Agreed. I don't really watch game reviews anymore and was quite sceptical reading your comment but this review succinctly demonstrated what DE is about, it's a hard task to do since this game is A LOT of things but they manage to capture its essential qualities in just 10 minutes! Of course, there are infinitely more beautiful things that the game offers but that's left for the players to discover :)
sorry to be so off topic but does any of you know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account? I somehow forgot the login password. I would love any tips you can offer me!
@Christopher Emanuel i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm in the hacking process atm. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I can confidently say that there's literally nothing else like it. The agonizing and incredible story behind how the game was made says it all, more than 2 decades in the making, under the hands of a few last Soviet artists.
Absolutely phenomenal game, and a bold statement as to how rpg's should be made. I can see it becoming a cult classic eventually since it doesn't seem to be the type of game to create mass appeal
Just finished my first playthrough. Game of the year to me without a shadow of doubt. A game this interactive with writing this sharp, poignant, and articulate in its politics is unprecedented.
You can tell this review comes from a genuine fascination and understanding of the games themes.If i had not bought the game already this review despite seeing countless others would do it for me.Bravo!!
I love games like this. "Text heavy" is right up my street being a bookworm myself. Im wondering, is the dialogue as good as that in Torment Tides of Numenera? Im also wondering if i can endure waiting until next year for an Xbox One version or if ill end up buying it on Steam.
Please, Gamespot, keep this up! This review didn't feel contrived, rushed, or disingenuous; it felt honest, thought-out, and real! I stopped looking to "gamer companies" in favor of the "common-man" for honesty and realism, but this review gives me hope that there may be more to the culture than just money and timelines. Thank you.
I remember noticing the many glowing reviews at the time of release, but sadly I was not available to play it and kept putting it off. Now I'm like 23h in and this has been one of the most deep and rewarding experiences in videogames for me. The sheer breadth of human societal and political and also other down-to-earth knowledge on display here is mesmerizing. This is so far from just a "simple" detective RPG - this touches every minute aspect of the accumulation of everything the player has learned in the course of their lives. I also wonder how US people respond to this vs European people. I'm from Europe myself and it is staggering the number of references I've seen that reflect many different aspects of my life, either directly experienced or learned from in the news, tv shows, books, movies... There's a definite special aspect to this game. PS: there's been a lot of belittling videogames over the ages, but the writing on this one speaks to a level of human knowledge akin to any great classic literary work of old
Damn what a great narrator!! I couldn't say any of those gigantic sentences without losing my breath midway. Also great review, really made me wanna play
The typical 5-10 min reviews on sites like these really don’t tell you enough about the game most of the time. This one is pretty outstanding in how it so perfectly encapsulates what the game is about in 10 mins. Nice
Although the IGN review has a lot more views, and many people like that too.. For me, this is a better review, it's a simpler and easier to digest.. Thumbs Up..
Yes, most encounters with people have a decent amount of dialogue voiced, but the deeper into conversations you go, there isn't any voice acting. Id say there's JUST enough voice acting to keep you interested.
This has to be one of the more lauded games in recent history I just don't get. The narrative is interesting yet so long winded that it cuts into the role-playing "gameplay" sections, and the roleplay gameplay is so dry and lacklustre that it cuts into the narrative. I honestly felt like they should have chosen one or the other. Got frustrated with it pretty quickly, especially when I got a game over and the last autosave was 2 hours ago.
The 'roleplay gameplay' is dry and lackluster? Compared to tabletop, sure, but then every CRPG is dry and lackluster. What's the point of comparison? You click on stuff in dialog, like you would in Fallout, or Planescape, or Pillars of Eternity. Skills qualify you for different stuff to click on. Your conversation branches can lead to you different outcomes in conversations or something for your Thought Cabinet or whatever. It's like every other RPG except that it involves your skills and stats way more often, which tailors the experience to reflect your customization.
Essentially because it's just a whole bunch of skill checks that lack any real form of engagement. There's nothing there beyond choosing a path you are gated behind. Admittedly I don't care for tabletops much, but even I have found enjoyment in Call of Cthulu tabletops simply because the banality of the mechanics actually serves the narrative well. For branching narrative choices to be paired up with some form of gameplay mechanic to work, you've got to do more than arbitrarily leveling up skill check points, and DE just doesn't make how you earn and assign your skill points engaging It quite honestly feels like it should have just been a PaC adventure.
It is less game-y and depends more on your choices of using skill points than your skill as a player. They made some bold, interesting choices here, and I could see how it could turn some people off. The role play is very European existentialist- very inward looking using the world as a mirror and less action oriented. The game is made to also make you not be able to be a god at everything, ALA Bethesda “RPGs”. And boy what are you doing not manually saving? The first rule in RPG games- save save save save!
@@federicomachado811 Scabs dont "get back" to work. They are people who cross picket lines. If a union worker is working in a factory during a Strike/picket, then they are a scab.
most players are reporting between 30 to 50 hours in their first playthrough, depending on reading speed, completionism, and how much backtracking/savescumming you're willing to do. it should be noted that your character build and decisions can significantly change your outcome (most puzzles and missions have multiple solutions and results), which also affects what *secrets* you can uncover (you won'tget them all in a single playthrough), so there's replayability value - more than the average adventure game, at least.
Inb4 someone compares an arbitrary number to another arbitrary number and says "oh well X game has a better score than Y game and that makes no sense like how does this simple ass game have a higher score than Death Stranding like what the fuck"
I pirated this to try it out before I bought it, it wasn't for me (too much text and flat clicking), remember the games when you could download a demo to try a game out!
@@dlf7789 I'm not against pirating as long as you buy the game if you enjoy which is regularly what I do, back in the day they use to provide demos these days they don't
Well that's the main similarity communicated. Personally I describe the game as _Baldur's Gate: Detective Agency, except no combat._ It's basically the shortest way to describe the broadest strokes of the game (iso, story+dialog choices, no combat).
More worth that price than some other games that are priced the same but frim bigger studios. If Octopath traveler can be 60 euros then this game deserves its price
10 out of 10? Really Gamespot, REALLY? This text-based indie visual novel is as good as Super Mario Galaxy, Breath of the Wild, Bayonetta 2, and The Witcher 3? Clearly you need to audit your review contractors because this guy has obviously not played very many video games if he thinks this thing is a 10 out of 10.
from their own page: "A 10 does not mean a game is perfect, but it does mean that it's a game we believe everyone should play. In my opinion, no game can be considered perfect. That means you may see a game getting a 10 despite having issues. It also means that games without obvious flaws may be scored below 10. On the rare occasion when we publish a 10 review, that is our way of saying that no matter you preference for genre, developer, setting, or console, you owe it to yourself to find a way to play the game in question. "
This has to be one of the *best reviews* I've seen on this channel.
Well done, Wildgoose and McDonell 🙂
All Wildgoose's words, but thank you! I did the video bits :) So glad you liked it!
@@jessmcdonell Both of you did great 🙂
Agreed. I don't really watch game reviews anymore and was quite sceptical reading your comment but this review succinctly demonstrated what DE is about, it's a hard task to do since this game is A LOT of things but they manage to capture its essential qualities in just 10 minutes! Of course, there are infinitely more beautiful things that the game offers but that's left for the players to discover :)
Now that's a damn fine review ... makes me want to play this game
How did you like it?
Good on you gamespot for delaying the review for a better grasp of the game.
Sad thing is they wouldn't have done this if it was a famous game
sorry to be so off topic but does any of you know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account?
I somehow forgot the login password. I would love any tips you can offer me!
@Knox Sergio instablaster =)
@Christopher Emanuel i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm in the hacking process atm.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Christopher Emanuel It worked and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy!
Thanks so much you saved my account :D
Been playing games 30+ years and this is easily one of the best I've ever played, period.
I keep hearing people say this, and as a fellow RPG greybeard, it's making me think I need to buy this asap.
yeah, hearing you say that makes me want to pick it up. I've been gaming for over 30yrs myself and have been looking at this closely. Sale please!!
@@Kholaslittlespot1 Steam sale!!! Well worth picking up. Nothing else like it.
I can confidently say that there's literally nothing else like it. The agonizing and incredible story behind how the game was made says it all, more than 2 decades in the making, under the hands of a few last Soviet artists.
Absolutely phenomenal game, and a bold statement as to how rpg's should be made. I can see it becoming a cult classic eventually since it doesn't seem to be the type of game to create mass appeal
@asher1735 thanks! Second laguages are hard xd
Joao Pedro Damaso Never seemed like your second language from your comment. I feel like you speak better english than most native english speakers
Just finished my first playthrough. Game of the year to me without a shadow of doubt. A game this interactive with writing this sharp, poignant, and articulate in its politics is unprecedented.
About to finish my first playthrough one year later... And I have to agree with everything you said.
Gasp a game journalist with 14 points in communism! Jokes aside, excellent review
David Wildgoose? If he didn't review Untitled Goose Game there's no justice in the world
You can tell this review comes from a genuine fascination and understanding of the games themes.If i had not bought the game already this review despite seeing countless others would do it for me.Bravo!!
Great Review! I really want to play this game, it's looks like it emulated the same feeling that you got when you play a tabletop RPG.
I just began Day 4, but Disco, without a doubt in my mind, is an easy GOTY contender. I cannot wait to see what Za/Um does next.
A game you will NEVER forget.
Very well written review; wonderfully explained all aspects of the game.
Damn Wildgoose is such a pimpin' name
It is! lol
Sounds like Fighter pilot............. Gone Rogue.....
I thought isometric RPGs weren't for me after I couldn't get into Baldur's Gate or Divinity Original Sin 2 but this review sold me.
I can understand not getting into baldur's gate, but divinity is such a great starter.
@@MassiveAchievement yeah, divinity original sin 2 is one my favourite games. So good.
It is like DOS:2 is you did everything backwards compared to how it works in DOS2
This game sounds fascinating, something for grownups.
I love games like this. "Text heavy" is right up my street being a bookworm myself. Im wondering, is the dialogue as good as that in Torment Tides of Numenera? Im also wondering if i can endure waiting until next year for an Xbox One version or if ill end up buying it on Steam.
It's the best dialogue I've ever heard in a game
It is on sale on Steam now. And out on Xbox. I went with Steam for the sale and mouse and keyboard.
I got it on cdkeys for 7 bucks
8:07 Devs cool props just went up +100 points for that nice rendition of the Einsturzende Neubauten logo! :D
Please, Gamespot, keep this up! This review didn't feel contrived, rushed, or disingenuous; it felt honest, thought-out, and real! I stopped looking to "gamer companies" in favor of the "common-man" for honesty and realism, but this review gives me hope that there may be more to the culture than just money and timelines. Thank you.
nice art style, i love these isometric adventures .
It has that Shadowrun and Beneath The Steel Sky vibe which I really dig.
I remember noticing the many glowing reviews at the time of release, but sadly I was not available to play it and kept putting it off. Now I'm like 23h in and this has been one of the most deep and rewarding experiences in videogames for me. The sheer breadth of human societal and political and also other down-to-earth knowledge on display here is mesmerizing. This is so far from just a "simple" detective RPG - this touches every minute aspect of the accumulation of everything the player has learned in the course of their lives.
I also wonder how US people respond to this vs European people. I'm from Europe myself and it is staggering the number of references I've seen that reflect many different aspects of my life, either directly experienced or learned from in the news, tv shows, books, movies...
There's a definite special aspect to this game.
PS: there's been a lot of belittling videogames over the ages, but the writing on this one speaks to a level of human knowledge akin to any great classic literary work of old
Damn what a great narrator!! I couldn't say any of those gigantic sentences without losing my breath midway. Also great review, really made me wanna play
The typical 5-10 min reviews on sites like these really don’t tell you enough about the game most of the time. This one is pretty outstanding in how it so perfectly encapsulates what the game is about in 10 mins. Nice
Exceptional review.
This looks like a game I’d love. Can’t wait til it’s out on PS4. This, Cyberpunk and Baldur’s Gate 3 are my most anticipated games to play
I bought it because I wanted to support the dev, though I wish I could play it on switch.
You got your wish
@@danielfield1606 I'll probably buy it again when it's on sale :p already bought it full price once
@@Bacbi I'll be doing the same as I'll be getting it again when it releases on console :)
I love the concept art vibes
I want this on PS4 or Switch!!!! ASAP!!!
Feels to me like amazing Sanitarium a bit... The wibe is there
Ahh, Sanitarium, what a game!
This doesnt feel good with a controller... or at least they need to make some alterations, I can't use a controller well on this at Steam.
Where have you two been ??? AWESOME REVIEW!" Swagger and confidence rarely scene "🔥🔥
Just finished it. My top game of 2019.
Unique and rare to find RPG game for sure. Definitely worth checking out.
Feeling the Sanitarium gameplay in this one, =b
*Disco Elysium, The Outer Worlds, FE: Three Houses, Observation, A Plague Tale - just screams Story driven games never left and they're here to stay.*
Beautifully written game, beautifully written review. Well played all around!
Much more than a game, this is a great philosophical, humorous, political and literal experience.
Although the IGN review has a lot more views, and many people like that too.. For me, this is a better review, it's a simpler and easier to digest.. Thumbs Up..
His last name is wildgoose.
I don’t know if that’s amazing or unfortunate
Underrated game
Looks great! One question - is (any of) the dialogue voiced?
Yes, most encounters with people have a decent amount of dialogue voiced, but the deeper into conversations you go, there isn't any voice acting. Id say there's JUST enough voice acting to keep you interested.
@@oryanmccartney9536 Thanks for the answer!
@@Jearoon They've just released a Final Cut version of the game that's fully-voiced. Free for all PC owners.
Perfect review, i couldn't agree more with this verdict!
Excellent review, excited to play this one!
THAT WAS CUUUUNO!
What a beautifully crafted review. Well done.
10/10 holy pizza 🤯
Game of the year for me even though I'm not done yet ( i have a soft spot for point and click games but recommend everyone play it). Good review.
Super nice review! I've got many games left to play on Steam, but this one has been put on my wishlist.
You had me at "this is Jess McDonell'
Is this the girl from Outside X-Box!?! Loved this review.
is this the first 10 since bayonetta 2? can't remember
Our last 10's were in 2017, when we gave three out to Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, and Divinity Original Sin II.
@@JeanLucSeipke ahh thanks Jean-Luc
This is such a great review
Oh Man! Games like this makes me want to play shadowrun
"Moderate paths do not exist" about Disco Elysium is exactly what "The World's most laughable Centrist" would say.
no combat?
"moderate paths do not exist". Spoken like a true moralist.
OMG Jess, where have you been, girl?
what do you mean NAMELESS cop?
Isn't that Justina from Whatculture Gaming??
I am just a poor boy from a poor fam-ily, noth-ing really matters to m-e!
Good review
all anyone talks about is the super deep political stuff and story but almost nothing about the ACTUAL GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is the in the text
Is it on PS4 ?
This has to be one of the more lauded games in recent history I just don't get. The narrative is interesting yet so long winded that it cuts into the role-playing "gameplay" sections, and the roleplay gameplay is so dry and lacklustre that it cuts into the narrative. I honestly felt like they should have chosen one or the other. Got frustrated with it pretty quickly, especially when I got a game over and the last autosave was 2 hours ago.
The 'roleplay gameplay' is dry and lackluster? Compared to tabletop, sure, but then every CRPG is dry and lackluster. What's the point of comparison? You click on stuff in dialog, like you would in Fallout, or Planescape, or Pillars of Eternity. Skills qualify you for different stuff to click on. Your conversation branches can lead to you different outcomes in conversations or something for your Thought Cabinet or whatever. It's like every other RPG except that it involves your skills and stats way more often, which tailors the experience to reflect your customization.
Essentially because it's just a whole bunch of skill checks that lack any real form of engagement. There's nothing there beyond choosing a path you are gated behind. Admittedly I don't care for tabletops much, but even I have found enjoyment in Call of Cthulu tabletops simply because the banality of the mechanics actually serves the narrative well. For branching narrative choices to be paired up with some form of gameplay mechanic to work, you've got to do more than arbitrarily leveling up skill check points, and DE just doesn't make how you earn and assign your skill points engaging
It quite honestly feels like it should have just been a PaC adventure.
It is less game-y and depends more on your choices of using skill points than your skill as a player. They made some bold, interesting choices here, and I could see how it could turn some people off. The role play is very European existentialist- very inward looking using the world as a mirror and less action oriented. The game is made to also make you not be able to be a god at everything, ALA Bethesda “RPGs”. And boy what are you doing not manually saving? The first rule in RPG games- save save save save!
A 10? Nice. Wish it was on PS4 though.
It is now. Fully voiced.
i think it should in education system
Scabs don't picket. They take jobs from union workers who are picketing. Pretty much the opposite.
Yeah I thought that was an odd thing to say. If the scabs are picketing, they are, by definition, no longer scabs.
They picket in the game because the union workers occupied the factory and the scabs wants them out in order to get to work.
@@federicomachado811 Scabs dont "get back" to work. They are people who cross picket lines. If a union worker is working in a factory during a Strike/picket, then they are a scab.
@@andrewstohr I think they were saying that the occupied it to prevent work from being done
This game is too good
This reviewers voice sounds like Klaasje
wow great review. made me buy the game
Gonna Rust Cohle the shit outta this
Hey guys, can anyone tell me the approximate length of a playthrough?
@Rune Kristensen thanks mate, appreciate it!
most players are reporting between 30 to 50 hours in their first playthrough, depending on reading speed, completionism, and how much backtracking/savescumming you're willing to do. it should be noted that your character build and decisions can significantly change your outcome (most puzzles and missions have multiple solutions and results), which also affects what *secrets* you can uncover (you won'tget them all in a single playthrough), so there's replayability value - more than the average adventure game, at least.
Hello Jess
For PS4 please!
Its gonna be ported for ps4 and x1 next year.
Inb4 someone compares an arbitrary number to another arbitrary number and says "oh well X game has a better score than Y game and that makes no sense like how does this simple ass game have a higher score than Death Stranding like what the fuck"
I pirated this to try it out before I bought it, it wasn't for me (too much text and flat clicking), remember the games when you could download a demo to try a game out!
Pirating from a small dev team is scummy.
@@dlf7789 I'm not against pirating as long as you buy the game if you enjoy which is regularly what I do, back in the day they use to provide demos these days they don't
Go back to your brain-dead FPS games.
@@exactzero assumptions are the mother of all fuckups, you my friend are a fuck up!
@@sudstahgaming Brain-dead.
PS4??
It is on PS4 now! Fully voiced.
Umm, Baldur's Gate and Divinity: Original Sin? Other than being isometric, I really don't see the similarities with those two here.
Well that's the main similarity communicated. Personally I describe the game as _Baldur's Gate: Detective Agency, except no combat._ It's basically the shortest way to describe the broadest strokes of the game (iso, story+dialog choices, no combat).
It plays a good bit differently but the core dice rolls and isometric view can’t help but remind you of those games.
Hey
Meh, looks too heady for my taste.
the walking dead >
The price is a bit much for a low production value game.
More worth that price than some other games that are priced the same but frim bigger studios. If Octopath traveler can be 60 euros then this game deserves its price
All the environments are hand painted, that is by definition high value production quality
make sure you max out the graphical settings before reviewing please.
That is a lot of reading.... Oh it's voice acted?
People say it’s great but the game play reminds me of a dog wiping it’s ass on the carpet
You haven't played it until you've played it
Go back to your brain-dead FPS games.
As soon as I hear a females voice on any review i instantly dislike the video and stop watching
Ok
Ok
Incel
Pathetic
Your choice I guess, no matter how illogical it may seem. All your doing is is giving yourself less things to enjoy.
10 out of 10? Really Gamespot, REALLY? This text-based indie visual novel is as good as Super Mario Galaxy, Breath of the Wild, Bayonetta 2, and The Witcher 3? Clearly you need to audit your review contractors because this guy has obviously not played very many video games if he thinks this thing is a 10 out of 10.
from their own page: "A 10 does not mean a game is perfect, but it does mean that it's a game we believe everyone should play. In my opinion, no game can be considered perfect. That means you may see a game getting a 10 despite having issues. It also means that games without obvious flaws may be scored below 10.
On the rare occasion when we publish a 10 review, that is our way of saying that no matter you preference for genre, developer, setting, or console, you owe it to yourself to find a way to play the game in question.
"
All the games you mentioned minus Witcher 3 are a 7.5 at best. Stfu!
So you imply this game has less value than Super Mario Odyssey? By what parameters, may I ask?
I mean... yeah?
it is, and then some.