I will not mention Planescape: Torment in this post.
‘’What kind of cop are you?’’ Ask Disco Elysium’s advertising tagline.
It would not be possible to imagine a slogan more diametrically opposed to the fundamental nature of the game – a poor person simulator for middle class people who have never lived in Asia and think central planning is a viable market alternative in 2023. As the target audience for this game, I was naturally enthralled, and so, I bequester, why am I sitting here, now, with sword-trumping-pen in hand, writing this review on paper before I transcribe it to a less mindful medium, entirely unhappy with it?
To answer this question first we must examine what is the fundamental nature of a video game; something regrettably outside of the scope of this review. However it is important to note nevertheless that video ‘games’ cannot be placed outside of the dialectical tensions of the acting society they exist in. To this Disco Elysium The Game (Hereforth Disco) is no exception and before we undertake any kind of meaningful critical analysis we have to examine the discursive elements present in society. And unfortunately this analysis is not kind to Disco: it exists in a world where it is predated by newgrounds hentai.
This is to say that, at its core, Disco is a game about getting cucked in every meaningful sense of the word that somehow has no actual sex in it.
The absence of any cheek clapping hurts the game in a very real sense that it does not to Meet N’ Fuck Kingdom (Hereforth MnFK). MnFK is by far the better planescape-like and has, in spite of some minor limitations, a more honest picture of a world captured by the primal erotic psychosexual struggle.
I got in touch with ZA/UM about this inherent tension. However when asked about sex, they were unable to give a definition that was not an elaborately staged metaphor for the struggle against capital. This leads me to believe that nobody at ZA/UM has ever had sex, which is a fundamentally damning game design issue.
On the plus side though, we have a strong cadre of woman characters. Aside from Joyce Messier, Harry’s wife and the orange girl at the hotel (her name escapes me) both serve powerful, central roles in moving the story forward.
The randomization does a lot to encourage subsequent playthroughs of the game which is a decent upside. Maybe the sequel will expand on this. But for now I think I’m going to put this one in my backlog.
This review was written to School Road by RADWIMPS on the Your Name. ost. Feel free to listen and see if it puts you in the mood to write gaming critique!
‘’What kind of cop are you?’’ Ask Disco Elysium’s advertising tagline.
It would not be possible to imagine a slogan more diametrically opposed to the fundamental nature of the game – a poor person simulator for middle class people who have never lived in Asia and think central planning is a viable market alternative in 2023. As the target audience for this game, I was naturally enthralled, and so, I bequester, why am I sitting here, now, with sword-trumping-pen in hand, writing this review on paper before I transcribe it to a less mindful medium, entirely unhappy with it?
To answer this question first we must examine what is the fundamental nature of a video game; something regrettably outside of the scope of this review. However it is important to note nevertheless that video ‘games’ cannot be placed outside of the dialectical tensions of the acting society they exist in. To this Disco Elysium The Game (Hereforth Disco) is no exception and before we undertake any kind of meaningful critical analysis we have to examine the discursive elements present in society. And unfortunately this analysis is not kind to Disco: it exists in a world where it is predated by newgrounds hentai.
This is to say that, at its core, Disco is a game about getting cucked in every meaningful sense of the word that somehow has no actual sex in it.
The absence of any cheek clapping hurts the game in a very real sense that it does not to Meet N’ Fuck Kingdom (Hereforth MnFK). MnFK is by far the better planescape-like and has, in spite of some minor limitations, a more honest picture of a world captured by the primal erotic psychosexual struggle.
I got in touch with ZA/UM about this inherent tension. However when asked about sex, they were unable to give a definition that was not an elaborately staged metaphor for the struggle against capital. This leads me to believe that nobody at ZA/UM has ever had sex, which is a fundamentally damning game design issue.
On the plus side though, we have a strong cadre of woman characters. Aside from Joyce Messier, Harry’s wife and the orange girl at the hotel (her name escapes me) both serve powerful, central roles in moving the story forward.
The randomization does a lot to encourage subsequent playthroughs of the game which is a decent upside. Maybe the sequel will expand on this. But for now I think I’m going to put this one in my backlog.
This review was written to School Road by RADWIMPS on the Your Name. ost. Feel free to listen and see if it puts you in the mood to write gaming critique!
6 Comments
You get no bitches now do you
Plenty
amongussy is well known for hitting it from the back
Before getting to the line about ZAUM - I had the same thought - that key developers never had a good fuck.
The funny comparison or should I say a funny parallel is Divinity 2. It struggles of the same issue, but in a sort of inverted form: it has a lot of mindless violence, which led me thinking that key developers in Larian - either rarely go to GYM or don't know how express their physicality or just never do/watch any martial arts. In other words - their internal ancient beast (lizard ??) is having a constant hangover. The same is here but with the sex.
The funny comparison or should I say a funny parallel is Divinity 2. It struggles of the same issue, but in a sort of inverted form: it has a lot of mindless violence, which led me thinking that key developers in Larian - either rarely go to GYM or don't know how express their physicality or just never do/watch any martial arts. In other words - their internal ancient beast (lizard ??) is having a constant hangover. The same is here but with the sex.
Thanks for leaving the comment! Obviously the meet'n fuck thing is kind of tongue in cheek but I'm glad someone saw the genuine undercurrent. Totally agreed re. Div2, fun game but you do kill way too many fucking people for it to feel earned. Maybe in an ideal world gamedevs spend all their spare time going to the gym and getting laid?
amongussy
9 months ago