Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Disco Elysium

[Van-d-all]

I guess we just have two competing definitions of RPG then. I disagree with Gygax. Plane tickets bitch

so you disagree with Gygax, the guy who invented RPGs, on the definition of RPGs?

Since the time of their conception P&P RPGs evolved a lot from their dungeon crawling origin. Even within D&D a lot of emphasis has been put to world building and different types of adventures. cRPGs are a different beast entirely, and for various reasons up to this day they allow conflict resolution through combat, but in many of them already such solutions are optional. It stands to reason that in various settings combat isn't prominent enough to justify a separate in-game system. It was a matter of time for cRPGs to take this into account, Disco just happens to be the first(?) one to do it.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Apparently pointing out that developers promised a 90-hour open world, open-ended RPG, but delivered a 15 hour linear Telltale adventure with map a size of broom closet is not discussing the game.

That's just typical heckler rubbish mate.

It would be refreshing for a change if an intellectual discussion was to be had out of different points of view.

It would, so why don't you lead the charge and intellectually refute the claims about dishonest marketing.

I'll wait.

 

[ScrotumBroth]

It would, so why don't you lead the charge and intellectually refute the claims about dishonest marketing.

I'll wait.

I'm not going to even try, length of a playthrough is obviously far from reality.

But I don't care about marketing, the game delivered big time, 27 hours it took me to finish were of exceptional quality.

Your turn now, game has both conflict and combat, why do you insist it's not an RPG? Does it needs trash mobs, available to engage at will, in order to meet criteria?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Your turn now, game has both conflict and combat,

pic related, completely identical to D&D and nobody is able to tell the difference

 

[Van-d-all]

But I don't care about marketing, the game delivered big time, 27 hours it took me to finish were of exceptional quality.

Honestly, believing in marketing in modern day and age is quite weird already. On top of that is this site about the games or their marketing really, because those are two separate things. I understand there's a reason to be outraged about blatant scams like F76 or NMS, but arguing about advertised number of hours is completely subjective and beside the point of judging the game's merit.

 

[Prime Junta]

About that marketing, yeah there's way too much obvious bullshit in it. This isn't a 90 hour or 50 hour game and it's not open-world except in the loosest sense of the word. I wish they hadn't said all that. (BTW the 90 hours is now 120 hours in the latest interview, somebody really needs to tell Robert to calm the fuck down, it's not helping.)

It is however a legitimate attempt at recreating the feel of a tabletop PnP gaming session, and I do not know of any other cRPG that gets as close to achieving it as this. (It's obviously still a far cry from the real thing which I think is inherently impossible in a single-player game, as the whole meat and potatoes of tabletop gaming is the interaction between the participants and you can't have that without having the other players to interact with.)

 

[ScrotumBroth]

pic related, completely identical to D&D and nobody is able to tell the difference

Shhh, adults are talking.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

The trick to navigating the Codex is figuring out which Codexians gambled their planet-sized ego on Disco Elysium being good, 2 years before it even came out and now take every criticism as a personal offense.

I am of course not referring to anyone specifically.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The trick to navigating the Codex is figuring out which Codexians gambled their planet-sized ego on Disco Elysium being good, 2 years before it even came out and now take every criticism as a personal offense.

I am of course not referring to anyone specifically.

Strangely, all of them seem to be using specific avatars that allow you to easily identity them.

 

[Bruma Hobo]

It stands to reason that in various settings combat isn't prominent enough to justify a separate in-game system. It was a matter of time for cRPGs to take this into account, Disco just happens to be the first(?) one to do it.

Alter Ego did it first.

 

[Prime Junta]

Alter Ego did it first.

IIRC Alter Ego is a pure CYOA though. Does it track world state or character state?

 

[Van-d-all]

Alter Ego did it first.

IIRC Alter Ego is a pure CYOA though. Does it track world state or character state?

It does. As per wiki: "Alter Ego keeps track of certain player statistics throughout the game, which in turn affect the alter ego's ability to succeed at certain choices. "

 

[Prime Junta]

It does. As per wiki: "Alter Ego keeps track of certain player statistics throughout the game, which in turn affect the alter ego's ability to succeed at certain choices. "

I vaguely remember playing Alter Ego way back then. I've mentally filed in in the same box as Infocom text adventures though. It is a shame it took this long to translate that to a richer medium and develop it further.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I don't really care about non-RPGs being called RPGs, but I do have an issue when a developer makes claims like this:

Disco Elysium is the most faithful representation of desktop role playing ever attempted in video games.

Then write them a very strongly-worded email.

 

[Van-d-all]

It does. As per wiki: "Alter Ego keeps track of certain player statistics throughout the game, which in turn affect the alter ego's ability to succeed at certain choices. "

I vaguely remember playing Alter Ego way back then. I've mentally filed in in the same box as Infocom text adventures though. It is a shame it took this long to translate that to a richer medium and develop it further.

Well, you can play it in browser nowadays: https://classicreload.com/alter-ego-male.html

 

[Prime Junta]

It does. As per wiki: "Alter Ego keeps track of certain player statistics throughout the game, which in turn affect the alter ego's ability to succeed at certain choices. "

I vaguely remember playing Alter Ego way back then. I've mentally filed in in the same box as Infocom text adventures though. It is a shame it took this long to translate that to a richer medium and develop it further.

Well, you can play it in browser nowadays: https://classicreload.com/alter-ego-male.html

Or here: https://www.playalterego.com/

 

[Puteo]

Spoiler

The phantasmal madness was just retarded, dreams were retarded, characters like the woman with our gun or the guy in the container were retarded, scenes where we were incapacitated by waves were retarded, whole anodic music and that computer plot were retarded. On the other hand they often tried to make an impact by killing someone off, whether it was that near library woman's husband, or Renee or another guy (there were more) to me it felt like a cheap attempt to move us but in my case it had opposite effect mainly because in the end they were some random NPCs which we didn't have much time to get to know.

So you don't understand comedy and you are incapable of empathy.

Friend, I hate to break it to you but I don't think it's the game that's retarded

 

[luj1]

It's funny to see all this nitpicking about combat,...

There is no nitpicking, though. There is no combat.

 

[luj1]

The trick to navigating the Codex is figuring out which Codexians gambled their planet-sized ego on Disco Elysium being good,...

It *is* good. A good adventure game.

 

[Prime Junta]

It *is* good. A good adventure game.

I'd be interested to hear your reaction to MRY's argument that it's not an adventure game: it tracks character state and world state, it's not focused on puzzles, the mechanics are stat and RNG based, and items give stat boosts rather than being used to solve puzzles.

I.e. if you insist on categorising it but feel it's wrong to categorise it as a RPG, it's even more wrong to categorise it as an adventure game/CYOA.

Spoiler

I don't have a problem categorising it as an adventure/RPG. I do think however that the RPG characteristics are strong enough that it's incorrect to disregard them altogether, combat mode or no combat mode.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

About that marketing, yeah there's way too much obvious bullshit in it. This isn't a 90 hour or 50 hour game and it's not open-world except in the loosest sense of the word. I wish they hadn't said all that. (BTW the 90 hours is now 120 hours in the latest interview, somebody really needs to tell Robert to calm the fuck down, it's not helping.)/QUOTE]

Ring him up and tell him

 

[Jason Liang]

goddamn evolutionary fucking dead ends shilling for a shitshow amateurish spelling bee anticyoa where nothing matters and all you do is frantically roll dice to have the HONOUR of reading even more Judith Butler tier abominable navel gazing EYESHAGS bc I hesitate to call the contents of this diarrhea jar 'writings'

Maxie please keep Professsor Butler out of the cesspool, thanks.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Goral is a hero

AN hero

 

[Roguey]

- Categorically against: cosmetic technology improvements aside, I'd be happy as a clam if they just kept making new IE games forever (*substitute Gold Box, ur-Fallout, or other favourite classic RPG franchise)

Give me entertaining narratives and good combat encounters/pacing and this is me.

For what it's worth, Hipster Pretentious meets my criteria for being a role playing game, but not a particularly great one (for similar reasons why I didn't think Stygian was all that great in terms of role playing; the two of them appear to be similar structurally). I don't think Torment is a good one either.

 

[Prime Junta]

Ring him up and tell him

I sent him a note. I hope he still likes me.