Gaming disco elysium

[Jabberwocky]

anyone played?

i'm only just finished day 2, so no spoilers please. really enjoying it. i've never felt like i wanna replay something so strongly this early in first play through, but i can see so much potential for the different character options. just concentrating on trying to solve the case and not completely alienate kim, without being 100% straight lased cos that seems boring.

did anyone go full communist? it would make me be a bit sick in my mouth every time i selected that dialogue option but it seems like it could be fun.

in general, what character options did you choose, what did you find useful etc?

i usually get bored playing video games all evening several nights back to back, even ones i love, i just don't wanna spend my evenings on the sofa numbing my brain, done enough of that with drugs. but yesterday i was straight on the switch at 5pm (joys of working from home!) and didn't stop til bed time and will probably do the same this eve.

 

[S.J.B.]

I'm glad somebody else here finally got around to playing it! I first played it two years ago and I'm currently on a third playthrough, with over 100 hours clocked. It's a masterpiece, unlike anything else out there, probably the best game I've ever played. It was so dark and sad and beautifully written, and it made me laugh out loud many times. When I finished the game the first time it was like being punched in the gut.

Did you end up finishing it?

The first time I played Intellect 4, Psyche 4, Physique 2, Motorics 2; the second time Intellect 5, Psyche 1, Physique 1, Motorics 5; the current run Intellect 1, Psyche 5, Physique 5, Motorics 1. I'm very happy I made the choices I made for the first run, as they were definitely the best settings out of the three runs. I've noticed in the current run that the game is not balanced well toward low-Intellect; it's easy to get stuck not being able to move forward. Unfortunately the game is rough around the edges and full of potential soft-locks. If I would have run into this in my first play-through I would probably have a lesser opinion of the game. But it's just so good despite the foibles like this.

I even tried to get my mother to play this game, as she is an avid reader like me and I thought she would like the writing. (In the end she couldn't get into it due being unfamiliar with video-game mechanics and logic.)

If anyone else thinks this game sounds interesting: it's now out on all the major consoles, although it's point-and-click controls mean it's still best played on PC. My only disclaimer is that if you don't like reading novels (or at least listening to them on Audible, etc.), the game probably isn't for you. They recently updated it with full narration (I can't review that as I prefer to read and so have it turned off), but the game is still primarily transmitted via text, and not "gameplay."

This game is especially relevant for Bluelighters as there is a lot of drug use in this game. Even relatively obscure drugs like mephedrone and at least one designer tryptamine or phenethylamine (I forget which one and can't find the quote) pop up in the dialogue. And ravers!

EDIT: Oh, and I always played as a centrist/Moralist.

 

[arrall]

I've heard a lot of great things about this game.
Gonna play through it eventually.

 

[arrall]

Apparently both this and Life is Strange (one of my favourite story based games) are getting Amazon TV adaptations.
Not sure if they'll pan out, since several years ago LiS was supposed to get a Netflix adaptation that never ended up happening.

‘Life Is Strange’, ‘Disco Elysium’ Pegged for TV Adaptations From Amazon Studios​

Life Is Strange and Disco Elysium fans will be getting their own TV adaptations, courtesy of Amazon. Per Deadline, Amazon Studios has teamed up with Dmitri M. Johnson’s dj2 Entertainment (which co-produced the Sonic the Hedgehog film adaption, along with the sequel) to bring several video game adaptations to the service, including Dontnod Entertainment’s Life Is Strange and ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium.

EDIT: Just realized the studio that made that apparently godawful Sonic movie is making these. Goddamn it....

 

[Jabberwocky]

I'm glad somebody else here finally got around to playing it! I first played it two years ago and I'm currently on a third playthrough, with over 100 hours clocked. It's a masterpiece, unlike anything else out there, probably the best game I've ever played. It was so dark and sad and beautifully written, and it made me laugh out loud many times. When I finished the game the first time it was like being punched in the gut.

Did you end up finishing it?

i'm so glad you enjoy it so much!! its really so creative and i love the idea that we get so much control over the story.

we did finish it and apparently got an OKish ending. we met the insulindian phasmid and kim didn't die. the phasmid was sweet!

The first time I played Intellect 4, Psyche 4, Physique 2, Motorics 2; the second time Intellect 5, Psyche 1, Physique 1, Motorics 5; the current run Intellect 1, Psyche 5, Physique 5, Motorics 1. I'm very happy I made the choices I made for the first run, as they were definitely the best settings out of the three runs. I've noticed in the current run that the game is not balanced well toward low-Intellect; it's easy to get stuck not being able to move forward. Unfortunately the game is rough around the edges and full of potential soft-locks. If I would have run into this in my first play-through I would probably have a lesser opinion of the game. But it's just so good despite the foibles like this.

this is good to know re going too low intellect, we are planning on being much more of a meathead this time round but will make sure we at least have 2 point in intellect. we are going full communist so it would be internally inconsistent to have too high intelligence. i also in general for the second playthrough wanna concentrate more on what is happening in the world, not just the case, we only picked up on that relatively late in the game.

This game is especially relevant for Bluelighters as there is a lot of drug use in this game. Even relatively obscure drugs like mephedrone and at least one designer tryptamine or phenethylamine (I forget which one and can't find the quote) pop up in the dialogue. And ravers!

it really is!! plus i'm sure we have all met some people very similar to the ravers.

 

[S.J.B.]

Yay I'm happy you liked it too @Jabberwocky! But you really need to add a spoiler wrapper to that one paragraph in your post in case somebody here ends up seeing this thread and then playing the game.

 

[ghostfreak]

Got this as a free title a few months back on Stadia, this makes it a must to try it soon.

 

[Shady's Fox]

yo idk

 

[Shady's Fox]

i've tried to watch some videos about it seems like a pride to many yet is not a liquid soup but a bar soap

i wanted to play it really but na stay away cuz is healthy and when is healthy it is nosene

 

[somnilicious]

Been thinking of trying this one out as something different to contrast with all the open world, action rpg's I usually play.

 

[arrall]

I finally got around to this one over the past couple weeks, and finished it this afternoon.
This is probably my favourite game out of everything I've ever played.
To everybody who has ever said that video games cannot be art, I present them with Disco Elysium.

As for my playthrough:
I started out with Int 4 Psy 2 Phys 2 Mot 4.
My signature skill was Encyclopedia.
Used Goracy's Brew to permanently up my Phys to 5 early in the first day.
I dumped points into Encyclopedia, Shivers, Perception, & Conceptualization.
I also used Pyrholidon to put extra points into Empathy and Suggestion past my Psy 2 limit.
I went full communist.
Some of the most rewarding side quests for me were those with the ravers, the walk with Lillienne, and the communist vision quest.
I got the ending where you meet & photograph the cryptid and Kim joins 41st with you. Only the 3 Union men and the mercenaries were killed during the tribunal.
I savescummed a fair bit on checks but mainly swapped clothing a ton in order to pass them.
I also used Jamais Vu & Actual Art Degree to farm skill points.

 

[S.J.B.]

It's been nearly a year since I last played it, and I recently set my desktop background to the picture of Martinaise from the intro screen. And PC Gamer still has it as #1 on their Top 100 list, even though it was released in 2019. It sticks with you...