Disco Elysium Previews/Impressions

Disco Elysium, ZA/UM Studio’s upcoming detective RPG formerly known as No Truce With the Furies had a strong presence at this year’s EGX Rezzed, and as a result we have several hands-on previews to check out. First, there’s Green Man Gaming with a detailed preview that sees Disco Elysium as the next step in the evolution of RPGs:

Disco Elysium (formerly No Truce with the Furies) is a semi-futuristic/fantasy alternate-world neo-noir RPG about ideas and about solving crimes. It’s a game where your character’s mind is as important as your character’s actions, it’s a game where your character’s perception of events is called into question throughout, and it’s a game that feels fresh and exciting in a way that RPGs haven’t for a while.

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Your character isn’t just a meat suit you pilot about the world, he’s also possibly losing his mind. Not only is he left with a gap in his memories, he’s an unreliable narrator. Very soon after starting the game you’ll find objects, corpses, sleeping people, all talking to you, urging you on or asking things of you. Are they real, are you a shaman, or are you just losing your mind?

None of these questions are answered in the short area available to attendees of EGX Rezzed, but you get a feel that the world might not be all that you’re seeing, and there might be more below the surface if you just scratch away at it.

The developers did mention that this isn’t just a slightly futuristic world, there may be the supernatural lurking away in the corners, so maybe this is your way in. Maybe you are magic, and you’re tapping into the a world others can’t say. That said, it’s entirely plausible that these are the firings of an alcoholic’s last neurons as you slide slowly into death.

Disco Elysium is looking to be something utterly special, it’s an RPG that actually uses the R for once. You’re playing a role, and you define that role through your interactions with the world and yourself. The start of the game which was playable at Rezzed was astounding, and easily was something that an hour or more could be sunk into without noticing. It’s one to keep your eye on, and it’s coming later in 2018.

Then, we have BigRedBarrel praising the game’s skill system, story, and aesthetic:

Disco Elysium also has a combat system, although I have not had a chance to experience it in my demo – frankly, there was enough to do and explore already! However, true to its nature of free exploration, combat can be avoided, if that’s not your style.

I walked away from the Disco Elysium stand excited and unable to stop thinking about the story, the world and the characters. In RPGs, complicated systems and skills make me anxious, feeling like I will not be able to completely understand them and so engage with the game. However, Disco Elysium’s look and approach is so completely different, that I just want to delve deeper into this exceptionally well-written and intriguing world.

The Indie Game Website has both a couple of developer quotes that explain the recent name change and the pesky typo that was probably the actual reason for the change:

We had a chance to chat with the Disco Elysium devs at EGX Rezzed last weekend about their future plans for the game and why they changed the name.

“As we were making this we discvered that it’s really spiralling out of control, it’s 40-50 hours of game now” Lead Desiger, Robert Kurvitz told TIGW.

“We needed a name that’s more novel-like or more massive and since the setting is called Elysium, the urban-fantasy setting we were working on, that felt like a good way to introduce it”

Originally called, No Truce with the Furries, Disco Elysium follows a disgraced, disco washout detective as he explores the shore town of Revachol West, where corruption is out of control and murders go unsolved. Waking up from a night of heavy drinking with cloudy memories of who you are, you find yourself embroiled in a murder.

And finally, Indie-Credible shares some hands-on impressions:

I’ve done a pretty poor job in trying to explain how the game works so I’ll try to keep this simple, Disco Elysium is genuinely brilliant! The stunning oil painting artwork, dark corrupted world and excellently written conversation skill emphasis have got me very excited to play the game when it gets a full release. Disco Elysium has turned out to be a brilliant hidden gem from EGX Rezzed 2018 and if your heading to the show I highly recommend you check it out.