It's incredible that the game doesn't cost a single cent. Sure, If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers is short without much in the way of gameplay, you mostly just run through hotspots without much puzzles or dialogues. But where the game makes up for everything is the fantastic presentation which, despite the reduced pixel visuals, knows how to inspire and the sensational atmosphere which draws you further under its spell from act to act. Whether you are trudging through a rainy, dark mansion or through the labyrinthine corridors of a library. The gloomy atmosphere drips from every corner, supported by a fantastic soundtrack. You almost feel like you're diving into Poe or Lovecraft short stories. And I'm very excited to see what else the developer Dead Idle Games has in store for us.

The Order: 1886 is both a game that has been unjustly lost under the radar of many players but also a forgettable, mediocre game without much gameplay value. How is that possible? On the one hand, there is an incredibly interesting and atmospherically designed game world in 19th century London. The slums are filthy, the noble classes live in nicely decorated mansions and Jack the Ripper roams the nights. In this world, which is also accompanied by a fantastic underlying soundtrack reminiscent of Bloodborne, we play Daniel Day Lewis, I mean Sir Galahad, a member of a secret order that has dedicated itself to the fight against half-breeds for centuries. Thrown into the mix is a dash of steampunk, real-life locations and personalities such as Nikola Tesla and a bit of Arthurian legend. Yes, The Order is not lacking in interesting content. Instead, the gameplay is lacking in all areas. The game is a mix between a mediocre cover shooter and passages that are almost reminiscent of Walking Simulator in which we almost stroll through rooms and corridors. Often the camera is glued to our shoulder. Then there are little mini-games such as picking locks or hotwiring circuits and a very rudimentary sneak level, which was a bit of a pain in the arse, as you're immediately dead if you're discovered. Oh and quicktime events, because who doesn't love quicktime events? The shootouts offer the best gameplay. The weapons, however, are relatively normal genre standards. But in addition to pistols, revolvers, rifles and submachine guns, there is also the atypical Thermite Rifle, which shoots flammable magnesium. Apart from 1-2 arenas in which enemies with shotguns (two shots and you're dead) and thermite rifle carriers are thrown at you in the smallest of spaces, the shooter sections are not too difficult and are easy to handle. But it doesn't really do anything special. The story, which is the real highlight of the game, is also very slow to get going, then brings up some twists and aha moments, but still leaves out many points that would have been really interesting for understanding and further worldbuilding. And then the game simply stops at a climax. The Order: 1886 therefore lags far behind its competitors in terms of gameplay, but thanks to its fantastic, albeit not fully utilised potential, setting, it manages to leave many wanting more. More London, more of the secret order, of monsters and myths. Because that's what makes the game stand out. Maybe we'll get a predecessor at some point which, in addition to a well-rounded story, also focuses on fun gameplay. I, at least, would love to wander the streets and underworld of London with Sir Galahad again.

Disco Elysium is a fantastic, nihilistic, depressive but also encouraging role-playing game that completely avoids classic combat and draws you deep into a familiar yet unknown world. It draws heavily on real customs, countries, languages and even racial stereotypes but wraps it all up in new names and places. In most cases, this creates the pleasant strangeness of an uncertain fantasy world. Occasionally, however, the flood of unknown nations, names and ideas in never-ending dialogues can be quite exhausting. And while we're at it: There is a lot of talking. I mean a loooooot of talking. So if you're mainly looking for action, you're definitely in the wrong place. With The Final Cut version, however, the game now also has a superb voiceover, so we no longer have to read pages and pages of dialogue. The dubbing is one of the best I have ever heard in a video game. Especially the inner voice of our protagonist alone would be award-winning in my opinion. But in general, all the voice actors and actresses do an excellent job of portraying the incredibly diverse and varied cast. From the grumpy barman to the sly chairman, old truck driver lady or a bratty child. Listening to them is usually fun, even if the content sometimes varies. There were times when I thought to myself "Come on, get on with it" and read faster than the character spoke in order to click next. Compared to the game as a whole, however, this was a rarity. The dialogues, like the voice acting, are of an incredibly good quality. It's just a pity that the dialogue tree has a small shortcoming, namely that higher-level selections remain "greyed out" even though a new option underneath has been unlocked through new discoveries. But what is Disco Elysium actually about? We are a party animal of a detective who should be investigating a murder but has lost his memory. A role-playing game couldn't start in a more clichéd way. But the development of this party animal draws you in so much, makes you feel excited, make supposedly good decisions, make "Now more than ever!" decisions and want to know more and more about who we actually were, are and could become. And the run-down town of Revachol doesn't make it easy. Fortunately, we get the sympathetic detective Kim Kitsuragi from another Precinct to help us with advice and support. In my opinion, the chemistry between these two alone makes the game worth playing. The gameplay consists mainly of dialogues, gathering information for further dialogues and... Dice rolls. And oh boy... I got strong X-Com flashbacks here. Because at least in my playthrough, I completely messed up a lot of >70 rolls. Fortunately, there don't seem to be any soft locks in Disco Elysium and even if a failed dice roll hurts for a moment, it still advances the story. And that's exactly what makes the game so charming because we do our best and live with the consequences. Here I would strongly advise you not to save scum because that defeats the purpose of the game. And this theme of "it is what it is" runs through the whole game with its depressive undertone. We chat our way through the districts of Revachol (with a semi-successful fast-travelling system that forces us to go to one of three points before jumping to another), learn more about the world, the murder, the parties in the city and ourselves level up our skills and listen to the fantastic soundtrack. Which is also great and emphasises the game with its melancholic and sombre tones (except for that damn tent in which I couldn't hear myself think!). I can only advise you not to get too attached to the murder case. Because this is basically just the hook for the game. I made the mistake of finding the end of the game very disappointing. It's better to accept the long journey of self-discovery, self-knowledge and healing. That way, this almost masterpiece of an RPG is completely open to you.