Started playing Disco Elysium by British studio ZA/UM and after about 4 hours I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I absolutely love the inner monologue with all the different aspects of one's personality and the tailored experience the initial stats value provide through successful automatic checks and the interjection they trigger. The passage of time also is an interesting mechanic.
On the other I feel like all the political topics are just for show. Several political philosophy terms are thrown around in conversations with NPCs, but they either fizzle into a vague apolitical stance or it puts the main character who, like the player, doesn't have a good grasp on the political history of the game world, on the spot to express unnuanced opinions through seemingly forced dialogues options.
What about you? Have you played or finished or abandoned Disco Elysium?
#videogames #videogame #review
On the other I feel like all the political topics are just for show. Several political philosophy terms are thrown around in conversations with NPCs, but they either fizzle into a vague apolitical stance or it puts the main character who, like the player, doesn't have a good grasp on the political history of the game world, on the spot to express unnuanced opinions through seemingly forced dialogues options.
What about you? Have you played or finished or abandoned Disco Elysium?
#videogames #videogame #review
This entry was edited (3 years ago)
Rasmus Fuhse likes this.
Hypolite Petovan
•marius
•I didn't really notice anything like this, but maybe I wasn't looking very hard.
Hypolite Petovan
•After having played a couple hours more, both the protagonist and myself got more information on the historical events and it felt easier to pick political answers that were closer to actual political sensibilities the protagonist could have at the stage of his remembrance. But every time I've been put on the spot before that, I have been choosing the evasive option because even I as a player wasn't sure what the more politically committed answers meant in the context of the game world.
This actually triggered a special internal monologue where the prota... show more
After having played a couple hours more, both the protagonist and myself got more information on the historical events and it felt easier to pick political answers that were closer to actual political sensibilities the protagonist could have at the stage of his remembrance. But every time I've been put on the spot before that, I have been choosing the evasive option because even I as a player wasn't sure what the more politically committed answers meant in the context of the game world.
This actually triggered a special internal monologue where the protagonist branded himself a centrist for a lack of political leaning, and I felt it was a little unfair given that the protagonist has a complete amnesia at the start of the game, so even if he had any clear political leaning before the amnesia, he wouldn't be able to have any shortly after the amnesia occurred for a lack of memories about historical events and the actual political currents.
I actually appreciate that they came up with a couple original political terms like "moralism" and "ultraliberal" because both the player and the protagonists can discover them at the same time without any real-world baggage that only the player can have.
marius
•Hypolite Petovan likes this.
Hypolite Petovan
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