Disco Elysium

Text RPG with an isometric camera and point-and-click interface Disco Elysium received worldwide recognition thanks to its plot and unusual role-playing mechanics. Players can expect a complex detective story with half-hour dialogues, unexpected plot twists, and variable scene progression. There is no combat system like in modern RPGs. All gameplay actions and battles are conducted through dialogues and skill checks, and the hallmark of Disco Elysium is the hero's skill disputes in his head.

The game is set in the fictional reality of Elysium created by Robert Kurvitz , where life exists only on Isolas (islands and archipelagos) separated by the Pale (all-consuming Nothingness), through which one can travel at the risk of life. The Isolas are densely populated by people whose appearance and culture are derived from English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, and other ethnicities.

Humanity in Elysium has gone through development stages similar to those on Earth, but the process was different, so firearms, primitive motorcars, and airships coexist with atomic energy, radio communication, electronics, and computers. Society, after centuries of feudalism, is bubbling with new political currents: anarchism, democracy, communism, libertarianism, and fascism.

The player arrives in Revachol: once a powerful city-state that influenced all of Elysium, but was destroyed during a civil war and the long foreign occupation that followed. After decades of mass repression, suppression of dissent, and strict police control, the thriving metropolis turned into ruins.

The port district of Martinaise, where Disco Elysium takes place, is no exception. Criminal gangs, private corporate armies, crowds of drug addicts, packs of wild animals, rotting factory skeletons, and decaying ghettos with millions of residents are a common sight here. The local militia, of which the main character is a member, barely handles 10% of crimes.

There is no open world as such. Martinaise is represented by numerous small locations that serve as static backdrops for the narrative (though everything looks like watercolor). The player's task is to examine the location, click on every point of interest, and not miss any details. Careful study of the world will help a lot, as new locations open up during the playthrough, and something might change in the already explored ones.

Disco Elysium borrows a lot from old-school RPGs. Its role-playing mechanics are based on comparing the hero's skills with the conditions of the dialogue or situation, with active and passive checks happening constantly. With low stats, additional options simply won't appear in the dialogue, or the hero won't notice important details.

But even with high parameters, there is a chance to fail a check — a dice is rolled each time, adding uncertainty. Additionally, as skills increase, it's easier to pick up negative effects, such as paranoia. However, failing a check, thanks to the efforts of the writing team, simply opens up a different development of events, and thus is not perceived with rejection.

The character has an inventory that holds notes, clues, and various items with positive and negative bonuses to skills, such as harmful substances and clothing. The last one is a kind of equipment that can be used to adjust stats to current needs and just look stylish.

From the beginning to the end of the playthrough, you constantly need to make decisions that will affect both the further development of events and the ending. There are 15 of them in total, but only 1 final is beautiful and correct, all the others are premature. How exactly to complete tasks is up to the player — to persuade in dialogues, get into fights, or quietly gather clues.

Detective Harry Dubois arrives in Martinese with the task of investigating a strange murder. Almost solving the case, he suddenly experiences a life crisis, goes into a deep binge, and upon emerging, remembers nothing but how to communicate. This is where the game begins.

Dubois will have to not only re-solve the case (main quest) but also restore his memory and figure out what is really happening in Martinese. There are plenty of secondary quests, they are diverse: the miserable life of Harry himself, political struggle in Revachol, paranormal antics, and they are no less detailed than the main one.

The Metric development system offers 24 skills covering most of the usual detective actions: from brainstorming collected clues to a simple interrogation with pressure. All of this is based on 4 main characteristics (strength, motor skills, intelligence, and soul), each with a line of 6 properties. Therefore, each skill point changes a lot.

Bare numbers are far from everything, as each skill is a kind of advisor in Dubois' head, with the ability to intervene in a dialogue or situation. "Empathy" will suggest not pressing the interlocutor, "Drama" will notice a lie, "Logic" will ask to clarify details. Often, a particular skill comes up in the most unexpected situations, as the game constantly makes checks.

The novelty of Disco Elysium is an entire mechanic responsible for mental activity. Thoughts are constantly spinning in Dubois' head, appearing after dialogues and visual analysis, or during a dispute between skills. A thought can be pondered by placing it in a special slot in the “thought cabinet”.

While the thinking process is ongoing, the hero receives one perk, when the thought development ends, it changes to another. It is unknown in advance what the thought contains, so Harry can start with a bonus and end up with a penalty and severe depression. The latter, in turn, will open a separate quest. Thoughts can be accepted or rejected, spending skill points on it.

The basis for Disco Elysium's narrative is a world full of problems (caused by life in poverty and devastation) and contradictions (political, economic, ethnic, linguistic, and others) of a society stuck at the level of the 1970s. The role-playing system became the superstructure of the plot.

Together, they created an engaging and detailed "living story," all facets of which can only be seen on the third playthrough. And with no tiresome "saving the world," it's a purely local story. The narrative is so well thought out that characters and situations adequately adapt to the main character's build and decisions.

Идеалист найдет все улики, накажет всех виновных и под аплодисменты коллег раскроет дело, попутно заручившись поддержкой множества здешних обитателей. Анархист же переругается с одной половиной персонажей, но заведет новых друзей среди расистов и алкоголиков, а еще будет вышвырнут из милиции за сотрудничество с криминалом и взятки.

При этом как бы персонаж не чудил, он всегда доберется до финала, самостоятельно или движимый игрой, ведь основной сюжет толком не меняется. Зато во всем остальном каждое прохождение будет уникальным. Но придется читать. Много читать. Компенсировать это может слог удивительной силы: обычные фразы способны довести до слез своей глубиной и эмоциональностью.