Originally published at: Disco Elysium and the death of art | Boing Boing
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Having read the article, I decided to go to Steam where Disco Elysium is on sale; but, when I got there, I bought Mech Warrior 5, instead. I think that the moral dilemma I can currently cope with is, “Should I cool down, or overheat?”
Pew Pew Pew!
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This whole saga is upsetting. Disco Elysium is a remarkable game that does things in ways that no one else has and tells a story that it amazing and unlike anything you see in most games.
Unfortunately in addition to the corporate ownership stuff there have been credible accusations harassment and hostile working environment directed at Robert and other creatives at ZA/UM, so it is really assholes all around on this, it seems.
It is still a remarkable game though. I have a very hard time not recommending it despite all of the revelations
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It’s also currently 75% off on GOG. No dilemma!
I picked it up this summer but haven’t started it yet. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the game itself, I wasn’t aware of all of the other stuff going on around it.
It reminds me a little of the fight surrounding Stieg Larsson’s books after his death. I never got around to reading “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” or watching the movies, because I didn’t want to support his asshole of a father while his widow was cut out of everything.
In this case, though, I’ve already bought the game so I’ll go ahead and play it.
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I would love to hear what you think when you do - it is a game that has a lot to interest boingers
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I will be sure to let you know!
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I don’t know this game, but just from the BB synopsis, if the creators wanted to actually live anti-capitalist ideals, they could have rejected the investment of capital from Zaum Studio OÜ and built the game on their own. But that is the problem in this world, even to reject capitalism you gotta have capital.
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Just some feedback from a longtime boing reader:
I have played about half of this game and honestly, it is a treasure for sure. It is sometimes confusing - I struggled with understanding how to proceed and ended up using online walkthroughs. It is not a combat game, it is a bonkers RPG experience where your human emotions/abilities/philosophies are given voice during the ‘stat check’ rolls that happen as you go through conversations.
Also, and this is my personal opinion, the unpleasant world eventually put me off and I felt bad playing it and stopped. That is not a spoiler and also not an indictment. Elysium is not a happy place and the characters are not happy people.
Also, I recently played another futuristic-ish thought-provoking non-combat-RPG called “Gamedec” which I think is well worth a playthrough. It’s by no means a perfect game, and it’s very cyberpunk, however it was interesting and short enough to get through without losing steam.
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The world of Disco Elysium, and the city of Revachol in particular, are very broken places. One of the interesting things about the game is that it really does take your actions into account and the story can radically change based on what kind of cop you are. I focused on Inland Empire and a few of the other more mystic psychedelic skills and found a lot of wild beauty under all the misery.
Your mileage will definitely vary based on your choices, and there are a lot a of choices that make the world a worse place. Your character, of course, is also a broken mess - that can be a barrier for a lot of people - you do not begin as a sympathetic protagonist…but you may get be able to become one with a lot of work
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And if we are going to talk about other games with interesting vibes along this line I have to recommend Citizen Sleeper on PC - you rented your consciousness out to run a drone body for a corporation, but fled. Now you are on a half-derilict space station trying to survive under capitalism. Do odd jobs, survive, make a new life. It’s an amazing game with anti-capitalist themes and a cool visual esthetic. Oh, and your artificial body is designed to decay rapidly unless you get regular doses of a drug controlled by the corporation. Good luck!
Also Norco, which is also about capitalism…but way weirder. You are trying to find out what happened to your dead mother and missing brother while dealing with the gig economy and an oil company the dominates your hometown. There is a cult of young men in Best Buy shirts that all go by the name Garrett
Both are on PC Gamepass (which you can get for a dollar today)
ETA: I should ask someone to reopen the Whatcha Playin’ thread)
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