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Disco Elysium

Posted: July 3rd, 2020, 5:56 pm
by DaHeckIzDat
A game came out on PC last year (and is being ported to consoles next year) that has really caught my interest. It's called Disco Elysium, a 90 hour, top down isometric RPG that is--based on everything I've heard about it--the greatest book you'll ever play.

You are a detective who wakes up after a night of hard drinking and drugs to find that you've completely lost your memory. It's up to you to piece your identity back together while solving a murder case. The RPG aspect comes in the form of personality traits, which you use in dialogue and level up like skills. So yes, this is a game built almost entirely around taliing to people. It is, as Zero Punctuation puts it, "a densely, fiercely, intelligently written game." The thing is, the dialogue isn't limited to what's immediately at hand. Yes you CAN focus entirely on the case, interrogate suspects, and search for clues. Or you can get bored with that and surprise them by asking if they think we're alone in the universe or whether turtles go to heaven. (I'm spitballing here, those aren't real dialogue options...probably)

What I'm curious about is, is that enough for you guys? Does a game where you the battles are replaced with conversations and the skills are replaced by personality traits appeal to you? Can good writing and an engaging story hold up a game where there is almost literally nothing else?

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 3rd, 2020, 6:42 pm
by VideoGameCritic
You lost me at "90 hour".

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 3rd, 2020, 7:47 pm
by velcrozombie
VideoGameCritic wrote:You lost me at "90 hour".


I'm not sure where 90 hours is coming from:

disco web.jpg
disco web.jpg (93.69 KiB) Viewed 1164 times


Game sounds really interesting regardless.

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 3rd, 2020, 8:42 pm
by DaHeckIzDat
velcrozombie wrote:
VideoGameCritic wrote:You lost me at "90 hour".


I'm not sure where 90 hours is coming from

Weird. I was going off what this article said.
"Disco Elysium is a 90-hour long, groundbreaking open-world RPG detective adventure where a unique skill system enables players to investigate and interrogate all manner of characters in this unique whodunit style mystery."
https://www.psu.com/news/is-disco-elysi ... happening/

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 3rd, 2020, 10:23 pm
by VideoGameCritic
Looks like the writer just added up all the hours! Lazy.

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 4th, 2020, 8:28 am
by Retro STrife
Consider me interested. I will play a game for a great story. It's often one of the main reasons I choose a game these days. I've played several "walking simulators" the past few years (Edith Finch, Gone Home, etc.) - not to mention older adventure games (Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, etc.) - and these games can work and be fun if they have a good story to back them up. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they're duds. But if the story fails, those games always fail.

Fortunately, most of those are like 5 hours long these day, telling a concise short story, so there's not as much risk if they fail. At 20-40 hours, Disco Elysium would really have to be one of the best stories in the history of gaming for me to think it's worth the commitment. Unfortunately, in my experience these days, most games that are promised to have an excellent story actually just have a good story.

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 4th, 2020, 8:50 am
by DaHeckIzDat
Retro STrife wrote:Consider me interested. I will play a game for a great story. It's often one of the main reasons I choose a game these days. I've played several "walking simulators" the past few years (Edith Finch, Gone Home, etc.) - not to mention older adventure games (Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, etc.) - and these games can work and be fun if they have a good story to back them up. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they're duds. But if the story fails, those games always fail.

Fortunately, most of those are like 5 hours long these day, telling a concise short story, so there's not as much risk if they fail. At 20-40 hours, Disco Elysium would really have to be one of the best stories in the history of gaming for me to think it's worth the commitment. Unfortunately, in my experience these days, most games that are promised to have an excellent story actually just have a good story.


That's why I quoted Zero Punctuation. Yahtzee loves story rich games, but is majorly picky about what makes a good story.
He made Disco Elysium his game of the year.

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 4th, 2020, 9:42 am
by velcrozombie
Retro STrife wrote:Consider me interested. I will play a game for a great story. It's often one of the main reasons I choose a game these days. I've played several "walking simulators" the past few years (Edith Finch, Gone Home, etc.) - not to mention older adventure games (Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, etc.) - and these games can work and be fun if they have a good story to back them up. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they're duds. But if the story fails, those games always fail.


I've been reading up on the game a little more and it's definitely not a walking simulator - more like an RPG crossed with an old-school adventure game. Planescape: Torment (which I haven't played but which frequently shows up on "greatest games" lists) is the game I see it compared to the most.

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 4th, 2020, 9:46 am
by Retro STrife
velcrozombie wrote:I've been reading up on the game a little more and it's definitely not a walking simulator - more like an RPG crossed with an old-school adventure game. Planescape: Torment (which I haven't played but which frequently shows up on "greatest games" lists) is the game I see it compared to the most.


Yes my mistake, I didn't mean to imply that Disco Elysium was a walking simulator. I was just saying that these days I often play games that focus mainly on story (and "walking simulators" are a prime example of that), and so I was willing to play Disco Elysium even if there is no combat in it and the main focus is story.

Re: Disco Elysium

Posted: July 4th, 2020, 4:14 pm
by C64_Critic
Currently on sale on Steam for $29.99, in case anyone was waiting on a getting it a little cheaper. It does look interesting, I may put it on my wishlist and pick it up during a future (cheaper) sale.