PC SkillUp review of Disco Elysium, a game you should've already played.

[Xbob42]

 

I think the thumbnail tells you everything you need to know, but there's also an hour-long video with more detail if you need it.

[Bacon]

I'd like to get this game at some point, but I think that point will be quite some time from now.

[TheLeon]

I bought it during the recent Steam sale. I haven't started it yet, partly because I'm worry that I'm going to be one of those dummies that doesn't like the game all the cool kids like. 

[Keyser_Soze]

It won like 4 awards at #TheGameAwards so it is

 

 

[Xbob42]

57 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

I bought it during the recent Steam sale. I haven't started it yet, partly because I'm worry that I'm going to be one of those dummies that doesn't like the game all the cool kids like. 

Oh, there's no doubt some people won't like it. But if you don't, you don't. You already bought it, so you might as well see!

[Mr.Vic20]

Fantastic game! Worth your time! Like a good book that you say, "I just don't have time to read right now!" but once you give it a minute, it sucks you in! 

[Enlityn]

Jusssttttt getting into this. 1st thought- what in the fuck. I'm digging it! 

 

 

[Moa]

This game makes me feel cripplingly indecisive.

[Xbob42]

1 hour ago, Moa said:

This game makes me feel cripplingly indecisive.

There's a path for that!

[Enlityn]

Would prefer crippled and indecisive, but you take what you can get.

[Paperclyp]

I bought it and really enjoy it so far. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

It's the PC Gamer Game of the Year

 

[Bacon]

I don't really like this game and I think the story is hella boring. From an idiot's prospective, the game is almost constant political mumbo jumbo, and almost every character feels the need to spew out their political beliefs the first time you meet them. It is wholly uninteresting to read and there is so much of that content that I just have to gloss over. It is to the point that many characters have only a few lines of text that I care about. To make it worse the game really wants you to adhere some sort of political ideology. Which really sucks when you don't really have one. I could just pick one, but I don't care about that kind of shit. If I pick one then I just get more boring text to read, and if I don't have a political opinion the game is basically fast tracked to the next part of the text chain. If there appears to be a funny option then I pick that, but picking a funny option doesn't get many funny responses.

 

There isn't much of a story yet, and I can already tell the Detective is going to have a very boring and obvious cliche past that at some point will be used to pull on your heart strings. It is clear that is the main reason for his depression and drug and alcohol abuse. It is literally a story that has been told hundreds of times. This next thing is my own fault, but I don't have to like it. Like in all games, I just don't use drugs or consume alcohol. I am sure that my play style will make this game more boring, but it shouldn't. There should be as many interesting sober actions as there are drug or alcohol fueled actions. There also hasn't really been anything I'd consider funny. There are funny responses, but they aren't really funny. 

 

It really does have some great role playing aspects. You can mold your character into almost anyway you want, but the issue that you have to want to mold him into one directions or the other. If you don't, then you seem to be left with cop who just makes his way from point A to point B. I am still compelled to finish the story so far for some reason. I guess there is some kind of charm to it, but I kinda feel like I wasted my winnings. Or, like, I wish I picked something else. At the very least, this just 100% confirms I don't like CRPGs. This game is basically everything I hate about CRPGs. 

 

I actually just realized what I liked about the game and that is the MC's conversations with himself. How each skill talks to the player. That is what keeps me playing.

[legend]

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

I don't really like this game and I think the story is hella boring. From an idiot's prospective, the game is almost constant political mumbo jumbo, and almost every character feels the need to spew out their political beliefs the first time you meet them. It is wholly uninteresting to read and there is so much of that content that I just have to gloss over. It is to the point that many characters have only a few lines of text that I care about. To make it worse the game really wants you to adhere some sort of political ideology. Which really sucks when you don't really have one. I could just pick one, but I don't care about that kind of shit. If I pick one then I just get more boring text to read, and if I don't have a political opinion the game is basically fast tracked to the next part of the text chain. If there appears to be a funny option then I pick that, but picking a funny option doesn't get many funny responses.

 

There isn't much of a story yet, and I can already tell the Detective is going to have a very boring and obvious cliche past that at some point will be used to pull on your heart strings. It is clear that is the main reason for his depression and drug and alcohol abuse. It is literally a story that has been told hundreds of times. This next thing is my own fault, but I don't have to like it. Like in all games, I just don't use drugs or consume alcohol. I am sure that my play style will make this game more boring, but it shouldn't. There should be as many interesting sober actions as there are drug or alcohol fueled actions. There also hasn't really been anything I'd consider funny. There are funny responses, but they aren't really funny. 

 

It really does have some great role playing aspects. You can mold your character into almost anyway you want, but the issue that you have to want to mold him into one directions or the other. If you don't, then you seem to be left with cop who just makes his way from point A to point B. I am still compelled to finish the story so far for some reason. I guess there is some kind of charm to it, but I kinda feel like I wasted my winnings. Or, like, I wish I picked something else. At the very least, this just 100% confirms I don't like CRPGs. This game is basically everything I hate about CRPGs. 

 

I actually just realized what I liked about the game and that is the MC's conversations with himself. How each skill talks to the player. That is what keeps me playing.

 

There are some pretty well established non-committal to politics "builds" you can shape your character to just as much as there are to picking extremes. Not sure how far you are, but maybe your id just hasn't nudged you about that yet  

 

FWIW, the story has some seriously weird elements to it that I'd also love to see expanded upon in future games if they ever make them.

[Xbob42]

2 hours ago, Bacon said:

This next thing is my own fault, but I don't have to like it. Like in all games, I just don't use drugs or consume alcohol. I am sure that my play style will make this game more boring, but it shouldn't. There should be as many interesting sober actions as there are drug or alcohol fueled actions. There also hasn't really been anything I'd consider funny. There are funny responses, but they aren't really funny. 

Hey if you don't like the game, that's to be expected for a fair amount of people. It's definitely not gonna hit for everyone. That said, I too don't find drugs or alcohol interesting or funny in any way and also tend to avoid them in games simply because I feel like they're always a shortcut to getting wacky, dumb or sad in a totally uninteresting way, and I never felt like I was missing out by not having Harry get blasted.

[Paperclyp]

I’ve chuckled out loud several times playing this. Typically when there’s an option for him to attempt to convince someone or something to do something stupid. 
 

I’m only 4-5 hours in. 

[Moa]

I do think the drug and alcohol angle is a little weak, there is simply too little incentive to use them and it is too easy for you, the player, to exercise control. I haven't used drugs or alcohol in my playthrough yet but I am saving some bottles that I hope will play into the endgame, although only time will tell. 

 

It's possible that it's totally valid to be blasted, but I dont feel like the game has communicated any incentive to do so.

[Greatoneshere]

18 minutes ago, Moa said:

I do think the drug and alcohol angle is a little weak, there is simply too little incentive to use them and it is too easy for you, the player, to exercise control. I haven't used drugs or alcohol in my playthrough yet but I am saving some bottles that I hope will play into the endgame, although only time will tell. 

 

It's possible that it's totally valid to be blasted, but I dont feel like the game has communicated any incentive to do so.

 

I played also not really utilizing drugs or alcohol, but the incentive is to see what he and others end up saying about his behaviour. I've heard of some pretty insane drug/alcohol builds that lead to hilarious and bad stuff. Not my way to play but apparently it's a very different experience. Another aspect that makes the game so rewarding.

[Bacon]

OK I did get a chuckle

[Moa]

I finally won! 37 hours of words was a big ask but this game is truly fantastic. I felt like the latter third of the game was a little rushed, but perhaps it's just because I was so meandering in accomplishing anything early on. I'm glad that the game rewards you for your investments in various divergent story lines and nothing felt like a dead end.

[Xbob42]

They've added a hardcore mode and ultrawide support!

 

Quote

Today, we're introducing a new gamemode. This isn't meant for first-time detectives who aren't already familiar with Martinaise. If you're new on the beat, come back after you've already enjoyed your time in Revachol. This one's for officers ready to burn out on a wild ride.

Welcome to Hardcore True Detective mode. The city at the end of the world just got more existential.

 

So, what's different about Hardcore Mode?

 

YOU'RE GONNA FAIL MORE
You'll fail more. That's a fact of life in Hardcore Mode. The difficulty of every Check goes up, bringing your chances of success down. Solving this case without being a Total Disaster Cop is even harder than normal. On the bright side, you'll have more to be proud of if you do solve the case, even if your dignity got left behind with the Union of Moribund Alcoholics. And the Cuno. And Klaasje. And -- well, just take your victories where you can.

 

YOU'RE GONNA BE POORER
The pornographically poor people Martinaise have even less money to drop, meaning there's less for you to pick up. Lining your pockets with that delicious lucre is going to be nigh on impossible. Better get used to picking up every scrap of tare you can find. At least Roy still gives okay deals in his pawnshop, as you sell off your material wealth for a pittance. You've always had to hustle to survive. Now you've got to hustle more.

 

YOU'RE GONNA GET SCREWED BY BIG-PHARMA
What's more, pharmacutical prices have gone up. That's right! Failing costs you even more. Not only are your favorite over-the-counter drugs are more expensive -- they don't even heal you as much. Even if you find a forgotten stash in the streets, it won't be as good. That's how they get you though, isn't it? They charge you more for less, and make a killing as you die.

 

YOU'RE GONNA LEARN TO LOVE DRUGS
If you weren't a fan of booze and cigarettes before, let alone the hard stuff -- well, good luck to you. Life's a lot more bearable with those pick-me-ups. When all other help abandons you, and your sweet drugs are all that's left, it'll be harder to resist the call. Sweet ciggys to clear your head, an extra drink to build up your courage. Hardcore Mode makes it clearer how Martinaise fell into disrepute. No wonder there's a drug problem when folks have nothing else to turn to.

 

YOU'RE GONNA TREASURE YOUR CLOTHES
The few possessions you do have become more important. That FRITTTE Plastic Rain Coat never protected you so good. Your Amphibian Sports Visor always helped you find stuff, but that stuff never mattered so much. Those Flare-Cut, though, and those Green Snakeskin Shoes -- you might want to lose them before you try to make any jumps.

 

YOU'RE GONNA THINK MORE CAREFULLY
You've got to be careful with what goes in your head, too. You've got to plan carefully what you start thinking and when. The Thought Cabinet debuffs are more painful when you're already more liable to fail. Can you really afford to indulge your Superstar fantasies for a few hours when it's already harder to think straight? On the flip side, the bonuses thoughts offer might push you down paths you wouldn't take otherwise. Maybe it's not sexy to be a Boring Cop, but that extra stability might really help you out.

 

YOU'RE GONNA WISE UP FASTER
There is one saving grace you have in Hardcore Mode. The self-help books, at last, are right: Failure builds character. In this worse world, you'll gain token amounts of extra XP every time you finish a Task. You'll lever faster and higher, if only marginally. You'll be able to become a more well-rounded cop, better than you ever were before. So that's something, at least!

 

LOOKING BACK
Again, Hardcore Mode isn't for everyone. But if you've loved this strange story in this forgotten city, it's a way to experience it from a new perspective -- a Martinaise perspective. For those of us here at ZA/UM, who've already spent hundreds of hours playing, this new mode been a wonderful chance to revisit the game in a fresh way.

 

Good luck, detective.

 

[legend]

Might be worth a replay on hardcore  

[atom631]

For us peasants 

 

https://www.gamesradar.com/disco-elysium-will-be-on-xbox-one-and-ps4-in-2020/