Good heavens, I’ve definitely never heard this take about Disco Elysium. It’s universally beloved for being able to explore fascinating and well-written political concepts in a novel world, and it manages to do it in a totally hilarious fashion. Seriously, I’ve never had so much fun trying to smile before.
I mean. Disco Elysium is only an RPG in the sense that you get to choose which version of Harry you play. It’s not a blank slate situation where you can be whatever you want, you’re always just Harry. And it is barely even a game, at the end of the day. It’s a novel pretending to be a game.
In terms of RPG design, though, the one thing it truly did put into the forefront was the “fail-forward” ideas present in many interactions, which is something more games should take inspiration from.
Making failure interesting makes the story much more engaging regardless of your choices and your luck by discouraging save scumming and instead letting you feel good about rolling with whatever outcome happens.
The ambiguity of dialogue choices evens out as Harry recovers from his hangover but never completely goes away which honestly is part of the magic for me. Never being 100 percent certain what he’s gonna do and sort of trying to nudge him along in the right direction is the game. But it’s not a traditional RPG and nowhere near as deep mechanicall as BG3. It’s just really good in it’s own way. I also had a lot of interest in the politics of the game and a personal battle with drugs and alcohol in my life so it may have resonated more with me as well.
Evidently no one warned you how this game plays and what it’s about, and you walked in expecting Mass Effect or something.
That is not the experience Disco Elysium delivers, or attempts to deliver. If you want a game about being the savior of the Eight Kingdoms and immediately bringing your combat might and razor-sharp wit to bear on the scene a moment after you arrive, you can play approximately every other RPG ever.
I went into DE with no preconceptions. And by the three hour mark I was just sick of how stupid ‘I’ was. The game looks lovely, and I’m sure the story is great from all the great reviews. But it felt like a slog to get anything done.
Woof, you had more fortitude than I did. I lasted 30-45 minutes before going online asking “So should I start over with different stats?” and the response was “You just don’t get it, man…”
And I was like “Oh, I get it, I just don’t want shitty dialog choices…” and bounced.
It is a really good game with a lot of depth, definitely a little more restrictive/slower paced - you’re mostly investigating a mystery not fighting and collecting tons of loot - and maybe not for everyone but very unique and detailed and funny.
If you’re interested in politics, existentialism, the human condition, coping with depression, addiction, trauma and loss and want to read a novel about these themes told through the story-telling medium of an isometric RPG then it is the game for you.
Despite claiming to be an “isometric CRPG detective game about solving a murder mystery” on its About page Disco Elysium is actually none of those things at the end of the day, and if those things are what you want you’ll probably end up disappointed.
Despite claiming to be an “isometric CRPG detective game about solving a murder mystery” on its About page Disco Elysium is actually none of those things
TBH, it’s a better depiction of actual police work than we get in most games.
Lost me at “Disco Elysium had arrived and absolutely blown the doors off the RPG genre.”
I’ve never played a more restrictive game with worse dialog choices.
a) Can’t tell if brain damaged.
b) Can’t tell if drunk.
c) Can’t tell if high.
d) Can’t tell if stupid.
No good choices. Thank god Steam let me refund it.
Looked pretty though!
Good heavens, I’ve definitely never heard this take about Disco Elysium. It’s universally beloved for being able to explore fascinating and well-written political concepts in a novel world, and it manages to do it in a totally hilarious fashion. Seriously, I’ve never had so much fun trying to smile before.
I expect more from my dialog choices than “You want some fuck?”
I mean. Disco Elysium is only an RPG in the sense that you get to choose which version of Harry you play. It’s not a blank slate situation where you can be whatever you want, you’re always just Harry. And it is barely even a game, at the end of the day. It’s a novel pretending to be a game.
In terms of RPG design, though, the one thing it truly did put into the forefront was the “fail-forward” ideas present in many interactions, which is something more games should take inspiration from.
Making failure interesting makes the story much more engaging regardless of your choices and your luck by discouraging save scumming and instead letting you feel good about rolling with whatever outcome happens.
I feel like I should go back and play it, but I was defeated by the ceiling fan at the start of the game and decided “Eh I’ll comeback later.”
Turn the ceiling fan off first
I believe it was the lights on it that did me in.
The ambiguity of dialogue choices evens out as Harry recovers from his hangover but never completely goes away which honestly is part of the magic for me. Never being 100 percent certain what he’s gonna do and sort of trying to nudge him along in the right direction is the game. But it’s not a traditional RPG and nowhere near as deep mechanicall as BG3. It’s just really good in it’s own way. I also had a lot of interest in the politics of the game and a personal battle with drugs and alcohol in my life so it may have resonated more with me as well.
See, that was my problem. I would never choose to play as a brain damaged wasteoid, but that was the ONLY choice in that game.
So bad that I went online and was like “Sooo… did I fuck up my starting stats? Is this my fault the dialog choices are this bad?”
Nope, just the way the game is… Time for the game to go away. Which is bizarre because I had heard so much good stuff about it.
Evidently no one warned you how this game plays and what it’s about, and you walked in expecting Mass Effect or something.
That is not the experience Disco Elysium delivers, or attempts to deliver. If you want a game about being the savior of the Eight Kingdoms and immediately bringing your combat might and razor-sharp wit to bear on the scene a moment after you arrive, you can play approximately every other RPG ever.
I went into Disco Elysium completely blind, but by god that game is glorious.
I was expecting a Blade Runner-esque detective story, instead I got a main character who may be mentally defective. Not a fun experience.
Don’t worry, you are not alone.
I went into DE with no preconceptions. And by the three hour mark I was just sick of how stupid ‘I’ was. The game looks lovely, and I’m sure the story is great from all the great reviews. But it felt like a slog to get anything done.
Woof, you had more fortitude than I did. I lasted 30-45 minutes before going online asking “So should I start over with different stats?” and the response was “You just don’t get it, man…”
And I was like “Oh, I get it, I just don’t want shitty dialog choices…” and bounced.
LOL, I have never heard of Disco Elysium. Must not be my type of game.
It is a really good game with a lot of depth, definitely a little more restrictive/slower paced - you’re mostly investigating a mystery not fighting and collecting tons of loot - and maybe not for everyone but very unique and detailed and funny.
If you’re interested in politics, existentialism, the human condition, coping with depression, addiction, trauma and loss and want to read a novel about these themes told through the story-telling medium of an isometric RPG then it is the game for you.
Despite claiming to be an “isometric CRPG detective game about solving a murder mystery” on its About page Disco Elysium is actually none of those things at the end of the day, and if those things are what you want you’ll probably end up disappointed.
TBH, it’s a better depiction of actual police work than we get in most games.
It’s literally rated as one of the best RPGs of all time. Nothing quite like it. If you enjoy CRPGs, it’s a Buy.