https://x.com/JamrockHobo/status/1799090939966947689 Bonus question: what game would you consider as COMMUNIST as disco elysium?
I dunno, maybe the Pathologic games or something like Outer Wilds. It’s just so incredibly rare in the videogame business that people with real interest in the world and things other than videogames come together and are able to make a game like Disco Elysium on their own terms, which probably also explains why the studio imploded so fast after it released. It’s simply not compatible with the industry. And really, even classic “rpgs with good writing” like Planescape Torment feel like pathetic nerd scribble in comparision. Disco Elysium really is the only game that I’d consider to actually have writing that’d stand up to actual literature.
Not particularly communist, but the only other old-school-CRPG-genre game I truly enjoyed is Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. Not as meta-comedy, but the astounding writing and voice acting has lived on in my mind for decades. There is one quest where you can kill a billionaire factory owner and side with factory the unions, and a couple other quests to disrupt explicit capitalist conspiracies.
On top of the astounding writing, they also overcommitted and re-wrote every single dialogue for if your character is drunk or otherwise exceptionally bad at speaking… I may go attempt a full low-Int re-run, now.
Outside the genre, there are games I prefer, but probably largely specific to me. Victoria 3 is great and exceptionally communist if you play it correctly.
As good. Morrowind, Elden Ring. Homeworld, The Longest Journey.
As Communist, Red Faction Guerilla.
IMO, Disco Elysium is an example of a trend I wish more games would follow. The majority of games are focused on creating VAST worlds that are shallow as hell rather than something like DE that has a narrow scope, but has so much depth and reactivity to the player that it feels real and lived in.
I think DE is alone in its specific micro-genre of RPG, the blend it offers hasn’t been replicated before or since. There are many games that do parts of DE as well as or better (except for writing), but nothing that has the full package.
As for COMMUNIST, none. Plenty of games have leftist themes if you analyze them (Mother, Red Faction Guerilla, hell Dark Souls/Bloodborne), but I can’t think of another one that has such a firm grasp on theory and translates it into the game.
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It’s hard to directly compare games like this unless they’re in the same genre, but Outer Wilds is what came to mind immediately.
Not as Communist, but I am really getting back into Alpha Centauri. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m0aEO7CrxM
Alpha Centauri is a great game, but the way the Chinese faction is portrayed is racist as shit. Human Hive
Yeah, I always had a problem with that faction. Because that faction is supposedly “Maoist”, but it is really just “authoritarianism” for the sake of “authoritarianism”. No greater goal than repression and no freedom.
Honestly to get something “as good” in the same way you have to leave the realm of games.
In the domain of shows, I think Andor was not really as good but at least in the same ballpark. The domain of books has a few more possibilities: Babel by R. F. Kuang, October by China Mieville, Iron Council by China Mieville, The City and the City by China Mieville (the setting is very similar to Revachol), and The Dispossessed by UKLG.
Disco Elysium fans are always like “it’s like literature” yeah so what you’re looking for is literature, motherfuckers
The City and the City by China Mieville (the setting is very similar to Revachol)
I think there’s an interview somewhere that the DE creators cited this book as an inspiration (among other cool things). Great read!
I think DE commits to its premise in a way few games do, but there’s dozens of other games I’d rather play at any given moment. It’s a very cool and very smart game, but I don’t find myself having fun playing it. But comparing it to the games I find more fun seems like comparing a novel to an amusement park, so I don’t really know.
I feel this way as well. I always like the idea of playing it more than I like the actual experience. I really appreciate that it’s a complex well written and executed story, but I would rather watch a stream of someone playing it than actually play through it myself.
This happens with a lot of really good crpg’s too for me and it really bums me out. I’m probably just weird though.
You probably have a low attention span like me
Kind of. When I like a new game I have a tendency to obsessively play it until I burn myself out, take a break, and forget it exists and never finish. Makes the prospect of playing long rpg’s both exhausting and tough.
I can only think of games that I liked as much as DE, and for similar reasons. The one I come up with is actually Portal 2. In that while I enjoyed the gameplay, the writing is actually what I think about when I think of that game. Playing those two games really was like going on a fun journey, if that makes sense.
Huh, I had the total opposite experience with Portal 2. I tried to replay it and the writing/humor was so dated despite coming out only a decade ago.
I up voted them because I loved that game, but admittedly I haven’t played it since it’s first come out.
It has a lot of Whedonisms
Ico
To understand how different Ico is the first thing you need to know is that it’s a PS2 game that shipped in a cardboard box.
It’s followup was Shadow of the Colossus which gets more attention, but I prefer its weird first game because it’s just so weird. Won’t be for everyone but it’s an experience.
I suppose it relies on visual storytelling. Which might not be what anyone is looking for given that the focus of conversation here seems to be literary storytelling. But still.
Which might not be what anyone is looking for given that the focus of conversation here seems to be literary storytelling. But still.
Considering DE at times felt like a visual novel for non-weebs, taking full advantage of a visual medium, and doing it really well should be like DE.
Hellblade: senuas sacrifice. Gameplay wise it may be lacking but the atmosphere and story and themes pulled me in hard.
Haven’t got a chance to try the second yet.
Also good psychosis rep. Don’t see that in a lot of games.
If by “as good” we mean the writing? Nothing. The closest I’ve played is probably Witcher 3, and that’s still a distant second. The other game everyone brings up is Planescape: Torment, but I haven’t played it.
Other than DE the most communist game I’ve played is probably Victoria 3.
I dunno about the second one but the only other game I’ve ever played where the writing wasn’t absolute drivel is Pillars of Eternity. It’s quite good IMO
I liked pillars for the story but I found the combat extremely boring and repetitive. Once you’ve found the buffs and debufs that works it’s just a matter of applying them by rote. Sadly there is loads of combat. If pillars was more like disco with less combat and more interesting dialogue checks I think it would be a much better game.
