When Disco Elysium launched, I had no clue what the game was. Hell, I didn't even know it HAD launched. It just sort of appeared in Twitter feed, and over Waypoint Radio. The first week, I paid it no mind. After all, I don't really play games on my computer anymore, and it probably won't run on here anyways. After the second week though, and after seeing bits on Twitter, and people gush about it over Discord, the game went from background noise to idle curiosity to a siren's song.
Disco Elysium is an isometric detective RPG developed by ZA/UM. Your goal is to solve a murder that has happened in a poverty-stricken burg. You interact with everything in a point-and-click adventure game style. Unlike traditional RPGs though, there is no combat in this game, near as I can tell. Everything is determined by various skill checks that are prompted as you interact with the world. These skill checks allow you to also flesh out what type of person you are. As you play and make decisions, you you thoughts. You have slots to ponder over things in the background while you conduct your investigation and explore. Once a thought is finalized though, it locks the slot and provides some sort of benefit as long as you have it. These thoughts not only provide you stat bonuses, but can also provide you different dialog options, interactions with NPCs, and internal dialogs.
The dialog is the real star of the show in Disco Elysium. When you're looking at an object, your abilities will start to speak to you. For example, occasionally, you might get some background chatter from your Electrochemistry stat, egging you on to go take drugs, smoke, or drink, or it can provide helpful information and point out an NPC is on something. Encyclopedia, on a successful check, can provide you with interesting, if usually dry, information about the world and people.
Skill checks happen constantly in the background. You could be talking to someone, and the next entry in the box will say something like [Empathy - Trivial - Success] And then it will provide you information about their emotional state. Sometimes if you get a passive check and fail, you'll be prompted to say something stupid, sometimes with no option to back out gracefully. There are also two types of Active checks: Red and White - Red Checks are single attempt only. If you succeed the check, great, if not, the option is locked away and everything moves on with that in mind. White Checks can be retried after speaking to an NPC who knows about the situation or thing you looked at, or if you level up the stat associated with the check. For example, there is a kid early on you can meet with a Legendary Empathy check. With my stats having a pair of points in Empathy, and neutral empathy from gear/thoughts, I had roughly a 40% chance of hitting the check. I failed it, and haven't been able to retry, because I haven't spent a level up point on that stat.
When you level up, you can either level up one of the 20 skills in the game, open a new Thought slot, or forget a thought you've fully internalized. If you haven't fully internalized a thought, you can swap it out freely and pick it up later, to try to get the bonus.
I know I tend to go over the basics of the mechanics in games when I write about them, but it helps me both think about the game, and hopefully it can also express some of the interest and excitement I find in a game. Anyways, moving on to what I think about it. I like the game a lot so far! The game profiled me as a Sorry Cop, which, fair. I ended up apologizing and trying to own up for the shitty behavior my character exhibited before I took control. I try to not abuse my power as a police officer, as the people in the area are already untrusting of authorities, which has actually led me to get pushed around by several characters.
What's fascinating about this game is that each decision feels meaningful in a small way, both mechanically and narratively. Since level up s are spaced pretty far apart, deciding what to do with that level up point is a big deal. Do I want to increase this thing so I can have a slightly better chance on this part of the investigation, or do I want to know more about this other person? Maybe I want this Thought slot that may give me a big bonus once internalized, or do I hate that my brain is trying to whip me into physical shape like a drill sergeant? Decisions you make in conversation feel natural and impactful most of the time. You can get on people's bad sides through your words and deeds, or you can ingratiate yourself to them. With the constant checks going on, my stats feel important, and the conversations have an ebb and flow to them where you can be in a good rhythm, then suddenly a bad check sends you to a dead end.
I kinda want to compare this to Mass Effect right now. In Mass Effect, I never felt like any one conversation mattered. Sure, important conversations, like with Wrex on Virmire, feel like they occur at natural points, but they also have a sense of gravity with them. You know something important is about to happen, so you best be on your game. In Disco Elysium, I don't think I'm encountering world altering decisions, after all, I'm just one man, but the fact I went to the Union head to get help getting the body down out of the tree will have some ramifications. The fact I missed a check on the field autopsy will probably come back to bite me at some point. I could have probably kept my partner from having to sell his shit if I took bribes and asked more people for money. It's a lot of small decisions in the moment-to-moment that add up to crafting a personalized trip through the narrative. It's really interesting and for me, engaging as all hell.
Also, we need a special shout out for Kim Kitsuragi. He was assigned to work on the case alongside you, and has his shit together way more than you do. He's such a cool dude, a quite sort, good at his job, kinda straight laced, but you can rope him into your shenanigans too. He's one of the most interesting companion characters I've seen in an RPG. He also pops off at a racist, which was fun too. Hell yeah, I got your back buddy.
I highly recommend Disco Elysium. It's a classic RPG crossed with a Visual Novel, in a way, and a Point and Click Adventure game. It's well written, interesting, and full of mystery. I look forward to finishing it. It's a grimy dirty tale, but still have enough levity to make me smile. If you have been looking for an RPG without needing the combat, give this a shot.
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