Disco Elysium really impressed me. It's rare that a story driven game with decision-focused gameplay is actually good, and a lot of what's done here is really great. The writing is stellar across the board. There's an excellent blend of interesting back and forths paired with really dumb stuff that put a smile on my face. This made the game pretty compelling for the vast majority of the runtime. The mystery was fun to see come together, and decisions feel important. Another thing I want to praise is the art direction. The Impressionistic art for the world and character portraits is both incredibly unique and perfectly fitting.
Now, there are some things that didn't work for me as much. It didn't feel like I was solving much of anything. Sure, I was making choices. But I was following a pretty straightforward path for each mystery. The natural and seamless way dialogue is handled works great for making a cohesive story, but doesn't make it feel like I'm actually a detective or solving much of anything. I didn't need to think about who did it, or how it was done. I just explored everything and it became apparent. This isn't a huge issue, the narrative was still compelling. But I would say Disco Elysium is more of a drama than a mystery.
However, there is one issue above all else. And it's not the game's fault (I think) , but there's something here that fundamentally doesn't click with me. While there's so much done here that is done excellently, something was just never quite there. Solving things wasn't as satisfying as I'd hope, and I would often space out during long political diatribes or big info-dumps. Removing either of these things would rob the game of much of it's identity, but I can't say either did much to compel me.
Now this isn't to say it wasn't still great. It was, and I can understand why it's gotten all the critical praise it has. But there's something here that just doesn't work for me. It's an easy recommendation though. Even for others like me who might not love it the way many others do, it's such a unique and well-made game that it's still work checking out.
Now, there are some things that didn't work for me as much. It didn't feel like I was solving much of anything. Sure, I was making choices. But I was following a pretty straightforward path for each mystery. The natural and seamless way dialogue is handled works great for making a cohesive story, but doesn't make it feel like I'm actually a detective or solving much of anything. I didn't need to think about who did it, or how it was done. I just explored everything and it became apparent. This isn't a huge issue, the narrative was still compelling. But I would say Disco Elysium is more of a drama than a mystery.
However, there is one issue above all else. And it's not the game's fault (I think) , but there's something here that fundamentally doesn't click with me. While there's so much done here that is done excellently, something was just never quite there. Solving things wasn't as satisfying as I'd hope, and I would often space out during long political diatribes or big info-dumps. Removing either of these things would rob the game of much of it's identity, but I can't say either did much to compel me.
Now this isn't to say it wasn't still great. It was, and I can understand why it's gotten all the critical praise it has. But there's something here that just doesn't work for me. It's an easy recommendation though. Even for others like me who might not love it the way many others do, it's such a unique and well-made game that it's still work checking out.