Bethesda's latest can't help but feel shallow by comparison.

Bethesda’s latest can’t help but feel shallow by comparison.

  • Jordan Lund@lemmy.oneEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    Lost me at “Disco Elysium had arrived and absolutely blown the doors off the RPG genre.”

    I’ve never played a more restrictive game with worse dialog choices.

    a) Can’t tell if brain damaged.
    b) Can’t tell if drunk.
    c) Can’t tell if high.
    d) Can’t tell if stupid.

    No good choices. Thank god Steam let me refund it.

    Looked pretty though!

    • Coelacanth@feddit.nuEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I mean. Disco Elysium is only an RPG in the sense that you get to choose which version of Harry you play. It’s not a blank slate situation where you can be whatever you want, you’re always just Harry. And it is barely even a game, at the end of the day. It’s a novel pretending to be a game.

      In terms of RPG design, though, the one thing it truly did put into the forefront was the “fail-forward” ideas present in many interactions, which is something more games should take inspiration from.

      Making failure interesting makes the story much more engaging regardless of your choices and your luck by discouraging save scumming and instead letting you feel good about rolling with whatever outcome happens.

      • Coelacanth@feddit.nuEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        If you’re interested in politics, existentialism, the human condition, coping with depression, addiction, trauma and loss and want to read a novel about these themes told through the story-telling medium of an isometric RPG then it is the game for you.

        Despite claiming to be an “isometric CRPG detective game about solving a murder mystery” on its About page Disco Elysium is actually none of those things at the end of the day, and if those things are what you want you’ll probably end up disappointed.