Is Disco Elysium a good 'game'?

I picked this up for $20 during the Epic game sale. It got rave reviews, so naturally, I'm supposed to like what the media tells me I should like. But I read that this 'game' is mostly reading. Is that true? Or are there actual gameplay elements? I'm going to give it a try, but would like to know SW's thoughts! Thanks.

Someone I very much trust the opinion of has described this as a "Planescape: Torment clone." So yes, you'll be doing copious amounts of reading. That said, all told, it's a very well written game, and can be very funny.

It also has a pretty explicitly political theme, but not in a partisan way. It's kind of cyberpunk-y, without the cyber part. Really, the game's design is all about giving you near-infinite options for role-playing your character as you choose.

In summary, it's not for everyone, but for those it does click with, it's a really great game.

It's a masterpiece

It is a lot of reading. But the reading is good. It's a game that has a lot to say. It's not a game you want to rush through to complete it. Soak it up, see what it has to offer. Try stuff.

The selling points are that it has a rather unique RPG system. Where leveling up can be good or bad. Your character will develop and you will find that the game will try and convince you that maybe you should do something that you normally wouldn't. The choices you'll make will be interesting. If you like roleplaying your character, I think you'll like the game.

Not sure why you said this.

Play it already and find out for yourself???

Just because something got rave reviews doesn't mean it's for everyone.

That's like recommending Citizen Kane because objectively it's a perfect and groundbreaking film - but that might not mean much as a recommendation if you have a hard time sitting through older black-and-white movies.

This is why people need to start knowing their taste instead of blindly chasing numbers.

Also: give a little chance. Sometimes it's rewarding to venture out and try something outside your norm. Gamespot won't figure that out for you.

It's not a game with overwhelming, universal appeal, it's story heavy and the game elements circle around statistics and success or failure of those stats. If you like video games as a media that can do unique interactive material and tell stories in a way no other media can, then this is a game for you. However if you just want a quick shot of fun without much investment or effort, then I would not recommend it.

? He's just adhering to the narrative.

Text heavy, great player agency, some of the best writing you'll find in the medium

Did you like Planescape Torment? People define gameplay in different ways - a lot of the emphasis I've seen around SW on controls and "gameplay" equating to responsiveness and "depth" of input options might flat out exclude point and click puzzle games like Myst as games at all, since they lack of that completely. Which is obviously absurd: the puzzling IS the game. It's just not for everyone. Likewise, games like this the Role Playing IS the game. Won't work for everyone, of course - in a lot of games nowadays role-playing is a "feature" such that a lot of RPGs are more action games with "role-playing elements". Which is totally fine too, but a different design direction.

It's a new genre! You've heard of movie-games, right? Well this is a book-game!

Kidding aside, reading in games (especially RPG's) is nothing new. Some RPG's play more like interactive novels than games.

And that's fine. It's irony of sorts, but I always say there is more to a game than gameplay.

For me personally, these kinds of games are not for me. 10+ years ago I ate up all these "classic/western" RPG's with all that reading. Planescape Torment, Fallout 1/2, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, and so on. But these days? I just need more bang for my buck, and I read books already, so I find it a bit tedious.

That's my problem, though, not the game's. Plenty of people enjoy these games and more power to them because they really are high quality for the most part.

Exactly. People need to think less in "is this game good/bad" and more in terms of "is this game good for me". With all the games out there, it's generally easy to find at least one title, even from genres you dislike, that fits your specific tastes.

Too many words for me. Don't like reading that much on a screen.

Never played it. If the story is good, then hopefully I won't mind all of the reading lol. I have done visual novels before, so maybe that helps?

Do your actions affect the story?

Fvck does Cuno care?

^

Yup, pretty much that.

Definitely enjoyed what I played, but could only take it in small doses. Which is more of a me problem, game seems great at what it does, I'm just not about that type of game anymore.

Would still recommend as it's arguably the best example of that type of game, definitely so in recent years. Like a for real role playing game, not just some padded out bundle of stats that we typically call a RPG.

And the writing is top class for its sub-genre, possibly the best. Which by broader gaming standards makes it unbelievably good.

Definitely give it a shot.

I'm sure some users are that closed off about what gameplay can be lol.

But I think a lot of that kind of talk stems from the kind of games that SW discusses. Which are largely mainstream action based games with the occasional side of a turn based joint. One could say... this is actually a casual gaming forum! :O lol

But in all seriousness I believe that is why the conversation tends to focus on action based mechanics. Don't see people lining to discuss pure puzzle games like Stephens Sausage Roll, Baba Is You, or puzzle lite games (classic adventure) like Machinarium, etc.

And obviously gameplay depth isn't limited to action based stuff, plenty of great discussion could be had about other game types.

Buuuut when most of the chatter on this forum is about the next big AAA thing, well? No time to talk games when Abby has muscles, CP has dick options, and Sushi Ghost is looking like Ubisofts take on Kurosawa, and PS5 renders triangles on a 9.2tf SSD.

It's underground enough for people that don't like to read or the style of the game to fucks off somewhere else but great for those that either like or don't mind those things. Just the goldilocks principle in full effect. Compared to a game like Underrail which is just as wordy, (but in a good way) it still has a post apocalyptic theme that some people jump unto not knowing it's going to be wordy.

DE is a pretty good game though. I think of its merits as what CoD, Halo, C&C, The Witcher, TES, Diablo, Doom, Quake, etc, hell, even 90's isometric games like Fallout and Planescape, did to their respective genres. Some of the dialogue is weird though, like I'm either too stupid or it just feels like things weren't localized properly or something, like it shows that euro-jank in some places. Its definitely not for everyone though and those that like it I'd imagine are those that have wanted this for sometime like myself.

I'd say the main draw is how you can shape your character through the interactions, the skill allocation and NPC having dynamic conversations affecting other things as you go for example sometimes keeping things to yourself and not exhausting all dialogue options can be a good idea depending on what you want to achieve.

Only tip I can give is don't do everything evenly and don't go too high in some. Your, erm, personality changes if you do so for too long and don't get your coat back too early. Explore first.

Like seriously WTF?!

@davillain-: lol, it's a joke

I was intrigued by the look and sound of the game initially myself and was going to pick up the console version myself but the more I look into this game and hear about it the more I think I’m just going to pass on it. Doesn’t seem like something that I’ll enjoy.

@ConanTheStoner: lol, that's true - Obra Dinn is another recent one that I remember a few folks did in fact bring up, but... didn't really get traction for discussion since it doesn't have a broader appeal

Also how did you understand what I wrote? I read my quote there and holy hell - barely English

@xantufrog:

Ha, well it read clear enough to me man. Maybe SW has sharpened my deciphering skills 🕵️‍♂️. But yeah it's straight forward and spot on.

I was looking into Obra Dinn recently, might have been because of SW bringing it up. Same dude behind Papers Please, which was good fun.

I'm lazy, but we should task @SolidGame_basic with a new thread type in his rotation. A monthly spotlight on lesser known games, or at least games that don't fall into the typical SW AAA action obsession.

Since you bought it maybe you can tell us if it’s any good? I’m curious about this one too.

@ConanTheStoner: lol. Thanks for recommending me... Catherine Remake is an awesome game that I would recommend.. Btw, Obra Dinn is $15 on Steam right now..I would like to play it eventually.

I honestly don't think I have the patience anymore for reading games. May sound bad, but I use gaming to fill my down time. I want action baby.

@SolidGame_basic: I loved obra dinn until the end game - maybe I'm just dense, but some of the puzzles became really hard and once I felt like I was randomly guessing that killed it for me a bit. The thing is, I believe, from carefully browsing message boards on it, every answer has a valid solution by deduction, so I guess it's just on me that I lost the thread a bit. Still, it's a really really unique sleuthing game, and I definitely would say give it a try for a price that feels right.

@sadpolar7: lol. It will probably be a while. It won't be my main game. More of an in-between game.

@xantufrog: ooh. I don't like when games are too obtuse. I don't have much patience for those lol.

@SolidGame_basic: it might piss you off then, lol. Unless I'm just really dense. It's a detective game, where you piece together fates and whodunnets from snapshots of their spirits' last moments. The web of "who could this be and how'd they die" can get pretty complicated, requiring clues not just from their last moment scene, but from others' fates and piecing the timeline together. With swashbuckling music and dialog, yeharg! Its super weird, interesting, challenging, and at times for me frustrating

I love Disco Elysium. Fantastic game.

There are a lot of fun stats and unique role play ability. The game play is sort of a virtual novel meets old-school CRPG. It's very open about stats and requirements, and gives you different ways to approach each situation.

The main attraction here is the writing. So yeah you have to read a lot if you want to soak in the atmosphere. It's a very rewarding game if that's what you're looking for. The art and music add an immense amount to the presentation as well.

Phwww, don't scare me like that😌

I found it boring

It's excellent if you enjoy a good story and a lot of reading. It's not for everyone but for those who enjoy that kind of thing, there are few that do it better.

@SolidGame_basic: Can you direct me to the 20 bucks sale? :)

I got it weeks ago during that Epic sale. I'm sure it will be $20 again soon. But if you want to play now, you can get it for $30 on Steam.

I tell you what you wanted to hear when you made this thread: Yes, it's much more of a game than 'movie games'.

Well it got some 10s. It better be damn good.

Damn.. my hopes are deflating even more lol.

@jaydan: Citizen Kane is not an objectively "perfect" film.

@Jag85: You miss the point.

@jaydan: I know.