We have a new update on The Future of the Penny Arcade Forums.

[Disco Elysium] Hobocop just can't stop

SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
edited October 2019 in Games and Technology
11jmm4pzdatx.png

What is this game?
In Disco Elysium, you play an alcoholic, amnesiac cop in the retro-futuristic city of Revachol. There's a corpse hanging from a tree outside your hotel room and everyone seems to think you're here to do something about it. You've been on a bender for three days and the locals think you're a joke, but not everything is as it seems...

How does it play?
It's a narrative role-playing game. You go around talking to people and inspecting the environment to try and solve the mystery. Hidden skill checks happen in the background that give you access to additional dialogue. There is danger and you can get hurt, but it's all narrative. There is no combat in this game.

Reviews:
When does it come out?
It's out on PC now!

Developer website: https://zaumstudio.com/

Yoinked OP from @Ninja Snarl P who put way more effort in than I did:

You're a cop. Possibly. It's something you're working out, anyway. You probably have a job to do. The downside? You didn't quite drink yourself to death, but your brain made a solid attempt at killing itself. You definitely have a name, you just don't know what it is. You do know you have certain skills, but they are some damned chatty skills.

Disco Elysium is... well, it's an RPG. No combat that I know of, but that doesn't mean you can't die. Seriously, if you fuck around too much trying to get your tie after waking up? Heart attack. Game over. And all of your skills? They have OPINIONS. Yes, in capital letters. Basically every ability you have will pipe up with commentary at some point, and you'll spend as much time conversing with the your Drama or Physical or Logic skills as you will talking to actual people. You're a fucky cop in a fucky miserable little town figuring out some fucky murder, all the while trying to reason with the fucky skills chattering in your head. Here's the main archetypes:
AJZNpuQ.jpg

Or just go crazy with your own custom character! I mean, you'll BE crazy anyway, but at least this way it's your particular brand of crazy.

Did I mention the part where your skills and choices ripple out and constantly effect the game and story? And this story runs some 50-60 hours so... yeah, there's a lot of ripple there. Take this kid Cuno for instance. Trust me, you want to punch Cuno. *I* didn't punch Cuno, but I still WANT to punch him and now I can't and Cuno is King Asshole of the Asshole People. But now I just have to live with treating him like a kid.

Do you want the rebirth of communism that cleanses the world in fire? There's a mission for that. Want the free market to liberate the world from notions of equality? Yup, there's a mission. Want to prop up the status quo for some post-modern idea of eschewing standard humanity with generations of effort? Yeah, there's a mission there, but good luck actually accomplishing anything with it. Bully? Philosopher? Beggar? Monster? Saint? It's all there, and it all grows out from your decisions. Wanna be a nice cop, asking questions and helping people? Easy, do that that. Wanna be a brute who intimidates and bullies people into answering his questions? Go for it. Wanna get real high and figure out cases blasted out of your mind with ability-enhancing drugs? Not even a challenge. Do you like lots of magnesium? Smear it all over your body, man, nobody is stopping you. BE THE MAGNESIUM MAN.

Oh yeah, and your skills are constantly running checks during conversation, popping up to give you little useful pieces of insight or direction or just trying to outright bully you into some really stupid but entertaining actions. You also get active checks where you can take a chance on dice roll based on your skills; failure and success are both always options, although the ones with a 3% success rate maybe aren't a smart call. Sometimes it means you artfully execute a leap of at least several feet without injury, and sometimes it means you "escape" a conversation by literally running away from a conversation, launching into a flying backwards leap towards an old paralyzed lady in a wheelchair while firing off both middle fingers at an angry motel. No, this is not considered a success.

The art style is also pretty dang cool, if you're into that sort of thing. The game plays from an isometric perspective so it's not going to blow your graphical socks off, but it does a real nice job of really CONVINCING you of the grit and refuse you're sleazing through.

Currently, I have no fucking clue where the story of this game is going, but I'm dying to find out. I'm also shocked there isn't a thread on here about it, because this has every indication of being a properly amazing RPG coupled to some very unique art, world design, and writing.

Steam: Spawnbroker
Spawnbroker on
«1345678

Posts

  • KetarKetar Come on upstairs we're having a partyRegistered User regular
    I chose speech options about eating the rich enough times that a new internal dialogue popped up and asked me if I wanted to bring back Communism, but better.

    So now I'm a nu-Communist, alcoholic, disco cop with an inexplicable feminist agenda.

    I will be shocked if this does not end up my game of the year.

  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    Ketar wrote: »
    I chose speech options about eating the rich enough times that a new internal dialogue popped up and asked me if I wanted to bring back Communism, but better.

    So now I'm a nu-Communist, alcoholic, disco cop with an inexplicable feminist agenda.

    I will be shocked if this does not end up my game of the year.

    I am also Communist Cop! I wonder if this opens up additional dialogue options later.

    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • KetarKetar Come on upstairs we're having a partyRegistered User regular
    Ketar wrote: »
    I chose speech options about eating the rich enough times that a new internal dialogue popped up and asked me if I wanted to bring back Communism, but better.

    So now I'm a nu-Communist, alcoholic, disco cop with an inexplicable feminist agenda.

    I will be shocked if this does not end up my game of the year.

    I am also Communist Cop! I wonder if this opens up additional dialogue options later.

    Dialogue and actions, from what I've seen so far. Some of them are phenomenal :P

  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    This game continues to surprise me.

    Dumpster diving spoilers
    I just unlocked my gameplay statistics on my quest screen by thoroughly examining my officer stats on the notepad that was in the dumpster

    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    edited October 2019
    For the record, do the forum search BEFORE making a new thread making the exact same reference as the preexisting thread.

    Anyway, people should be way more interested in this game and talking about it a ton. I'm currently running brainy cop with knowledge of just about everything except anything relevant to his own life, which is leading to numerous interesting internal discussions. I can ID a large group of men by their shoe sizes in the snow, but I can't remember where I left my gun. Or badge. Or clothes. And apparently basic things like "my name". And FYI? Calling in to the station to admit those things was, perhaps, not the wisest course of action. It was, however, unintentionally hilarious.

    That union boss has offered to be super-helpful in all those regards, though. Oh wait, he's obviously scum and FUCK YOU BAD CHAIR, I MADE IT OUT ALIVE.

    Ninja Snarl P on
  • HonkHonk Honk is this poster. Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    So I’m super curious about this game but feel like I should research more. When I play pnp it irks me when I need to pass a check to tie my shoelaces and at least from what I’ve heard this game is leaning into that direction. That’s essentially why I’m not currently playing it as we speak.

    PSN: Honkalot
  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    I am not even close to solving the murder and now the game has both given me a sense of extreme urgency AND completely removed from suspicion any suspects I had.

    Things are way more complicated than they initially seem. A very good thing for a noir detective story!

    I unlocked Art Cop and immediately put that in my thought cabinet. I am also going to Bring Back Communism! There are also certain dialogue options unlockable with Joyce where shit started getting wild. I also have at least 3 tasks that I have to do once Kim goes to sleep, because he wouldn't approve.

    I love this game so far.

    @Honk if you're worried about having to pass checks all the time...you're not wrong, but it also isn't tedious. The game handles most of the checks for you passively in the background, and a failure doesn't lock you out of the conversation, it just usually means something different or funny happens. I would watch some gameplay and see if it's your thing, but most of the RPG fans I've talked to absolutely adore this game.

    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    @Ninja Snarl P I yoinked your high-effort OP and put it in mine, I agree with everything you said and you put way more effort in than I did

    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    what the fuuuuuck

    this game sounds amazing!

    I'd never heard of it before. I just spent my gaming budget, so it's going to have to wait, but this shot up to the top of my list.

  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    edited October 2019
    I'm trapped in my room and can't figure out how to get a key out of my pants.

    Edit: Figured it out. Turns out the big pulsing dot over my head, you know, means something.

    Quid on
  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    I tried to lie about my name. I failed. I decided the fake name is really cool and I'm sticking with it.

    This is phenomenal.

  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    edited October 2019
    Honk wrote: »
    So I’m super curious about this game but feel like I should research more. When I play pnp it irks me when I need to pass a check to tie my shoelaces and at least from what I’ve heard this game is leaning into that direction. That’s essentially why I’m not currently playing it as we speak.

    It's not really at all the type of RPG where you have to have certain skills to progress. The automatic skillchecks are much more about molding the story to your character than blocking progress, as most of the options for the direction you take comes from exploration and conversation; they also happen in the course of conversation, so they never interrupt the flow of the game. The active skillchecks are much more rare, and most of them are "white" checks, which can be redone later, as opposed to "red" checks, which can only be tried once.

    To take your example of tying your shoelaces, the game starts out by you actually having to find one of your shoes. My guy started out pretty high in a skill that lets him analyze visual info to reconstruct events, yet I failed a 90%+ active skillcheck to analyze why the window in my room is broken. With a little bit of exploring, I went outside and found out "somebody" (myself) had thrown the shoe through the window and it was sitting on the balcony. So I got a little colorful commentary about a broken window, but completing the "quest" came down to exploring, not passing a skillcheck.

    The being said, you can literally die if, at the start of the game, your character struggles too hard to get your tie from the ceiling fan. You don't need the tie that I'm aware of and you basically start the game with 0 HP, but it's how the game shows you that failing badly enough hurts either your HP or your morale. Events that can damage your character are much more rare and the game has both restorative items and events, but the game also does a lot of warning you if something is risky.

    So far, I have yet to see anything resembling something like needing X skill level in lockpicking to progress. You might fumble the attempt so badly you take morale damage or you might have some big skills boosts to the check from talking to people or you might have just seen the key somewhere, but if you really need to get through the door, there's going to be a way. It might not be graceful or delicate, but you can do it regardless of your skills.
    @Ninja Snarl P I yoinked your high-effort OP and put it in mine, I agree with everything you said and you put way more effort in than I did

    Awesome! I just want people to know about this great game, so thanks for that!

    Ninja Snarl P on
  • malkothmalkoth Registered User regular
    Yeah, this came out of nowhere for me. Anybody who is a fan of Planescape: Torment should check out a review to see if this is your cup of hard liquor.

    "Be who you are, and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter, and those who matter dont mind." - Dr. Seuss
  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    This is the first time I'm aware of what the actual gameplay is, and that sounds really fun. Unless it gets annoying, like having 3 sidekicks

    steam_sig.png

    3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
    Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
  • MovitzMovitz Registered User regular
    I just talked to a police car and got game overed due to low morale, wat?

    Do not understand this game but it sure is an insane ride.

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    I need some hints re finding
    ruby

    And a person to
    do a fake signature for the contract

  • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
    edited October 2019
    This is the first isometric wordy RPG that I actually want to play.

    Obsidian should take note.

    Cantido on
    3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    I need some hints re finding
    ruby

    And a person to
    do a fake signature for the contract

    I'm proably not as far as you, but I believe there is a large mural to the west that has a Shivers 20 check on it. That seems to be what I need to do to progress. I'm sure there are other ways as well, but the mural was the most obvious.

    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    Holy crap, just started this but I have a feeling it's going to be a trip.

  • CorsiniCorsini Registered User regular
    edited October 2019
    Are there more shoes available later?
    There seems to be a bug, where if you restart the game, possibly without fully quitting, a flag does not get unset and you cannot pick up your right shoe. I just assumed my detective was bad at finding shoes.

    Corsini on
    steam_sig.png
    Steam Badger A greasemonkey script for better gifting and peering
  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    FYI, when your brain tells you to put a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger to establish authority, um, don't.

    Fuck you, brain, we're supposed to be a team!

  • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
    Ugh, where in the talk tree can I subscribe to the racist guy's nonsense.

    Punching him almost worked. Almost.. Now I have to suck up to him.

    3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    edited October 2019
    I'm greatly enjoying this; there hasn't been another RPG since Planescape Torment that gave me this particular set of feelings, and while you can see how Disco Elysium adapts some of Planescape's elements (e.g. tattoos --> Thought Cabinet), it still gives them its very own spin.

    Right now, the only thing I actively dislike is the journal screen showing you the available skill checks. It's not particularly clear where these checks are and the descriptive labels are minimal. Yesterday it took me a couple of hours to realise what "Pile of clothes" referred to. Even if they don't want to give you clear waypoints like there are in most games, they could've made this more helpful, or if they didn't want to do that, they could've at least made it interesting. As it is, it feels unfinished.

    Also, concerning the object of your investigation:
    I'm on day 3 and unlikely to get the body down from where it's hanging any time soon. Is this... normal?

    Thirith on
    webp-net-resizeimage.jpg
    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    Thirith wrote: »
    I'm greatly enjoying this; there hasn't been another RPG since Planescape Torment that gave me this particular set of feelings, and while you can see how Disco Elysium adapts some of Planescape's elements (e.g. tattoos --> Thought Cabinet), it still gives them its very own spin.

    Right now, the only thing I actively dislike is the journal screen showing you the available skill checks. It's not particularly clear where these checks are and the descriptive labels are minimal. Yesterday it took me a couple of hours to realise what "Pile of clothes" referred to. Even if they don't want to give you clear waypoints like there are in most games, they could've made this more helpful, or if they didn't want to do that, they could've at least made it interesting. As it is, it feels unfinished.

    Also, concerning the object of your investigation:
    I'm on day 3 and unlikely to get the body down from where it's hanging any time soon. Is this... normal?
    Is your tie being inhabited by a gonzo disco spirit normal?

    You can apparently solve the case without getting the body down, so that's probably fine.

  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    edited October 2019
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Is your tie being inhabited by a gonzo disco spirit normal?
    When it comes to
    ties,
    nothing surprises me.

    Thirith on
    webp-net-resizeimage.jpg
    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    Loaded this game up yesterday, and immediately died of a heart attack because I:
    Reached up and tried to grab my necktie.

    *rolls up sleeves* Yep, this one's going to be good.

    We'll see how long this blog lasts
    Currently DMing: None :(
    Characters
    [5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    While I like the cheeky audacity of that moment (which I found more than a little reminiscent of the old Sierra adventures), I do wish they'd created an auto-save immediately after character creation.

    webp-net-resizeimage.jpg
    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    I know too many people who have died to that moment for it to be an accident. I think it's one of those checks that's an auto-fail, because the developers are trying to teach the player that they need to SAVE OFTEN.

    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    I definitely passed on the first shot without issue, it's not auto-fail.

    I think it's more to show the player that choices can hurt/kill you, so keep that HP/morale up (seeing as you wake up at 0 on both).

  • chrono_travellerchrono_traveller Registered User regular
    My first death was in a conversation with (maybe mild spoilers for about 30 mins in)
    The union boss. I had accidentally found an entrance from the yard with the dead body, and just kinda followed that (hadn't even dealt with the body yet), found the union boss at his desk. And through some dialog options, experienced so much regret, I apparently just keeled over?

    Restarted now, gonna definitely have to keep a careful eye on morale now. :)

    The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    My first death was in a conversation with (maybe mild spoilers for about 30 mins in)
    The union boss. I had accidentally found an entrance from the yard with the dead body, and just kinda followed that (hadn't even dealt with the body yet), found the union boss at his desk. And through some dialog options, experienced so much regret, I apparently just keeled over?

    Restarted now, gonna definitely have to keep a careful eye on morale now. :)

    You can soft lock the game by getting to him without enough morale

  • milskimilski Poyo! Registered User regular
    Couldn't you theoretically like, talk to Leo enough to pass time until the boss leaves? Extremely tedious waste of a day, tbf

    I ate an engineer
  • chrono_travellerchrono_traveller Registered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    My first death was in a conversation with (maybe mild spoilers for about 30 mins in)
    The union boss. I had accidentally found an entrance from the yard with the dead body, and just kinda followed that (hadn't even dealt with the body yet), found the union boss at his desk. And through some dialog options, experienced so much regret, I apparently just keeled over?

    Restarted now, gonna definitely have to keep a careful eye on morale now. :)

    You can soft lock the game by getting to him without enough morale

    Yeah, restarted, and taking a more step-by-step approach (like dealing with the body)

    The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    My first death was in a conversation with (maybe mild spoilers for about 30 mins in)
    The union boss. I had accidentally found an entrance from the yard with the dead body, and just kinda followed that (hadn't even dealt with the body yet), found the union boss at his desk. And through some dialog options, experienced so much regret, I apparently just keeled over?

    Restarted now, gonna definitely have to keep a careful eye on morale now. :)
    Was it perhaps that you
    sat in the chair? If so, your health goes down until you die - or use one of the items that heal you. You can just click on the red cross to use such an item.

    webp-net-resizeimage.jpg
    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
  • chrono_travellerchrono_traveller Registered User regular
    Thirith wrote: »
    My first death was in a conversation with (maybe mild spoilers for about 30 mins in)
    The union boss. I had accidentally found an entrance from the yard with the dead body, and just kinda followed that (hadn't even dealt with the body yet), found the union boss at his desk. And through some dialog options, experienced so much regret, I apparently just keeled over?

    Restarted now, gonna definitely have to keep a careful eye on morale now. :)
    Was it perhaps that you
    sat in the chair? If so, your health goes down until you die - or use one of the items that heal you. You can just click on the red cross to use such an item.

    About the convo with the big guy:
    I did sit in the chair eventually, but the health wasn't what got me. I only had 1 morale, and I forget what conversation triggered it, but the loss of morale that did it, not health.

    The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
  • The BraysterThe Brayster UKRegistered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    My first death was in a conversation with (maybe mild spoilers for about 30 mins in)
    The union boss. I had accidentally found an entrance from the yard with the dead body, and just kinda followed that (hadn't even dealt with the body yet), found the union boss at his desk. And through some dialog options, experienced so much regret, I apparently just keeled over?

    Restarted now, gonna definitely have to keep a careful eye on morale now. :)

    You can soft lock the game by getting to him without enough morale

    Oh boy don't I know it. I save scummed the hell out of that conversation.

    About the convo with the big guy:
    I did sit in the chair eventually, but the health wasn't what got me. I only had 1 morale, and I forget what conversation triggered it, but the loss of morale that did it, not health.
    LOST GUN. LOST. GUN.

    Surely it hasn't fallen into the hands of children, playing about with a loaded gun...

    Sticking it in their mouths...

    Steam: TheBrayster
    PSN: TheBrayster_92
  • Alucard6986Alucard6986 xbox: Ubeltanzer swtor: UbelRegistered User regular
    I’m on the fence about getting this. Are there some stats/skills you need a little bit of on any character or can you go as wild as you wish with your build and adjust as necessary while playing the game? I’ve heard it’s also bad if you level up a skill too much—how do you know when you’re pushing a skill potentially too far?

    On top of that I suppose there’s no way I could finish this before outer worlds on friday.

    PSN: Ubeltanzer Blizzard: Ubel#1258
  • chrono_travellerchrono_traveller Registered User regular
    I’m on the fence about getting this. Are there some stats/skills you need a little bit of on any character or can you go as wild as you wish with your build and adjust as necessary while playing the game? I’ve heard it’s also bad if you level up a skill too much—how do you know when you’re pushing a skill potentially too far?

    On top of that I suppose there’s no way I could finish this before outer worlds on friday.

    Probably when your brain starts telling you backstories about how the construction company that makes the crane you are walking by got its name from an obscure bird that has since gone extinct. Then maybe you've pushed the encyclopedic knowledge of your brain just a bit too far...

    maybe? :wink:

    The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    As far as I can tell, at least one or two of your brain buddies will pop up with a comment to warn you about hazards of a conversation. It's never something as straightforward as "this choice will hurt you", but in my experience you can usually have some idea if an option will cause damage. If you try something violently physical and fail, you'll likely take HP damage. If there's something very unpleasant or embarrassing to discuss and you fail rolls/pick bad answers, you'll probably take morale damage.

    But the big things to remember is that you can heal both HP and Morale, even in the middle of a conversation, as long you have a restorative item for that category. And it's really easy to tell if you do, because you'll have a number above your HP or Morale telling you how many points of each you can restore using the items in your inventory.

  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    I've put pretty much all points in mental abilities, which means that my character is weak as can be. While this makes some tasks impossibly difficult, so far I've found that there are other avenues of arriving at the same point. Sometimes you just have to be patient for a day or two.

    webp-net-resizeimage.jpg
    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
Sign In or Register to comment.