WHAT. A. GAME.
You all know that warm stomach feeling, a mix of sadness and delight when you experience something touching in a video game, right? I had this feeling constantly while playing Disco Elysium. For a week, I couldn't think about anything else; it was engraved in my brain. Not just the typical "what to do next" questions, but rather the big philosophical questions of meaning. I really wanted to understand the writer's vision and thoughts when they created that masterpiece.
The writing is excellent and so deeply introspective; you can clearly feel that he poured his heart out while creating this. It must have been a cathartic feeling for him, and it was for me as well. As someone who grew up in a similar, though not as impoverished, environment as depicted in the game, there were so many instances where I just felt understood. My father struggled with alcoholism for as long as I can remember, much like the main protagonist. As a child, I never quite understood what drove him to that path. After his death when I was still a teenager, he remained an enigma to me. I feel like I have a deeper understanding of his struggles now and how he coped with them.
The real star of the game might be Kim Kitsuragi, though. His input and more logical demeanor provided a great contrast to the way I played Harry. It was a sort of good cop/bad cop dynamic between these two, resulting in many memorable and, at times, very funny moments.
Two things, though, I didn't really like: the clothing swap mechanic to boost a certain skill and succeed at a dice check felt immersion-breaking for me. I would have liked it more if you had to choose your outfit for the day and had to stick with it throughout. Also, the political choices you have as a player are too black and white. I would have preferred a more subtle approach there, although it really fits with some of the sarcastic dialogue.
what this game gave me was a completely different vision of my own, to really live the life of something else and understand them and that's what roleplaying is all about for me, to see the world in the eyes of something else and i can't praise it enough for it.
You all know that warm stomach feeling, a mix of sadness and delight when you experience something touching in a video game, right? I had this feeling constantly while playing Disco Elysium. For a week, I couldn't think about anything else; it was engraved in my brain. Not just the typical "what to do next" questions, but rather the big philosophical questions of meaning. I really wanted to understand the writer's vision and thoughts when they created that masterpiece.
The writing is excellent and so deeply introspective; you can clearly feel that he poured his heart out while creating this. It must have been a cathartic feeling for him, and it was for me as well. As someone who grew up in a similar, though not as impoverished, environment as depicted in the game, there were so many instances where I just felt understood. My father struggled with alcoholism for as long as I can remember, much like the main protagonist. As a child, I never quite understood what drove him to that path. After his death when I was still a teenager, he remained an enigma to me. I feel like I have a deeper understanding of his struggles now and how he coped with them.
The real star of the game might be Kim Kitsuragi, though. His input and more logical demeanor provided a great contrast to the way I played Harry. It was a sort of good cop/bad cop dynamic between these two, resulting in many memorable and, at times, very funny moments.
Two things, though, I didn't really like: the clothing swap mechanic to boost a certain skill and succeed at a dice check felt immersion-breaking for me. I would have liked it more if you had to choose your outfit for the day and had to stick with it throughout. Also, the political choices you have as a player are too black and white. I would have preferred a more subtle approach there, although it really fits with some of the sarcastic dialogue.
what this game gave me was a completely different vision of my own, to really live the life of something else and understand them and that's what roleplaying is all about for me, to see the world in the eyes of something else and i can't praise it enough for it.