I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed - if only because I had such high expectations for this game. Coming from Off-Peak I knew I loved the Cosmo D vibe, and this game delivers on that... But the gameplay loop doesn't make me want to play it more than the few runs I have.
You walk around and do skill checks in conversations with people, Yahtzee-ing your skill dice to get better results and using the money you win from the checks to upgrade your dice. Problem is, the actual act of doing the skill checks takes up so much of your time in this game and they are truly not interesting at all.
Your choice of which skills to upgrade could be one potential source of decision-making , but the way upgrades are priced, you're really incentivized to go for a generic build every time. Maybe the interesting decisions are supposed to be from the order in which you do things? But even then, I don't find it that fun to walk back and forth and see where I have a chance at a better than average skill check.
Really, this game makes me want to play Cosmo D's adventure titles - I appreciate the attempt at a sort of strategic CRPG inspired roguelike, but the mechanics needed more compelling decision points to be worth replaying more.
You walk around and do skill checks in conversations with people, Yahtzee-ing your skill dice to get better results and using the money you win from the checks to upgrade your dice. Problem is, the actual act of doing the skill checks takes up so much of your time in this game and they are truly not interesting at all.
Your choice of which skills to upgrade could be one potential source of decision-making , but the way upgrades are priced, you're really incentivized to go for a generic build every time. Maybe the interesting decisions are supposed to be from the order in which you do things? But even then, I don't find it that fun to walk back and forth and see where I have a chance at a better than average skill check.
Really, this game makes me want to play Cosmo D's adventure titles - I appreciate the attempt at a sort of strategic CRPG inspired roguelike, but the mechanics needed more compelling decision points to be worth replaying more.
Pizza, dados y surrealismo
Lo primero, quiero aclarar lo que es y lo que no, porque este equívoco hizo que fuera difícil de disfrutar la primera vez que me puse a jugarlo. La primera impresión es que es algo similar a Disco Elysium, donde pasar tiradas no es crucial la mayoría de las veces, sino que cambia la narrativa. Realmente, en Betrayal at Club Low el motor del juego es pasar tiradas para mejorar nuestras habilidades y así pasara tiradas todavía más difíciles.
La trama es simple; somos una especie de agente y tenemos que rescatar a otro agente en el club. Para ello, tenemos distintas habilidades, representadas por dados de seis caras que podemos mejorar individualmente gastando “dinero” (a todos los efectos, experiencia). La dificultad de la tirada es otro dado, y los modificadores a las tiradas son más dados. La gracia está en que una tirada tiene tres resultados posibles; tirada inferior a la del oponente (fracaso y repercusiones negativas), empate (éxito, pero con repercusiones negativas) y superar la tirada (éxito y a veces incluso dados positivos). Estas repercusiones son, generalmente, añadir dados negativos a nuestra tirada. En cualquier caso, en caso de éxito nos llevaremos el número total de nuestra tirada en dólares para mejorar nuestras habilidades.
Con dos rerolls por prueba en la dificultad base, ahí es donde entra la estrategia. ¿Queremos mejorar nuestros dados extra para que nos faciliten las tiradas, nos curen, o nos den más dinero? ¿Volvemos a tirar para sacar un resultado más alto, desempatar y librarnos de las consecuencias negativas? Además, hay algunas tiradas que solo se pueden intentar una vez, haciendo que tengamos que ahorrar para esa específica si queremos continuar por ahí.
A pesar de esto, la variabilidad no es tan grande como esperaba. Si bien tiene varios finales, la mayoría de ellos son “game over” no tradicionales o decisiones del final del juego (al menos los que he visto, me quedan por descubrir algunos) y la mayoría de los fracasos simplemente requieren volver a intentarlo, por lo que los éxitos definen más la aventura. Además, por cómo están diseñadas las pruebas, es favorable guardar el dinero para mejorar los dados justo antes de tiradas cruciales que decidir en función de en qué atributos queremos destacar, haciéndose más mecánico que narrativo.
Betrayal at Club Low es como una partida de rol improvisada con un master algo pasado en estupefacientes y con un grupo de amigos con más ganas de hacer el gamberro que de crear unos personajes memorables que celebran cada crítico con más euforia que un medallista olímpico.
Nota: Para maximizar los tensión en cada tirada y hacerlo lo más similar posible a la experiencia intencionada por el desarrollador, recomiendo tras entender el sistema jugar en modo “Iron Pizza”. Con una duración de entre una y dos horas por partida, es más llevadero aceptar la "muerte permanente" pero hace toda decisión mucho más significativa.
Lo primero, quiero aclarar lo que es y lo que no, porque este equívoco hizo que fuera difícil de disfrutar la primera vez que me puse a jugarlo. La primera impresión es que es algo similar a Disco Elysium, donde pasar tiradas no es crucial la mayoría de las veces, sino que cambia la narrativa. Realmente, en Betrayal at Club Low el motor del juego es pasar tiradas para mejorar nuestras habilidades y así pasara tiradas todavía más difíciles.
La trama es simple; somos una especie de agente y tenemos que rescatar a otro agente en el club. Para ello, tenemos distintas habilidades, representadas por dados de seis caras que podemos mejorar individualmente gastando “dinero” (a todos los efectos, experiencia). La dificultad de la tirada es otro dado, y los modificadores a las tiradas son más dados. La gracia está en que una tirada tiene tres resultados posibles; tirada inferior a la del oponente (fracaso y repercusiones negativas), empate (éxito, pero con repercusiones negativas) y superar la tirada (éxito y a veces incluso dados positivos). Estas repercusiones son, generalmente, añadir dados negativos a nuestra tirada. En cualquier caso, en caso de éxito nos llevaremos el número total de nuestra tirada en dólares para mejorar nuestras habilidades.
Con dos rerolls por prueba en la dificultad base, ahí es donde entra la estrategia. ¿Queremos mejorar nuestros dados extra para que nos faciliten las tiradas, nos curen, o nos den más dinero? ¿Volvemos a tirar para sacar un resultado más alto, desempatar y librarnos de las consecuencias negativas? Además, hay algunas tiradas que solo se pueden intentar una vez, haciendo que tengamos que ahorrar para esa específica si queremos continuar por ahí.
A pesar de esto, la variabilidad no es tan grande como esperaba. Si bien tiene varios finales, la mayoría de ellos son “game over” no tradicionales o decisiones del final del juego (al menos los que he visto, me quedan por descubrir algunos) y la mayoría de los fracasos simplemente requieren volver a intentarlo, por lo que los éxitos definen más la aventura. Además, por cómo están diseñadas las pruebas, es favorable guardar el dinero para mejorar los dados justo antes de tiradas cruciales que decidir en función de en qué atributos queremos destacar, haciéndose más mecánico que narrativo.
Betrayal at Club Low es como una partida de rol improvisada con un master algo pasado en estupefacientes y con un grupo de amigos con más ganas de hacer el gamberro que de crear unos personajes memorables que celebran cada crítico con más euforia que un medallista olímpico.
Nota: Para maximizar los tensión en cada tirada y hacerlo lo más similar posible a la experiencia intencionada por el desarrollador, recomiendo tras entender el sistema jugar en modo “Iron Pizza”. Con una duración de entre una y dos horas por partida, es más llevadero aceptar la "muerte permanente" pero hace toda decisión mucho más significativa.
In attempting to make a much more engrossing and complex game, Betrayal At Club Low trades surrealist elements for novel game design.
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Surreality is a hard thing to nail down I think. So much of it revolves around subverting and defying expectations, dancing in the sort of liminal space of your subconscious (you might even call it… subliminal….). Its no wonder however, that gameplay systems present some obstacles in performing notions of the surreal, because gameplay systems require some definition - players need to understand what theyre doing, especially as systems become more complex.
And Cosmo D takes a stab at mixing 2 of some of the most complex genres I could think of in terms of what I might call “mechanical intuitiveness”: Tabletop Role-Playing, and Immersive Sims.
In truth, this pairing is actually quite genius, because both genres revolve around “mechanical interplay”, what some people refer to in shorthand as “sandbox design” (tho thats often a vague term that could apply to many aspects). Another way to say this would be that both genres focus less on predefined situations and encounters and instead try to let things play out procedurally according to a collection of rules and parameters. In an Immersive Sim, structures are given many varied entrances and patrolling enemies are given complex behavior-based AI to sort of create a “sandbox” of possibilities that come together in a (hopefully) exciting and dynamic experience.
(Also I have to say, I fucking hate the term “Immersive Sim”. “Immersion” is a quality almost every genre could have, and “Sim” is maybe sort of accurate but not exactly how that word is typically used in video games genre I digress I digress UGH)
What results is like the ultimate realization of a spy on a mission: a game where you have to break into a facility and react on your feet when luck doesnt break your way. Games that use dice rolls to determine the success of an action arent new but I dont think Ive ever seen a dice rolling system like this. Instead of just upgrading a skill, you upgrade the dice values, roll bonus dice you can customize, and even have to contend with conditional dice you gain as penalties or as rewards from some of the interactions you can have at Club Low. Its incredibly engaging and turns luck into a pseudo-strategic affair.
But this is also a very dense set of mechanics to contend with and this expanded, elaborated complexity in the game design means theres less space for the uncanny and dreamlike experience Cosmo D’s previous work usually involves. With many more things to do and alot more things to understand, theres alot less “vibing” to do. Alot less soaking it in.
But!
I dont think this means the game has less personality. The situations are still patently absurd, its just a matter of the effort shifting into other sectors. Failing dice rolls is its own form of comedy and there is a much greater abundance of writing to read and enjoy and engage with. Its now less a thing you merely witness and much more a thing you participate in. That does feel different of course, but not “worse”. The challenge for Cosmo D might be figuring out how to do both at the same time - but alot of Off-Peaks surreal qualities were often also just creative storytelling concessions in games where you could only really walk around and look at things.
Theres room to innovate here and find ways to bring back the stronger atmosphere but it might be worth keeping in mind that vibing is sort of all you could do in the previous games.
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Surreality is a hard thing to nail down I think. So much of it revolves around subverting and defying expectations, dancing in the sort of liminal space of your subconscious (you might even call it… subliminal….). Its no wonder however, that gameplay systems present some obstacles in performing notions of the surreal, because gameplay systems require some definition - players need to understand what theyre doing, especially as systems become more complex.
And Cosmo D takes a stab at mixing 2 of some of the most complex genres I could think of in terms of what I might call “mechanical intuitiveness”: Tabletop Role-Playing, and Immersive Sims.
In truth, this pairing is actually quite genius, because both genres revolve around “mechanical interplay”, what some people refer to in shorthand as “sandbox design” (tho thats often a vague term that could apply to many aspects). Another way to say this would be that both genres focus less on predefined situations and encounters and instead try to let things play out procedurally according to a collection of rules and parameters. In an Immersive Sim, structures are given many varied entrances and patrolling enemies are given complex behavior-based AI to sort of create a “sandbox” of possibilities that come together in a (hopefully) exciting and dynamic experience.
(Also I have to say, I fucking hate the term “Immersive Sim”. “Immersion” is a quality almost every genre could have, and “Sim” is maybe sort of accurate but not exactly how that word is typically used in video games genre I digress I digress UGH)
What results is like the ultimate realization of a spy on a mission: a game where you have to break into a facility and react on your feet when luck doesnt break your way. Games that use dice rolls to determine the success of an action arent new but I dont think Ive ever seen a dice rolling system like this. Instead of just upgrading a skill, you upgrade the dice values, roll bonus dice you can customize, and even have to contend with conditional dice you gain as penalties or as rewards from some of the interactions you can have at Club Low. Its incredibly engaging and turns luck into a pseudo-strategic affair.
But this is also a very dense set of mechanics to contend with and this expanded, elaborated complexity in the game design means theres less space for the uncanny and dreamlike experience Cosmo D’s previous work usually involves. With many more things to do and alot more things to understand, theres alot less “vibing” to do. Alot less soaking it in.
But!
I dont think this means the game has less personality. The situations are still patently absurd, its just a matter of the effort shifting into other sectors. Failing dice rolls is its own form of comedy and there is a much greater abundance of writing to read and enjoy and engage with. Its now less a thing you merely witness and much more a thing you participate in. That does feel different of course, but not “worse”. The challenge for Cosmo D might be figuring out how to do both at the same time - but alot of Off-Peaks surreal qualities were often also just creative storytelling concessions in games where you could only really walk around and look at things.
Theres room to innovate here and find ways to bring back the stronger atmosphere but it might be worth keeping in mind that vibing is sort of all you could do in the previous games.
Cosmo D's colorful brand of surrealism is right up my alley, so I'm happy to say that this game is something super special. I was massively impressed with everything in this game, especially the intricate and brilliant gameplay design. Customizing the dice, taking risky chances, being strategic, real meaningful choices, it's all here and it's wonderful. During my final playthrough (on the hardest difficulty with random NPC dice) I had to constantly think outside the box to stay alive all while passing insane skill checks, I LOVED it. The gameplay loop is so satisfying and easy to master, which I will say may not be the case for everyone. It can certainly feel overwhelming at times, but with a little practice, the mechanics start to shine and build with the world around you.
Everything about this game is tuned to perfection with so much personality and color, and I couldn't recommend it enough. I'm excited to delve further into Cosmo D's discography, everything I've seen looks bonkers lol.
Everything about this game is tuned to perfection with so much personality and color, and I couldn't recommend it enough. I'm excited to delve further into Cosmo D's discography, everything I've seen looks bonkers lol.
Funky. Weird. Stylish. Bizarre. Groovy. Ugly. Tasty. +2 $4. Stew. The VIBES are there.
Antes bizarro, desconcertante, agora vejo o universo displásico dos jogos de Cosmo D como estranhamente confortável, desprovido de surpresas, apesar de sua excentricidade exagerada: thrillers de espiões propositalmente vagos, com poucas palavras capazes de indagar a imaginação ao que deita debaixo dos panos; seres dísparates, bizarros, de diversos anseios e desejos, todos comunhando ao redor da música, pilar da criação em Off Peak; e claro, pizza.
Betrayal at Club Low introduz um novo elemento à equação: as plots e subplots agora se emaranham ao redor de um sistema elegante e divertido de dados, trazendo a fisicalidade do tabletop e o universo de possibilidades aquém de um imersim à fórmula de pizzaiolo 007 de seus jogos. O loop de um CRPG é condensado em um globo de neve, fazendo com que cada skill-check carregue muito mais peso e personalidade, e até o potencial de queijação desses atributos provém um ciclo engraçado de executar - save scumming aqui é um desserviço maior que em outros jogos mais “sérios”.
Ainda assim, o novo sistema não foi o suficiente para me impressionar assim como ele já havia feito no passado. Menor em escopo, Betrayal muitas vezes parece uma prova de conceito. Após três jogos explorando e comendo as beiradinhas de Off Peak, agora desejo por algo que me acerte em uma veia mais emocional - chega um ponto em que o divertido non-sense e desinteresse casual viram atrito em uma relação. Chega de só ficar: além das piadinhas e os bangers de serenata, para o próximo jogo espero que Cosmo D me conte sobre sua infância e do que gosta de fazer quando ninguém está olhando.
Betrayal at Club Low introduz um novo elemento à equação: as plots e subplots agora se emaranham ao redor de um sistema elegante e divertido de dados, trazendo a fisicalidade do tabletop e o universo de possibilidades aquém de um imersim à fórmula de pizzaiolo 007 de seus jogos. O loop de um CRPG é condensado em um globo de neve, fazendo com que cada skill-check carregue muito mais peso e personalidade, e até o potencial de queijação desses atributos provém um ciclo engraçado de executar - save scumming aqui é um desserviço maior que em outros jogos mais “sérios”.
Ainda assim, o novo sistema não foi o suficiente para me impressionar assim como ele já havia feito no passado. Menor em escopo, Betrayal muitas vezes parece uma prova de conceito. Após três jogos explorando e comendo as beiradinhas de Off Peak, agora desejo por algo que me acerte em uma veia mais emocional - chega um ponto em que o divertido non-sense e desinteresse casual viram atrito em uma relação. Chega de só ficar: além das piadinhas e os bangers de serenata, para o próximo jogo espero que Cosmo D me conte sobre sua infância e do que gosta de fazer quando ninguém está olhando.
A silly game. The very act of playing it feels like going to a weird club and having a good time.
I like how an absolute comedy of bad rolls doesn't stop you from slowly building into a successful run. Failed rolls really just let you see more of the jokes.
I put the most points into Deception, which is funny. Isn't the whole thing pretending to be a pizza guy? Of course it's the most useful skill.
I like how an absolute comedy of bad rolls doesn't stop you from slowly building into a successful run. Failed rolls really just let you see more of the jokes.
I put the most points into Deception, which is funny. Isn't the whole thing pretending to be a pizza guy? Of course it's the most useful skill.
Brilliant dice-rolling RPG infused with Cosmo D's trademark style. The way you level up or put together a build by customizing the individual faces of your dice is inspired, the off-kilter strangeness of the setting is fun as always, and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by accidentally swapping my high dice roll for my opponent's low one is always hilarious.
La premisa de Betrayal At Club Low es tan loca como su ejecución. El aspecto visual jincho esconde un juego de rol con dados surrealista y disparatado donde nuestro agente infiltrado de pizzero puede liarse a puñetazos con seguratas, distraer a gente con bailes hipnóticos o acabar siendo el DJ residente. El humor lo inunda todo en esta fantástica aventura ligera, no querría caer en una comparación fácil con Disco Elysium pero en cierto modo es una versión comprimida, las tiradas de dados te pueden llevar a resultados desternillantes y fallar no es el final, es una invitación a mejorar y volver a intentarlo. La escritura es otro punto fuerte enriqueciendo esas situaciones surrealistas que se suceden una tras otras, junto con las tiradas de dados que le dan un saborcillo especial porque a quién no le gusta tirar un puñado de dados y verlos rodar por la pantalla rezando para que salga esa tirada que te consiga rebuscar en la basura o beber de un charco con éxito.
Cosmo D demuestra su genialidad en un juego que debería estar en la biblioteca de cualquier fan del rol. Todo esto está enderezado con una banda sonora tremenda a la que ya he vuelto varias veces. No puedo recomendarlo más, me ha tenido tan entretenido que he buscado sacar todos los finales para luego quedarme alucinando con dichos desenlaces. Una experiencia casi única en la que la traición sabe tan bien como un buen estofado de muslo de flamenco.
Cosmo D demuestra su genialidad en un juego que debería estar en la biblioteca de cualquier fan del rol. Todo esto está enderezado con una banda sonora tremenda a la que ya he vuelto varias veces. No puedo recomendarlo más, me ha tenido tan entretenido que he buscado sacar todos los finales para luego quedarme alucinando con dichos desenlaces. Una experiencia casi única en la que la traición sabe tan bien como un buen estofado de muslo de flamenco.
Holy cow this was a huge jump in quality! Visually models have improved a lot and the animations are so on point and hilarious! Also the wild scenarios you could get yourself into whether you succeeded or failed at rolls made me feel even better when I won or not as bad at all even if I failed. This on top of the incredible dice mechanics that had me on my toes the entire time. The fact that you could retry rolls and rely on modifiers to turn the tables in your favor was so so much more enjoyable to me than other games where dice rolls happen instantly and you can't do much to affect their outcome. I had a smile on my face the entire time I was playing this.
I'll probably write a proper review tomorrow but all you need to know for now is I stayed up until 3am in the morning playing this game all the way through in one sitting and getting 4 endings. It's really good for what it is, that being a Absurdist Walking Sim inspired by CRPGs
Cosmo D's games have become increasingly game-y ever since the somewhat nebulous Off-Peak. I don't mind (too much) since the game mechanics are incorporated in a similarly artificial way as the art assets, music, dialogue, etc. It has a detached quality: art for a community of the complacently rejected. RPG dice rolling as a path to your inner "truth" if dancing at 4 AM doesn't do the trick.
This one reminded me of Disco Elysium with that dice based gameplay and then add that Cosmo D brand of weirdness and you have another great adventure in Off-Peak Saga.
such a bizarre and fun RPG. it's all about embracing wacky and awkward situations, being confident that your stupid plan just might work out, and handling the even wackier and more awkward situation that arises when it doesn't.
Betrayal at Club Low is a short but fun ride into Cosmo D’s brand of games. If you are up for a unique one-shot experience, definitely get this game! It’s energetic, it’s funny, and it’s delightfully strange. Get this game!!
(full review https://doorplays.substack.com/p/door-reviews-betrayal-at-club-low)
(full review https://doorplays.substack.com/p/door-reviews-betrayal-at-club-low)
This review contains spoilers
Some of the funniest, wildest environmental and encounter design I've ever seen wrapped in a genuinely tense push-your-luck game. It's all in the details - the weird aesthetic that straddles the line between lo-fi garishness and actual cool, the off-kilter architecture, the way characters will literally fly off-screen like they're wearing a jetpack when you fully complete their encounters. Just loved this, should probably play more Cosmo D games.