Disco Elysium (2019) - Detective RPG

PC Gamer are extremely positive on the game:

Disco Elysium might well be Game of the Year

Andy K: Having just sunk 16 hours into a preview build, I think Disco Elysium definitely has a shot at being the, or at least one of, the year’s best games. It’s one of the most impossibly deep RPGs I’ve ever played, and the writing is fantastic—if a little indulgent at times. What makes it special is the sheer number of skill checks in every interaction and conversation, with more permutations than I think any single human could ever realistically see. It’s a role-playing game in the truest sense, allowing you to shape your alcoholic detective in a terrifyingly dense variety of ways. I’ll hold off on proclaiming it GOTY until I get my hands on the review code, but for now, it’s a very strong contender indeed.

Jody: I thought Torment: Tides of Numenera was going to scratch that Planescape itch, but it kept repeating scenes, characters, and themes from the original only in a different setting, like one of those cover versions that takes a song you like then turns it bluegrass or whatever. Disco Elysium is another RPG with gleefully lurid writing about an amnesiac so it’s close enough to Planescape to scratch that itch, but being a detective game makes it feel like its own thing. Basically, I agree with Andy. Unless it suddenly adds tedious boss fights or something it’s got Control beat for my personal GOTY.

Yesssss, knew it!

The official launch date is Oct 15 but you still can’t purchase it anywhere that I’ve seen (Steam, Greenmangaming)… does that strike anybody as unusual? I’m eagerly anticipating this and wanted to get it and play a lot of it before The Outer Worlds launches on the 25th - they better not screw with my schedule!

No, often smaller games and indie titles aren’t available for purchase until release date. I forget why.

This is a long stream, and I only watched the beginning because I don’t want spoilers beyond the first couple scenes. But Kinchica does a nice job showing off what the game offers in its opening moments… and I have a hunch it will tell most everyone whether they are going to love or hate this game.

I asked the devs about pre-orders and here’s what they said:

So it seems they chose that way (or the publisher did).

I’m trying to watch this but she stops every 10 seconds to talk about Zelda or talk to her streaming audience, so it reminds me why I prefer the focus of a YouTube video than the rambling of a Twitch Stream.

I watched the first 15 minutes or so of a Twitch stream recently that was pretty good…

…aaaand found it: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/491806456

I didn’t watch much because I wanted to avoid spoilers, but I wanted to grasp the overall “feel” of the game, and it does remind me of Planescape Torment a lot, more than any other game since. As soon as I realized that, I closed the stream and I’ll just wait to have the full experience as unspoiled as possible.

Oh, yeah, Cohh is actually one of those I enjoy so thanks very much for this!

I am truly getting amped for this. It sounds like the Real Deal, true roleplaying mixed with genuine innovations to the medium. Hype!

Agreed, most of the time I prefer the focus of a prepared video. The only advantage to this is that she is dwelling on the possibilities of the early moments of the game. Where the others I saw were “Get on with the plot.” And in this case, I don’t want to know much of anything about the plot beyond the meeting his sidekick. But I am all for soaking in the style of the different possible answers, etc.

Yeah, agreed. As much as I worry this will be more of a visual novel than a “game” (which is a minor concern, but it’s one I am feeling) every time I’ve watched someone talk to another character I’m super interested in the dialog choices and the responses - it’s really impressive writing and very enjoyable! I don’t want to know much more myself, for that matter, so I will refrain from watching any more, but I watched a dialog between Cohh’s character and a woman from the very start of the game and it was incredible.

I’m really liking the sound of a possible Planescape Torment true successor.

(I’m still not paying full price for it though, not for a game this long.)

I wonder how many times I’ve battled amnesia in games… can’t recall.

I barely remember the “game” parts of Planescape: Torment (unlike, say, Baldur’s Gate 2 or something). If anything, I feel like the battles and magic system and inventory and what not got in the way of the really good stuff, which was the “visual novel” part of it all. And I suppose a “spiritual successor” of that game should probably feel the same.

What do you mean “a game this long”. The Dev’s have stated that this is a MASSIVE game.

“It takes 60+ hours of continuous playtime to finish Disco Elysium if you’re a reasonable completionist player, as I am. It takes 90 hours if you’re absolutely savoring every detail. And 30 hours if you’re rushing it”

Perhaps this isn’t your jam, but I dont understand the discount culture when it comes to games. Esp with small developers that need our support.

I’m willing to pay full price for a short game in the 15-20 hour range. Any game longer than that is liable to not be finished by me, so I’m not willing to pay full price for it.

He mentioned somewhere that he rarely plays games over 10 hours, and probably won’t play this one beyond that either, and as such doesn’t want to pay full for it.

In other words, rather than “dollars per game hour” value, he thinks in terms of “dollars for percentage of full experience within the constraints of my time and interest” value.

I’m definitely sympathetic to this line of thinking. I do want to support small developers by paying full price for excellent games. But I also want to encourage smaller, shorter game experiences with my purchase decisions too, so it’s a quandary. But in this case, the game really does sound like it’s way too long, so that makes the decision easy.

Interesting. Your logic makes sense. Its funny how we are all so different. I am actually over biased in the other direction. I rarely/never
buy a game if its < 20 hours. Its one of the first things I look at before I buy.

I am aware of the flaws in this line of thinking. I just cant get past it :)