Incline Disco Elysium - The Final Cut - a hardboiled cop show isometric RPG

[KVVRR]

If you don't mind that the game doesn't have combat and that your choices won't affect the overall plot that much, then yes, very much so.

 

[hivemind]

what;s the appeal when there is no cnc? prose and visuals?

 

[KVVRR]

Very good writing and what little cnc there is being very engaging (in part thanks to the writing). Visuals and music are very good too considering a no name indie company made this, specially the 2D art which is beautiful. World is also interesting once you get to the more out-there parts of the lore. The main character's and the player's experience, motivation and knowlodge are probably going to be the same as soon as the game starts, something that I find amazing so many RPGs STILL don't do.


Writing "pigs are going to have SEX" on a body's autopsy record on your partners' note and then the game not only remembering that you did but having the restrain to only point it out hours later as a joke if you go out of your way to say "See Kim I got all of these on point I'm a supercop" is a testament for how cosmetic cnc can be good too. Most games would've inmediatedly pointed it out with a "hey whatdayya think this is a vydeagaim xD".

And, personally, I prefer the game to just be honest with itself and not to add a very tedious and unnecessary combat system.

 

[AwesomeButton]

There is CnC, try playing as a complete anti-cop and they will be there. There are no endgame-altering C&C though, at least I haven't gone that far into playing against the expectations of the character. I'm sure the case won't just solve itself.

 

[KVVRR]

There is CnC, try playing as a complete anti-cop and they will be there. There are no endgame-altering C&C though, at least I haven't gone that far into playing against the expectations of the character. I'm sure the case won't just solve itself.

As far as I know you can go indefinetly without resolving the murder and until you find you know who the you know what won't start. There is a bit of endgame CnC, however.

Spoiler

 

[Isak]

God the dialogue system is my favorite part about this game.

And a big reason for that is even failing a roll is usually hilarious, sometimes informative, and often successfully moves you along. In most RPGs failing a stat roll is all punishment, but here usually the worst that happens is a ding on your health/sanity so you’re free to choose whatever looks interesting even if your odds are really low. Plus you can usually boost that stat and try again later - most stat checks are retryable.

All this saves you from agonizing over your choices and save-scumming for missed rolls and just letting the conversation flow along.

Like this one time where I went “Respuct muh uthoritay!” and then I failed the roll, then made a series of decisions that resulted in me having the main character shoot himself in the head because no one believed he’d actually do it............to prove a point....... (Fortunately I had a recent auto-save but even if I didn't it'd have been worth it).

And another time I made a ton of money in the early game because I spectacularly failed a skill check.

I love this game.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

now that the dust has settled

is this worth pirating?

Buy it, nigga, it is not fucking Ubisoft game.

 

[Thac0]

There is CnC, try playing as a complete anti-cop and they will be there. There are no endgame-altering C&C though, at least I haven't gone that far into playing against the expectations of the character. I'm sure the case won't just solve itself.

Spoilers game solution:

Spoiler

Solving the case is entirely dependant on the shivers check in front of the billboard that tells you that Judy is below the building. Confronting here triggers the mercenary shootout which always triggers access to the island. On the island the culprit will always confess. As such the shivers check is the only way to lose the game next to dying when you run out of xp and ways to open it up again. You will usually roll on this check with 80% + odds tho due to every sidequest adding modifiers to it when completed.

As for why one would play this game:
This game has rpg mechanics despite having no combat. You are constantly juggling skills, changing your equipment, researching thoughts, taking drugs and taking chances to pass as many checks as possible. If you play the meta game badly by skilling into less than ideal skills, wearing bad clothes or combinations or using the wrong thoughts or drugs you will pass less checks on average, and thus will be locked out of sidequests which give you access to the best stories of the game and explain tons of the lore. Also the sidequests lead into one alternative, and for me more satisfying ending

Spoiler

The Phasmid

. The stat game and itemisation is very much there - it only resolves in dialogue, not in combat.

Also optics and music are pretty nice and the writing spurs between great and pompous, not the worst place to be.

As for wether hivemind should pirate it: I already know you are subhuman, so go ahead. But if you want to show some honor buy it, the game isnt expensive and goes on sale reasonably often. You can always refund on steam if you dont like it, the game definitly puts its cards on the table early and shows you what you will be doing all game long.

 

[NJClaw]

now that the dust has settled

is this worth pirating?

First, the dust hasn't settled yet.

Second, it's worth buying, so it's definitely worth pirating (and then buying, or you get to spend your afterlife in hell).

 

[NJClaw]

what;s the appeal when there is no cnc? prose and visuals?

It's an interesting and moving story about human feelings, abandonment, inadequacy and dealing with emotions and life. The art style is superb in every aspect and the writing is spot-on.

 

[Ghulgothas]

now that the dust has settled

is this worth pirating?

First, the dust hasn't settled yet.

Second, it's worth buying, so it's definitely worth pirating (and then buying, or you get to spend your afterlife in hell).

And then buy the soundtrack for some great early-morning listening tunes.

And then buy the artbook for it's conversation-starting wallpapers, and to further fund the artists' substance habits.

 

[conan_edw]

 

[Sarathiour]

Spoilers game solution:

Spoiler

Solving the case is entirely dependant on the shivers check in front of the billboard that tells you that Judy is below the building. Confronting here triggers the mercenary shootout which always triggers access to the island. On the island the culprit will always confess. As such the shivers check is the only way to lose the game next to dying when you run out of xp and ways to open it up again. You will usually roll on this check with 80% + odds tho due to every sidequest adding modifiers to it when completed.

Spoiler

Actually, tribunal automatically happens after some time ( 6 days methink), so you can't lose the game this way, even if you manage to miss all your shiver check

 

[KVVRR]

Spoilers game solution:

Spoiler

Solving the case is entirely dependant on the shivers check in front of the billboard that tells you that Judy is below the building. Confronting here triggers the mercenary shootout which always triggers access to the island. On the island the culprit will always confess. As such the shivers check is the only way to lose the game next to dying when you run out of xp and ways to open it up again. You will usually roll on this check with 80% + odds tho due to every sidequest adding modifiers to it when completed.

Spoiler

Actually, tribunal automatically happens after some time ( 6 days methink), so you can't lose the game this way, even if you manage to miss all your shiver check

Spoiler

Wait, really? I must've gotten really lucky then, I remember going as far as to day 5 or 6 in my first gamethrough and assuming the tribunal wasn't actually time related because it activated just after dealing with Ruby even though Inland Empire or some other character mentions that you have four days at most. In the same sentence they say that it's less than a week. Maybe I was just going crazy from playing the game for almost two days straight

 

[NJClaw]

Spoilers game solution:

Spoiler

Solving the case is entirely dependant on the shivers check in front of the billboard that tells you that Judy is below the building. Confronting here triggers the mercenary shootout which always triggers access to the island. On the island the culprit will always confess. As such the shivers check is the only way to lose the game next to dying when you run out of xp and ways to open it up again. You will usually roll on this check with 80% + odds tho due to every sidequest adding modifiers to it when completed.

Spoiler

Actually, tribunal automatically happens after some time ( 6 days methink), so you can't lose the game this way, even if you manage to miss all your shiver check

Spoiler

You physically can't fail the Shivers check if you played the game thoroughly. I had the lowest possible Shivers level and I still reached something like 90% on that check after a while.

 

[Sarathiour]

Okay, after some test , please disregard everything i said, i was wrong.

 

[Xamenos]

Spoilers game solution:

Spoiler

Solving the case is entirely dependant on the shivers check in front of the billboard that tells you that Judy is below the building. Confronting here triggers the mercenary shootout which always triggers access to the island. On the island the culprit will always confess. As such the shivers check is the only way to lose the game next to dying when you run out of xp and ways to open it up again. You will usually roll on this check with 80% + odds tho due to every sidequest adding modifiers to it when completed.

Spoiler

Actually, tribunal automatically happens after some time ( 6 days methink), so you can't lose the game this way, even if you manage to miss all your shiver check

Spoiler

You physically can't fail the Shivers check if you played the game thoroughly. I had the lowest possible Shivers level and I still reached something like 90% on that check after a while.

Spoiler

It never reaches the point of autosucceeding without a roll, so yes, it's possible (if unlikely) to fail.

 

[Thac0]

1/1 always loses so there is always a 1/36 or 3% chance to lose any roll in the game. Even if you roll with 15 against a DC of 10 or something absurd like that.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

1/1 always loses so there is always a 1/36 or 3% chance to lose any roll in the game. Even if you roll with 15 against a DC of 10 or something absurd like that.

Also I believe it is impossible to dodge the tribunal bullet even if you succeed.

 

[Thac0]

1/1 always loses so there is always a 1/36 or 3% chance to lose any roll in the game. Even if you roll with 15 against a DC of 10 or something absurd like that.

Also I believe it is impossible to dodge the tribunal bullet even if you succeed.

Spoiler

The game needs the violence at the tribunal to escalate and you to be shot so you can limp on the island. All your checks just affect who of the NPCs die. I think if you kill all mercenaries and dodge the bullet there will still be a last surprise bullet fired by the dying leader that gets you. Its one of the low points of the game, a game with more budget would have a much more complex result tree here depending on the clues you have gathered. Feels incredibly railroaded but its not bad enough to spoil the game.

 

[Polyphemus]

1/1 always loses so there is always a 1/36 or 3% chance to lose any roll in the game. Even if you roll with 15 against a DC of 10 or something absurd like that.

Also I believe it is impossible to dodge the tribunal bullet even if you succeed.

Spoiler

The game needs the violence at the tribunal to escalate and you to be shot so you can limp on the island. All your checks just affect who of the NPCs die. I think if you kill all mercenaries and dodge the bullet there will still be a last surprise bullet fired by the dying leader that gets you. Its one of the low points of the game, a game with more budget would have a much more complex result tree here depending on the clues you have gathered. Feels incredibly railroaded but its not bad enough to spoil the game.

This was my only problem with the game. I think it's a 9/10, but it spoiled my replay a bit when I realized that none of my decisions really mattered and the last chunk of the game plays out on the same linear path no matter what I do. But given how long they spent developing it and all the thought that went into it, I also just assume this was a budget thing.

 

[vota DC]

You get Cuno or Kim, Final dialogue can be different. I would prefer failure/win case at the end, also makes more sense than meet your team with a random kid, after all Kim Is there to oversee you so you get him wounded and you are supposed to be forced to wait unless you are doing illegal stuff like stealing armor.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

This was my only problem with the game. I think it's a 9/10, but it spoiled my replay a bit when I realized that none of my decisions really mattered and the last chunk of the game plays out on the same linear path no matter what I do. But given how long they spent developing it and all the thought that went into it, I also just assume this was a budget thing.

 

[Infinitron]

PC Gamer's #1 Game To Play Right Now is...

 

[nimateb]

Just finished this at the beheast of the codex, 9.5/10 ballsy game. Loved the writing and the dialogues. Best game i've played since dark souls.