Disco Elysium tips and tricks? (unmarked spoilers probably)

[air_show]

Yeah combat is not a thing.

Skills do two things. They perform passive checks in the background and depending on whether or not they pass, they'll pop in with their opinion or advice on what's going on and can either guide you in a particular direction or unlock new dialogue options.

The other thing they do is affect the odds of you succeeding at the many active skill checks throughout the game. Best way to play imo is to just accept the outcome of any roll you get and keep moving forward. No skills are specifically required to progress, and any mandatory checks will have an enormous number of modifiers available to improve your rolls.

There isn't any traditional combat. The whole game takes place in this combination of narrative and skill checks, but violent actions can occur, and yes, I do believe it is possible to play fully pacifist. This does not mean it's possible to complete the game with nobody dying.

 

[FelixSH]

Sounds great! An RPG without a battle system. How did it take so long? Love it.

Best way to play imo is to just accept the outcome of any roll you get and keep moving forward.

Sounds good, too. I think I'll do that.

 

[FelixSH]

I talked with Measurehead, and listened to his race theory nonsense. That was the dumbest shit I have ever read, and I have read Atlas Shrugged. Good lord, was that stupid. At least it was just making fun of this, but the thought that there are people who might think stuff like this is somewhat irritating.

Not much else to talk about, for now. Just exploring the city. There is a lot to explore. I have played for 6 hours, and still not talked to everyone in the first part of the city. There is a strong melancholic feeling here, and these French names, including of the former kings, reminds me of the French Commune, which is probably not a coincident.

 

[air_show]

From what I understand the creators are Estonian and Estonian history is a big influence on them creatively. And probably politically.

For what it's worth I'm pretty sure the game doesn't agree with Measurehead. And while listening to him is tedious and gross, it can set up some funny callbacks later.

That said punching him out is by far the more satisfying way to get in.

Another thing I want to throw in there, don't feel like you need to play completiony for the sake of it. By all means pick at as many threads as you want if you're interested but on my first successful playthrough I decided to focus real hard on solving the case and missed a lot of content as a result, but still got a really great story out of it.

I say first successful because I had taken one other serious run at the game before and "failed" partway through because I ended up becoming too sad to continue that save. But I have to stress that that absolutely did not spoil the experience for me. I took a break and when I came back to the game with a better sense of having a goal and build in mind, it was unbelievably satisfying.

 

[FelixSH]

Oh, the game seems to take a pretty neutral standpoint with political leanings, making fun of / critizising all of them in some measure. I feel like they made even more fun of Measureheads extra dose of lunacy. I never assumed they were trying to defend this nonsense. It was just such an incridbly stupid amount of nonsense.

I try to play a pacifist, so I don't punch people, if possible. Which is reflective in my stats, I was physically probably less imposing than Kim.

I also am completely unable to not follow every sidequest that looked at me even slightly funny. That's just how my brain works, and in the end, I was just more interested in the world and History, than the murder case (which was interesting too, just not to the same amount).

Actually, I'm done, with 27.6 hours. This game was really addictive. Always, after a quest, I wanted to have just one more conversation, and then suddenly, three hours were gone. The dialogue is great, as is the world that is built here. I'm fascinated by the way different countries, ideas and Historical events were mixed up, to create this fascinating world. That said, I had a hard time actively roleplaying. Like, I tried my best to be a sensible guy, who tries to actually help people, and I generally did. But I felt like the game wanted me to pick a political side, which I just wasn't capable of. Not in general (you can, after all, give individual answers for each situation), and more because I never got as tight a grip on the History of this place, as I had wanted to. The main example that comes to mind is Joyce, when she asks me what I think of her. I wasn't sure. I still have a too-vague sense of what actually went down, so calling her a monster for selling out didn't really feel right, but like the most fitting, at least? I don't think she's a monster, but I also still would like to know more details. I know, most people (at least I think) prefer if not every detail is spelled out, but I prefer that. You created the story, so tell me everything. Don't make me fill in the blanks.

This isn't meant as a critizism, I enjoyed my time a ton, and I have a vague feeling. And maybe I just missed some stuff.

Also, I felt way too proud of not giving Cuno speed. Like, of course I don't give that shit to a kid, why would I even second-guess that? Just, afterwards, when one of my thoughts told me that his trust was shaken, or something like that, I felt like maybe I should have given him some, so he would trust me and let me help him further. But, no, that is just a no-brainer.

Also, regarding the union-leader: I'm probably a horrible person for thinking that, but I generally agree with his plan, a bit? I know, he is a scumbag, but this town is a shithole. And I know, there are still, like, five people living here, and trying to force them out of their homes is horrible. But it also feels like it might be a chance for this place? Maybe? I wouldn't think that simple in real life, but in the game, I would take the gamble, hoping that he makes this place more prosperous, which would also, in the end, make the people here less piss-poor. It's likely the wrong decision, and will only make the asshole richer, but in a game, I can take the gamble.

I couldn't stop the meetup between the Hardy Boys and the corporate assassins to turn violent, but at least Kim survived. Only two of the Hardy Boys did. I really wanted to reload here, but then just went with it. Still, that felt really bad, and it feels like I lost here. Considering that my whole idea with these games it to play someone who helps people and solves conflicts peacefully.

So, really great game, one of the best, and especially unique, RPGs I have played in quite some time. Also, Kim is the best.

Also, I'm surprised that this game didn't create bigger waves here. I feel like this should be a game that a lot of people here should be really into. I would have expected a thread with ten pages, or so. I mean, just this thread proofs that a good amount of us has played it, just surprised that it hasn't created a bigger discussion.

 

[Kalir]

Yeah no the game is very strongly of the opinion that one cannot be "apolitical", especially not in Martinaise. Sure, you're a fish out of water (or at least your character fell out of his personal fish tank) but the powderkeg tensions of the area require you to choose a side, or at least understand the forces at play well enough to figure out how you feel about them. Part of this is done by making the "politically neutral" faction itself an actual, well, faction, with its own troubled history and shady goals and a definite non-appeal to certain people. And, of course, there's instances of calling a spade a spade when someone does take radical stances and the game responds with "ah, I see you are radical". There are MANY people going "why did Kim call me a fascist at endgame I just played like a normal reasonable person" when no, if Kim is calling you a fascist, you have been playing a fascist.

Also Evrart Claire is an awesome character, really well written, an absolute shitter and I mean that as the highest of compliments.

 

[air_show]

Don't make me fill in the blanks.

It really is Fill in the Blanks, the game though. It's a game about communication in a lot of ways. Almost everyone you meet is willing to open up to your about their philosophy on life and the world around you, but you are always hearing their interpretation. You can't get any objective sources. Even your skills are biased in various ways. There's not a correct answer for what you think about Joyce.

Also don't underestimate how much freedom you have in interpreting your responses to things as sarcastic or deceptions. There's even a point where if you agree with someone about his racist views and Kim confronts you about it afterward, you can assure him you were lying. Whether or not you actually were is up to you. And there are times where playing along with someone's politics can get you bonuses on passing checks later on. You don't necessarily have to believe that everything your detective says is his certain moral endorsement.

There's no wrong way to roleplay either. If you want to play your character as a sensible guy who wants to help everyone that's totally valid and despite the game roasting you for it, it will also accommodate and reward leaning into this playstyle in all its little ways. You get roasted for most of the decisions you make, as you're playing a character with self-loathing depression and the game is mostly internal dialogue.

 

[FelixSH]

Yeah no the game is very strongly of the opinion that one cannot be "apolitical", especially not in Martinaise. Sure, you're a fish out of water (or at least your character fell out of his personal fish tank) but the powderkeg tensions of the area require you to choose a side, or at least understand the forces at play well enough to figure out how you feel about them. Part of this is done by making the "politically neutral" faction itself an actual, well, faction, with its own troubled history and shady goals and a definite non-appeal to certain people. And, of course, there's instances of calling a spade a spade when someone does take radical stances and the game responds with "ah, I see you are radical". There are MANY people going "why did Kim call me a fascist at endgame I just played like a normal reasonable person" when no, if Kim is calling you a fascist, you have been playing a fascist.

I come more and more to the point of thinking that neutrality doesn't really exist, that you can't be apolitical. If you don't do anything, you are, at least implicitely, helping and supporting the status quo and he way things are heading. So, yeah, I appreciate that about the game, not giving you an easy way out. You have to take a stance. It's great.

I'm curious, what was Kims final verdict on you? He saw me as a Sorry Cop (which absolutely fits with me IRL), and also described me as a communist. I actually didn't see it that way, while playing, being caught up in the moment, but thinking on how I sided with the Union, telling Joyce that it might be best to leave the island to it, puts me very clearly in that spot. Challenging me on my beliefs also makes it clear, that my sympathy with communism never went fully away. To be clear, when I was around 18, I was fully in "communism is great, it's just the people that ruin it, we just have to keep trying" mindset. I got better, but I think I never lost that bit of hope, that communism can work, and would heal the world. I know better now, but deep down, the hope probably never died.

Also Evrart Claire is an awesome character, really well written, an absolute shitter and I mean that as the highest of compliments.

My god, yes, he is amazingly written.

It really is Fill in the Blanks, the game though.

Sure, as mentioned, it wasn't a critizism. More a point of how I prefer games to handle story telling, in general. DI works great, with how it does things.

Also don't underestimate how much freedom you have in interpreting your responses to things as sarcastic or deceptions. There's even a point where if you agree with someone about his racist views and Kim confronts you about it afterward, you can assure him you were lying. Whether or not you actually were is up to you. And there are times where playing along with someone's politics can get you bonuses on passing checks later on. You don't necessarily have to believe that everything your detective says is his certain moral endorsement.

Yeah, I think I simply can't do that. I am a horrible liar in real life, and I assume that people, if I don't know better very clearly, are always saying the truth, mean it and feel than bound to it (which is obviously not the case, because people often say stuff they might, maybe do, but say it like it is a certainty - I just can't parse this, makes me disappointed every time, even if I KNOW that it wasn't meant as a promise). Even in a game, if I tell a person something, than because I mean it.

It's not quite that bad, but lying means stopping to roleplay, and admitting that I play a videogame, which doesn't matter anyway, in the end. Bad for RPGs, of course. I don't think I can actively roleplay a lying person.

I really need to replay this game, with a physical build, as a fascist asshole, or something. I need to know how this plays out, then.

 

[Kalir]

I'm curious, what was Kims final verdict on you? He saw me as a Sorry Cop (which absolutely fits with me IRL), and also described me as a communist.

I played before the Final Cut version so I didn't have access to the political quests, but I got the same results. Of course, I dipped into other responses here or there, but never got close to any other ideologies except Boring Cop and Moralist.

 

[Olli]

I just finished the game! I went full communist, which affected surprisingly little in the end. I also abstained from drinking or drugs, which seemed like a good choice, but maybe nex time I will partake. I never figured out what exactly was going on in the church (aside from some kind of hole in reality, maybe), which is another thing I want to see about.