise know that Jax has a son, Dex, inbetween the two games. However, there's no mention of who his mother is, and that's a big problem given how romance was a present situation in Elex.
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In Elex 2, there are two potential romances that are nothing alike. In fact, Caja could arguably be called a 'Paragon' romance like Mass Effect, while Nasty could be the 'Renegade.' To romance them, players need to carry them on missions, complete their personal quests, and generally do things that make them happen—joining the Berserker faction in Caja's case, joining the Outlaw faction for Nasty. Thus, all of this begs a big question of whether or not Caja or Nasty is Dex's mother. There's quite a few possibilities.
Perhaps the easiest, most straightforward will be for the characters to return, with the player able to continue their romances from the first game. This would explain why Dex's mother isn't mentioned, but it also complicates things such as players' interactions with Elex's factions. If one faction is more keen to Jax, then that should change how said faction reacts to Jax's unification of the factions. Even with just two variables, that complicates development and would require a lot of info to fix. Of course, Jax could have taken the Alb way to win the game, so this remains a variable regardless. The romance options only complicate it further.
The worst mistake Elex 2 could make in this situation is to "canonize" a video game romance and ending for Jax. Indubitably, navigating how Jax and the factions interacted then and in the upcoming game is complicated enough, but saying which character Jax could have romanced in the first game removes all player agency. Luckily, this is the most unlikely situation.
It could be that, due to the time skip mentioned in Elex 2, Dex's mother passes and that would resolve the issue while also giving the player and Dex something to bond over. At the same time, that could weaken the emotional bond between the player and Dex, as for example, God of War delivers on Kratos and Atreus' relationship because it still acknowledges his mother. Either way, Dex and his mother add new layers to the story and its complexity.
After all, Jax is trying to find Dex in Elex 2, and it's not exactly explained why. Perhaps there is some twist there, much like the twist about the comet on Magalan being due to aliens, and it could be that players learn something about themselves, the aliens, and Dex. Ultimately, it'll be interesting to see how this is handled in-game, so fans should keep an ear out for any new information about the forthcoming game.
Elex 2 is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.