Twist on 28/10/2019 at 17:35
I bought it, partly based on what I read from Thirith and Sulphur here, but my near-future queue is pretty full right now. I'm eager to play it, though, and it's one of those rare games I'm sure I'll like.
I realize it may go on sale before I play it, but a little like Thirith I like to pay full price early to support small or new developers trying something bold and different, especially if the early reviews and comments suggest the developers have been reasonably successful in their ambitions.
Malf on 1/12/2019 at 22:13
Picked this up on Friday in the GOG sale, and I must say that graphically, this is the prettiest game I've played in a long time. It looked special in the screenshots I'd seen, but it's amazing in motion. It's somewhat reminiscent of Viktor Antonov's work on Half Life 2 / Dishonored, and has a very coherent sense of place and character. It's like impressionist oils in motion.
It's truly a lovely thing, and so far, I'm massively impressed.
I hope these guys get the chance to do more of this kind of thing.
Thirith on 3/12/2019 at 07:22
I'm not sure I'd call the game pretty, as the art is grimy and pungent, but it is definitely a striking, unique and (to my mind) pleasing art style. I don't think I've seen anything like this in any other game, and it fits Disco Elysium's tone so well. It's definitely more than a little refreshing to see a game that takes more aesthetic pointers from the likes of Francis Bacon than from generic sci-fi or fantasy paperback covers.
Malf on 3/12/2019 at 10:39
By pretty I'm trying to convey that the artistic talent on display is phenomenal and contains remarkable beauty. It has a concrete identity that manages to pass beyond photorealistic reproduction and better convey emotion and complexity. Pretty's just shorter ;)
I managed to rid Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau (that's his name, and he won't be told otherwise) of "The Expression" last night, and I'm a little sad, as his portrait now looks glum instead of happy :(
Thirith on 3/12/2019 at 10:55
For that value of 'pretty' I am definitely in full agreement. Disco Elysium *is* pretty. ;)
demagogue on 5/12/2019 at 16:13
Well I got it. Kind of breaking my rule on what to hold out for and at what price, but eh, it's got some character.
It reminds me of Matrix gaming, which if you don't know is a style of role playing where basically it's like open ended storytelling between players and a DM in a set world and loose plot-arc where the players can request to do literally anything each "turn". The DM then computes a probability score for the request and rolls dice to see if it eventuates. And then the DM just runs with it in the storytelling. And it plays a lot like this game; or rather this game plays a lot like a Matrix game, just not as totally open ended, But in return this game is quite story (or anyway world- and character-immersing) driven, and the writing is very good. So it's okay.
I like it so far. It's a point & click adventure with some bullet point interactive fiction core, with the RPG side, great environments and wicked and fun tone. If there's more I haven't gotten to it yet. I should report with a better opinion after I've finished.
Thirith on 5/12/2019 at 16:49
At first I thought
Disco Elysium was fun and smart but not necessarily very deep, that there were tons of possibilities and options but that it merely scratched the surface of the world and characters. As it went on, I think that a lot of what seemed a bit glib and jokey at first gathered a more melancholy note. Sure, I'll remember the game as "the one where I died trying to get my tie down from the ceiling fan", but
Disco Elysium accumulates moments of introspection, sadness, strangeness and poignancy that I haven't found elsewhere in gaming, except perhaps around the margins of the likes of
Kentucky Route Zero and
Night in the Woods (though the latter has a very different energy and a much clearer political perspective), while still integrating the jokes and out-there weirdness.
I really liked (
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/11/29/disco-elysium-offers-a-dark-mirror-to-my-mid-life-crisis/) Alec Meer's recent RPS post on the game. It's more about the feelings the game evoked in Alec than about the game's ideas, but I think this is a valid approach to this particular game, and a lot of what he wrote resonated with me.
Malf on 6/12/2019 at 17:24
Hah, just met the ultra-rich guy in the shipping container, where his wealth coefficient is so high it breaks the laws of physics and bends light around him. As I was leaving, I noticed something weird about my funds in the interface; they kept fluctuating towards massive figures. The further away I got from him, the lower the figure. Nice bit of fourth-wall breaking there :D
Renzatic on 13/5/2020 at 06:17
I just now finished the game. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't garnered more attention here at TTLG.
Oh, and in case anyone's wondering, I ended up being a superstar cop, politically a moralist, though a total ultraliberal on a personal level (and no, I don't even try to reconcile the two ideologies together), who is, according to Kim Kitsuragi, one of the greatest detectives he's ever seen in action.
It was an awesome game. Thirith's take on it about mirrors mine. It starts out funny and weird for the sake of being weird, but becomes more melancholy and, honestly, more interesting the farther you delve into it. Overall, I'd say it does the magical realism thing better than Kentucky Route Zero.
Sulphur on 13/5/2020 at 06:50
Quote Posted by Renzatic
Overall, I'd say it does the magical realism thing better than Kentucky Route Zero.
That's heresy. Both are awesome at melancholy magical realism, and you're herewith suspended from having an opinion.
Okay, maybe I should finish both games first before I shoot my own damn foot off.
