Disco Elysium

Finished my playthrough with a Psyche-based, but pretty balanced, Sorry Cop with too much empathy for his own good. Loved it, especially the big sort-of-setpiece sequences like the Tribunal or the last dream where you relive your last conversation with your ex. There were a few times where the game really moved me, like the first time I called the station and all of the other guys were mocking Harry, until the boss reminded them that he isn't just a clown, but a guy with very serious problems.

I've been playing this, since I finally found a largeish bit of free time.

In game I'm starting day 5 and I think I've done pretty much everything other than the next advance of plot. I need to either confront Disco Dancer about her lies or go after Rose in the peninsula. Or I could just be playing board games with Kim.

I'm curious, so could some kind soul tell me how close I am to finishing this game? It feels like I'm 80% through, does that sound about right? I want to know if I'll have to rush this through tomorrow when I have like half a day or if I should leave it for the next free weekend. I hate playing games like these in short spurts.

The game has been a great experience. Love the writing and the skill system. The themes are strong and the characters compelling. I'm pretty much 100% invested in seeing this through.

I also love the complete lack of combat, at least thus far. (I figure things'll get a bit more physical later.) One of my bigger complaints about stuff like the new Planescape were that these games feel like they need a complex system to solve conflicts and then since they have those they stamp out samey combat encounters everywhere. This game is one more proof of that not really being necessary.

Edited by GabrieltheThird on Nov 23rd 2019 at 11:47:16 AM

You're very close. Confronting Disco Girl about her lies isn't a Point of No Return, and actually gives you some damn good evidence and ammo for later "conversation battles." Confronting Rose is a PoNR and will advance you to the final stage of the case. Remember, the miracle hasn't happened yet.

Been replaying the game once again -still an inttelectual cop, but with a custom character this time to have more emphasis on the emotionnal part.

Got to do a couple of things differentely, and it's pretty good - the Necktie being a supplementary character and pulling a Heroic Sacrifice is amazing, spin kicking measurehaed makes his character not as pointless as just jumping from the whirgling, having more esprit de corps really gives some cool flavor to the world, especially the insights after the initial phone call, and I actually got to talk to the phasmid this time and the conversation is pretty heartwarming (I turned down the pheormones the first time, and regretted it)

Evrart is a really cool character. Like, he's an asshole, don't get me wrong, but he has a lot more going on that you would expect - he actually kinda reminds me of Steven Armstorng from metal gear rising - both physically, and conceptually - big guy that puts up a facade of a corrupt hypocrite only in it for the money but hides very strong convictions beneath it. And yeah, breaking the deadlock 100% does play into his hands, but it's still stopping an armed conflict to happen and overall the good thing to do.

still didn't looked into the drug traffic since I tried to stay away from anything that could be read as corruption, too bad the only way to look into it seem to do it for joyce.

I think I'm as close to a golden ending I could be without looking at a guide, so that's a pretty good sendoff. But I really want a sequel to this. Both the - "You can give me a Mission-Pack Sequel and I'll gladly take it" sequel, and a "I don't care which format you do it in, I want a continuation to harry's story" one.

The game's writer already wrote a novel in the same universe, which came before this game. It's still in the translation process, however, and I believe it focuses on different characters.

Edited by UltraWanker on Nov 26th 2019 at 11:58:02 AM

Just finished this game. Really great game - I doubt I have much to say about it that others haven’t already, but this was really fun and creative, and the sort of thing I would love to see more of in the future. Hope they roll out some kind of sequel in the future.

I managed to get a pretty good ending myself, though I did spoil myself a tiny bit in places, as well as abused Save Scumming to pass the checks I really wanted to get. That said, I managed to get through the Tribunal in one go, so that definitely felt like a victory.

Only real complaint is that walking around everywhere without a fast travel option is a bit of a chore, though at least time doesn’t advance while you’re doing it.

If I had one regret, it’s that I never got to sing karaoke. I wasn’t sure what to do, and by the time I figured it out, I was already in the endgame. Alas...

Edited by KarkatTheDalek on May 10th 2020 at 12:46:00 PM

Edited by ModelKnight on May 18th 2020 at 1:25:30 PM

Clam Man 2: Open Mic

ZA/UM tweeted this a while back and I just got around to trying it. Another isometric modern malaise simulator? Sign me up. But seriously — check this game out. It's one to watch.

I'm already sold on the thumbnail alone.

The prologue is free and it plays a lot like Disco, including the replay value and meandering back-and-forth mental banter and conversations with inanimate objects. You walk around doing quests trying to come up with material for a standup act you've been roped into doing.

It's really solid. I'm looking forward to more.

Apparently, Disco Elyisum is getting a TV series.

I want to be excited. Mostly I'm uneasy. Still, wait and see.

I've had my eye on this game since Jim Sterling and Zero Punctuation reviewed it. After it went on Steam sale last week, I got it. What an experience. I was worried it would be too trial-and-error for my taste, like an adventure game where you die from clicking on the wrong pixel, or combine an eel with a sarcophagus to make a radio antenna.

I was wrong and right. You can die from a heart attack by turning on a light when you have a hangover, or from the shame of missing a gun shot. However, these are so hilarious and well realized that they make complete sense in context. There is no Moon logic (unless you make it yourself through sheer defiance of reality), but the connections between things get a little bizarre at times. When they come together (especially if your skills are high enough), it's absolutely brilliant.

The game also "remembers" the important bits for you. Thankfully I never felt like I had to take notes.

It doesn't do a great job of tutorializing, though. I didn't realize that I had to click on the 'plus' to use a healing item, and that I could save myself from death by doing that. I didn't realize Quicksave was a thing until I'd lost more than ten minutes of progress... multiple times. It took me ages to grasp that LMB (or Tab) would highlight all interactible objects.

The story gets really meta. Like, tongue all the way through the cheek and wrapped around the neck meta. We're in an RPG in which some people are building an RPG. The dialog options let us break the Fourth Wall repeatedly. I could feel sweat dripping as the game critiqued my tendency to take the middle path in every conversation about politics... and I got a bonus Thought for it.

Indeed, I played my first game as an intellectual, moralist, "good cop". I tried diligently to unravel every thread and have every conversation. I got Kim to really respect me for it, which was quite rewarding. I did save scum a few of the white skill checks because there seems to be no benefit to failing them, unlike reds which give you entertaining outcomes either way.

I appreciate that you can't min-max like in some games, or build a super character with 100 in every attribute. You can optimize, though, which is what I did. I adjusted my clothing and placed skill points strategically so I could pass all of those white checks.

It's neat that skills being too high can be as bad as them being too low. Drama is one of my favorites. I think I would like to play a game with high Psyche and Physique to get all of the Inland Empire and Shivers thoughts... play a dude who's so sensitive and in tune with the world that he comes across as utterly weird.

I wish more RPGs would try to be like this, although the AAA industry would never do it. It's just too much work. I heard the developers put thirteen years into this thing.

If I had one criticism, it's the sheer amount of walking (or running). The game world is quite small in absolute terms, but feels very large because of how long it takes to get around it, and there's no fast travel. It's also confusingly laid out. Realistic, perhaps, but tedious at times. That said, walking over the same areas over again can be necessary to reveal all of the encounters and thoughts. It's very rewarding, even.

Edited by Fighteer on Jul 5th 2020 at 3:19:29 PM

I find it kinda weirdly amusing how all political "options" in the games are the bad ones Like on one hand I'm bit annoyed since that kinda seems like "lol politics suck" type criticism, but on otherhand all featured ones really do suck (unless I'm misunderstanding any of them, they are fascism, communism, neoliberal and centrism)

Another thing I'm weirdly mixed about is that I absolutely love this game... But I also dread of idea of writers ever returning to any of these characters since while I'd like to see more of them, I think they will probably just have main character relapse or die of alcohol poisoning making it into one of those artistic tragic statements about how people can never apparently break away from addiction

Probably because sensible political options wouldn't be as hilarious to write about, but also because this world is one of extremes. A corrupt monarchy was overthrown by Communists, who were themselves massacred by a coalition government that now rules Revachol from a distance, and none of those seems to have done a particularly good job of it. Realistically, these people are screwed no matter who rules them, so it's quite reasonable to highlight those failures.

The first political Thought I had the option to take was the Communism one, but I couldn't bring myself to say any of the hardcore Communist dialog lines because they were so absurd. But near the end you meet someone so thoroughly dedicated to that philosophy that it almost becomes sympathetic.

Speaking of which, was anyone a little disappointed by the identity of the killer? Everything comes together thematically and plot-wise; I am not upset in that respect. But for all that the plot plays around with issues of identity and keeps surprising me with its twists and turns (I half-expected the protagonist to be the killer), it came as a shock for it to be so straightforward.

That said, to call an old Communist hiding in an island fortress, his mind held together by a mythical creature, shooting everyone he doesn't like with his sniper rifle "straightforward" is to reveal just how insane this game is.

I'm also trying to imagine the Tribunal scene with you barging in and yelling about a sniper on an island across the bay randomly shooting people. I feel like it wouldn't go any better.

Edited by Fighteer on Jul 6th 2020 at 8:54:24 AM

Bought the game on sale a while back, finally starting it.

I tell you what, I was expecting this game to be a brilliant detective game with lots of good cerebral deductive mechanics, interesting characters who operate though a well written, multi-layered plot - and it's certainly delivering that.

I was not expecting this game to be so damn funny! I think I've laughed more playing this game for an hour or so than I have in games that are outright advertised as humor titles.

I've already leveled once, but put it straight into Endurance. I don't want something as simple as turning on a light switch to kill me in the future (went with a largely mental/persuasive build with no physicality). After that, I'll actually roleplay with my level-up choices.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Jul 9th 2020 at 2:46:05 AM

Wait, people don't know this is the best comedy game since whatever was the last best one? ;D

People don't talk about how funny a lot of RPGs are, including the original Torment, but this is definitely one of the funniest games ever.

Getting that second point of Endurance/Volition definitely takes the pressure off. Just so you're not scrambling later, though, you can heal as you're taking that last point of damage by clicking the little + icons above your health/morale. They're pretty generous with the healing items. Also there are thoughts and clothes that bump up both numbers.

At the moment, I've ended up holding off on upgrading my skills until I find a check that I'm most interested in pursuing, then buffing that. Which isn't quite roleplaying, I guess, but I don't think standard roleplaying is going to help in this game.

The only thing that bugs me thus far is the Thoughts system. Imo, it should either be "spend a skill to shuffle thoughts" or "thoughts are acquired in a non-linear way, and their affects are unknown until they're locked in." Not both.

I do think there should be some penalty to keep you from just toggling thoughts however you need them, but skill points is should definitely have not been it, especially since you need those points far more frequently to retry checks. And spending one of those to undo a choice that is effectively random unless you already know what they do (and I'm trying not to abuse guides on this one) is no bueno.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Jul 10th 2020 at 12:39:44 PM

Considering that the bonuses Thoughts can give you are often well beyond a simple stat boost (although some penalize stats), frankly the skill points spent on them seem pretty darn cheap.

"Gamifying" the game is not really what you're supposed to do, anyway. You get just as much reward from building a completely broken, wacky character as you do from a competent one, although admittedly some parts of the plot can be locked off without the right skill checks.

Edited by Fighteer on Jul 10th 2020 at 4:48:41 AM

My character was a communistic doomsaying anarchic feminist. And I still got the Golden Ending.

Consciously setting out to abuse the mechanics might feel immersion-breaking in other games, but here with the way skills are so heavily integrated into roleplay with all the passive checks where rolling high isn't necessarily straightforwardly positive, toggling thoughts on and off isn't gaming the system, it's playing as intended — just like changing clothes at random multiple times throughout the day and feeding yourself a cocktail of different drugs. It's even lampshaded a few times — we all dabble in certain thoughts and ideologies without necessarily committing to them. Mulling over a thought over a period of ours isn't the same as fully internalizing it, but, by that same token, you also can only spend so much time thinking about an idea before it becomes a part of you on some level. Hence even if you forget the various political thoughts or try not to say them out loud after the fact, they do still colour how you appear to others.

I'm realizing by watching some other LP's of this game that I missed a lot more than I thought I did, and made some mistakes in dialog choices that could have helped me get an even better ending.

I started a new game the other day with a Psyche / Physique build and it's a little disappointing. Many of the dialog options that lead to the really interesting conversations aren't available. What is available leads towards becoming a complete douchebag, and I generally dislike RP'ing as one of those even when it's a valid path.

Authority and most of Physique tend to encourage you to act like a jerk and a bully, but you don't have to listen. Empathy, Suggestion, and Volition aren't the most interesting but they're generally the nicest skills and at high levels they can ofter alternate routes into certain conversations you might be thinking of, and if you focus on Inland Empire, Esprit de Corps, Shivers, and some but not all of what Electrochemistry and your Horrific Necktie tell you, that's probably the best build for the paranatural investigator cop. You'll perceive a lot of things you can't explain, get hunches and flash-sideways.

This game truly does have staggering amount of replayability ._.; Realized on my hardcore mode playthrough that with certain combination of stats(I think it might just be suggestion but I'm not sure) its possible to NOT call Judit by the insulting name post case