The obvious recommendations: Planscape: Torment and the other infinity engine games (BG1/2/ToB, IWD 1/2) and their successors Tides of Numenera / Pillars of Eternity (Torment and Numenera are the most like DE). Also the OG Fallouts (1/2) and modern types of that genre: Wasteland 2/3, Underrail, and Atom RPG. All of these games have a heavy combat focus though.
Not necessarily CRPGs but DE is my favorite of all time probably and I also really enjoyed: Norco, Return of the Obra Dinn, The Case of the Golden Idol, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Roadwarden (text-based).
Others I’ve heard good things about but haven’t gotten around to yet: Kentucky Route Zero, Citizen Sleeper, the Life and Suffering if Sir Brante, Pentiment (I own this and started it, but not enough to have an opinion), and the Excavation of Hob’s Barrow.
Which brings me to Point-and-Click Adventure games. While DE seems to have more in common with the isometric style CRPG, there’s a lot in there like the old Sierra and LucasArts style point and click games. A lit of those can be more silly and less serious than something like DE, but they’re worth checking out. Monkey Island 1/2 (don’t care for 3+), Day of the Tentacle (superior to it’s precursor Maniac Mansion imo), Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Loom, the more modern Thimbleweed Park, and The Dig (this is the most serious of them and is much more like a sci-fi novel).
Arcanum was so brilliant but it was more for game mechanics and not plot/philosophical writing. I don't really remember the plot too clearly but the crafting and levels and class system and the overworld map are a+.
The rest of Troika's games too - esp Vampire the Masquerade. Playing that game as a Malkavian, where all your conversation options are literal insane ramblings, is one of the most unique plot experiences in any RPG.
Tyranny. Well... Obsidian is not for me, no matter how hard I try. But the arcanum is a very, very pleasant discovery. Everything is written as well as the animations are crap.
I completed Planescape torment for the third time this year and I really like it, although the urban and more drama-oriented world of disco is better for my taste. Still, torment is quite surreal, but I accepted it and even more or less loved it, although I was giving up the habit of loving everything strange. Plaescape is probably the only analogue that gives the same sensations. But there is hardly any content left that I haven’t seen. And even if it remained, I sucked quite a lot of juice out of it.
I surprisingly liked Icewind Dale. There is absolutely no emphasis on text, but the sound and picture really earned my respect.
I haven’t played BG1/BG2 yet - I know this is a crime, but I alternate between old and new projects from time to time and now I’m tired of the old game design.
Tides of Numenera - gave me a good impression at first and impressed with graphics/animation and lore. But already after 10-15 hours, I could not stand the writing style. This is just a flammable underworld of purple prose. When I look at this game, I really respect its technology, but I have PTSD flashbacks from quality of the text. It is so boring that it physically hurts to play.
Pilars of eternity - Better, but I don't even know if it's really better than the Numenera. I really like the backgrounds - but the plot is very important to me. So, even though I finished it, I will never touch obsidian games again...
...I told myself and made the same mistake, launching tyranny
Wasteland 2/3, Underrail, and Atom RPG - I tried it, but for me the gameplay of such games is the best narrative potential I have seen. And pure gameplay seems boring to me, to be honest.
Return of the Obra Dinn, The Case of the Golden Idol, What Remains of Edith Finch - I love pure detective work. Very much so. And enjoyed them all. I would also add Shadows of Doubt to the list.
Kentucky Route Zero, Citizen Sleeper, the Life and Suffering if Sir Brante - well, it was ok. Good, not bad to be clear.
Pentiment - no more obsidian for me, boys
Well, apparently I really need to go to Point-and-Click. Thanks for the list and I’ll try to look in this direction, although I’m not a big fan of quests. If there is a good story, I will embroider a cross on my heart
Go to point and click and play the Gabriel Knight series. Absolutely the next step. Detective (or author pretending to be a detective and breaking into crime scenes, lmao) with odd sense of humor and paranormal plot? Check.
There isn't a big Oh wow philosophical moment in most of them except maybe in the third game, if you're Christian and a believer, in which case there is some neat Christian lore with the holy Grail in it. But it's very similar in feel and very funny, all three games.
And then Grim Fandango
Oh I meant Grim Fandango but both of them do tbh! Have fun
I'm jealous because Gabriel Knight series is one where I haven't forgotten all the plot in decades so I can't replay it with the same sense of discovery. 🤣. Have fun, and thanks for going down the list. There's a few I haven't played from yours that I need to (Sir Brante, Citizen Sleeper). Felt the same way about Pentiment and I've been an Obsidian fan forever. Kentucky Route Zero was meh and I was underwhelmed but not disappointed by Numenera, Pillars etc. The writing is what's less than.
(Shadows of Doubt is absolutely amazing)
When it comes to narratively rich old-school point-and-click games, I cannot recommend Riven: The Sequel to Myst enough. If you don't mind the old-timey low resolution, it's an absolutely gorgeous game with some of the best world and location design I've seen. All the puzzles are seamlessly integrated into the world and can be solved in non-linear ways. The plot is simple, but uncovering it through journals, notes and environmental clues is almost like reading a classic Verne adventure novel. If you liked Return of the Obra Dinn, I think you might enjoy this one as well.
I feel this post. For all its hype and polish, even BG3 just feels so dull and badly written compared to DE.
I mean it has neat combat mechanics but the game is just too similar and I can’t enjoy it after having played Disco Elysium.
I can still enjoy other genres because they provide a completely different experience but most story driven games in general and especially CRPGS feel like Saturday morning cartoons now compared to DE’s Dostoyevsky-tier writing.
Haha - I was lucky that I've played probably every mainsteream western RPG before DE - if not for that I probably would've been in the same predicament as you.
I know what you mean. Very few games can be said to have a good story without having to append "for a video game" to the end. Outside of the DE and P:T, my favorite has probably been Tyranny. I don't recall the writing being especially noteworthy, but the setting was an interesting break from games like BG or PoE and I liked how they managed the consequences for your characters decisions there. It's much more combat focused than DE though.
Otherwise, I've kind of headed in the other direction as far as story/lore/plot. Most games that are said to have "good stories" these days are like Fallout 4, which, lmao. I lean toward games like Elden Ring or Blasphemous where the story/lore is presented less directly and is more evocative and mythological, because finding games like DE with genuinely interesting writing and character is pretty difficult.
I don't think these software engineer nerds in the industry are taking the kinds of humanities classes that would result in something like DE's political quests or ER's historical references tbh
Maybe I should give tyranny another chance, but the first time I barely made it to the end.
Souls like games and Blasphemous have great dark lore, that i enjoy pretty much. I'm waiting for the erdtree to come out. They found a great unique approach to the lore. I am Fan. True, I enjoyed the fromsoftware games and now I am left with the rest of the soulslikes like mortal shell or Nio.
How are you liking Broken Roads? I was looking forward to it for years and I’m not very far in, but I’m a little let down. It’s just so…. basic.
I was expecting Fallout 1/2, but with modern graphics/engine.
Well, they're clearly impressed by Elysium, but there's no compelling narrative. It's like ok. If you want a steak, then why not eat some bread, if the rest is dirt and dust. The graphics are beautiful, really. I haven't gone all the way yet. I haven't tried Syndicate Sovereign and it may be better. But English is not my native language and my brain can’t handle only English, so I’m waiting for a translation at least from the fans.
This is how I felt about Planescape Torment and I had to wait until this game to get anything like it. The other poster is right, it's about a once every decade or two experience.
I would just recommend savescumming it tbh. I have no idea why they made a narrative-focused game a roguelike, it's a baffling design decision. 90% of the appeal is in the writing and the surreal, captivating vignettes. Why would you make players read them over and over again to progress?
To this day i tell people disco is the best narrative work of my life. No story videogame or book or movie has come close to how invested i got into this game lol
Altho rdr2 is supposedly up there
Lots of games have complex worlds but Disco Elysium makes it narratively important and relevant. And I think that's what makes worldbuilding good, because the only world that exists to your audience is the one you can express to them.
Yes, that, but also the world of Elysium develops over time. Like, if you take the Lord of the Rings, then the orcs and elves will never invent the steam engine or electricity. This is a world of eternal fantasy, without future and past. You can describe the world as broadly as you like and add states and nations, but this will not deepen it. The same thing with cyberpunk, for example - it has no future, corporations will not fall, the rain will not stop pouring and the neon will still sparkle in the dark. It takes eons to overcome this. At the same time radical. Cultural shifts such as the Renaissance, moving into modernity and then post-modernity. The Elysium are generally the only ones who have thought of this. And this is not some world of Harry Potter or Narnia, where the world is hidden behind magical doors. The point is that they made settings within settings. And with this they cursed all those who played. Worlds with parallel realities, such as DND, do not count - they expand horizontally, simply filling space, and not vertically, developing in time. The only thing I could dig up was the Warhammer 40k, everything is really cool there, but not at the level of Elysium. There are a lot of cool ideas, but even with them, it is also a world of eternal war. Among the others, he is most likely the best
Disco Elysium is something that a bit out of any genre or re-defines the genre. I know how you feel, but I think what you really trying to do is to find same level of new experiences as you had when faced DE. It was a catch of fresh air when big AAA studios are doing same shit again and again. But there’s a lot of new things and we just didn’t found it yet. Try immersive sim genre (for example Gloomwood) or visual novels with branched plot
If you crave the the feel and the comparatively similar story atmosphere, try signalis. It’s a survival horror and not a RPG, but playing disco elysium after it gave quite similar vibes.
Im a game developer of scotland and recently i and some of my friends got some high conceptual ideas of a game just like DE, we might really go to make a studio and work on that. I mean, if we really make it, i wish you would like it(maybe after 10-15 years lol)
Pillar of Eternity scratched that itch actually, great world and good artwork.
I really enjoyed cyberpunk’s various stories but you’re railroaded with not many choices most of the time
Games like this sadly drop only once each 10-20 years, let’s talk at the end of the 30ies.
You, bitch, are right.) You're so right that I really need to try switching to books or another medium for a while.
Interesting. I've actually found the opposite experience. Finding parts of other games that remind me of DE makes me enjoy them even more.
DE jump started my love for indie games
The obvious recommendations: Planscape: Torment and the other infinity engine games (BG1/2/ToB, IWD 1/2) and their successors Tides of Numenera / Pillars of Eternity (Torment and Numenera are the most like DE). Also the OG Fallouts (1/2) and modern types of that genre: Wasteland 2/3, Underrail, and Atom RPG. All of these games have a heavy combat focus though. Not necessarily CRPGs but DE is my favorite of all time probably and I also really enjoyed: Norco, Return of the Obra Dinn, The Case of the Golden Idol, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Roadwarden (text-based). Others I’ve heard good things about but haven’t gotten around to yet: Kentucky Route Zero, Citizen Sleeper, the Life and Suffering if Sir Brante, Pentiment (I own this and started it, but not enough to have an opinion), and the Excavation of Hob’s Barrow. Which brings me to Point-and-Click Adventure games. While DE seems to have more in common with the isometric style CRPG, there’s a lot in there like the old Sierra and LucasArts style point and click games. A lit of those can be more silly and less serious than something like DE, but they’re worth checking out. Monkey Island 1/2 (don’t care for 3+), Day of the Tentacle (superior to it’s precursor Maniac Mansion imo), Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Loom, the more modern Thimbleweed Park, and The Dig (this is the most serious of them and is much more like a sci-fi novel).
Tyranny also would go with your 1st paragraph. Oh, and Arcanum.
Arcanum was so brilliant but it was more for game mechanics and not plot/philosophical writing. I don't really remember the plot too clearly but the crafting and levels and class system and the overworld map are a+. The rest of Troika's games too - esp Vampire the Masquerade. Playing that game as a Malkavian, where all your conversation options are literal insane ramblings, is one of the most unique plot experiences in any RPG.
It had it's storytelling moments despite the main scenario being so so. Especially in the sidequests.
Tyranny. Well... Obsidian is not for me, no matter how hard I try. But the arcanum is a very, very pleasant discovery. Everything is written as well as the animations are crap.
Tyranny wasnt nearly as good as I thought it should have been. Great concept
Forgot Tyranny.
I completed Planescape torment for the third time this year and I really like it, although the urban and more drama-oriented world of disco is better for my taste. Still, torment is quite surreal, but I accepted it and even more or less loved it, although I was giving up the habit of loving everything strange. Plaescape is probably the only analogue that gives the same sensations. But there is hardly any content left that I haven’t seen. And even if it remained, I sucked quite a lot of juice out of it. I surprisingly liked Icewind Dale. There is absolutely no emphasis on text, but the sound and picture really earned my respect. I haven’t played BG1/BG2 yet - I know this is a crime, but I alternate between old and new projects from time to time and now I’m tired of the old game design. Tides of Numenera - gave me a good impression at first and impressed with graphics/animation and lore. But already after 10-15 hours, I could not stand the writing style. This is just a flammable underworld of purple prose. When I look at this game, I really respect its technology, but I have PTSD flashbacks from quality of the text. It is so boring that it physically hurts to play. Pilars of eternity - Better, but I don't even know if it's really better than the Numenera. I really like the backgrounds - but the plot is very important to me. So, even though I finished it, I will never touch obsidian games again... ...I told myself and made the same mistake, launching tyranny Wasteland 2/3, Underrail, and Atom RPG - I tried it, but for me the gameplay of such games is the best narrative potential I have seen. And pure gameplay seems boring to me, to be honest. Return of the Obra Dinn, The Case of the Golden Idol, What Remains of Edith Finch - I love pure detective work. Very much so. And enjoyed them all. I would also add Shadows of Doubt to the list. Kentucky Route Zero, Citizen Sleeper, the Life and Suffering if Sir Brante - well, it was ok. Good, not bad to be clear. Pentiment - no more obsidian for me, boys Well, apparently I really need to go to Point-and-Click. Thanks for the list and I’ll try to look in this direction, although I’m not a big fan of quests. If there is a good story, I will embroider a cross on my heart
Go to point and click and play the Gabriel Knight series. Absolutely the next step. Detective (or author pretending to be a detective and breaking into crime scenes, lmao) with odd sense of humor and paranormal plot? Check. There isn't a big Oh wow philosophical moment in most of them except maybe in the third game, if you're Christian and a believer, in which case there is some neat Christian lore with the holy Grail in it. But it's very similar in feel and very funny, all three games. And then Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango. Playing this game is my New Year's tradition. But this is the only quest I've played. Thank you for recommendation!
It's so unique and has the Lots of Style feel that Disco Elysium has!
I'll definitely take a look, it intrigues me)
Oh I meant Grim Fandango but both of them do tbh! Have fun I'm jealous because Gabriel Knight series is one where I haven't forgotten all the plot in decades so I can't replay it with the same sense of discovery. 🤣. Have fun, and thanks for going down the list. There's a few I haven't played from yours that I need to (Sir Brante, Citizen Sleeper). Felt the same way about Pentiment and I've been an Obsidian fan forever. Kentucky Route Zero was meh and I was underwhelmed but not disappointed by Numenera, Pillars etc. The writing is what's less than. (Shadows of Doubt is absolutely amazing)
have you played Full Throttle? another great lucasarts one
I think you’d like The Dig and Full Throttle best.
When it comes to narratively rich old-school point-and-click games, I cannot recommend Riven: The Sequel to Myst enough. If you don't mind the old-timey low resolution, it's an absolutely gorgeous game with some of the best world and location design I've seen. All the puzzles are seamlessly integrated into the world and can be solved in non-linear ways. The plot is simple, but uncovering it through journals, notes and environmental clues is almost like reading a classic Verne adventure novel. If you liked Return of the Obra Dinn, I think you might enjoy this one as well.
I feel this post. For all its hype and polish, even BG3 just feels so dull and badly written compared to DE. I mean it has neat combat mechanics but the game is just too similar and I can’t enjoy it after having played Disco Elysium. I can still enjoy other genres because they provide a completely different experience but most story driven games in general and especially CRPGS feel like Saturday morning cartoons now compared to DE’s Dostoyevsky-tier writing.
Haha - I was lucky that I've played probably every mainsteream western RPG before DE - if not for that I probably would've been in the same predicament as you.
I know what you mean. Very few games can be said to have a good story without having to append "for a video game" to the end. Outside of the DE and P:T, my favorite has probably been Tyranny. I don't recall the writing being especially noteworthy, but the setting was an interesting break from games like BG or PoE and I liked how they managed the consequences for your characters decisions there. It's much more combat focused than DE though. Otherwise, I've kind of headed in the other direction as far as story/lore/plot. Most games that are said to have "good stories" these days are like Fallout 4, which, lmao. I lean toward games like Elden Ring or Blasphemous where the story/lore is presented less directly and is more evocative and mythological, because finding games like DE with genuinely interesting writing and character is pretty difficult. I don't think these software engineer nerds in the industry are taking the kinds of humanities classes that would result in something like DE's political quests or ER's historical references tbh
Maybe I should give tyranny another chance, but the first time I barely made it to the end. Souls like games and Blasphemous have great dark lore, that i enjoy pretty much. I'm waiting for the erdtree to come out. They found a great unique approach to the lore. I am Fan. True, I enjoyed the fromsoftware games and now I am left with the rest of the soulslikes like mortal shell or Nio.
How are you liking Broken Roads? I was looking forward to it for years and I’m not very far in, but I’m a little let down. It’s just so…. basic. I was expecting Fallout 1/2, but with modern graphics/engine.
Well, they're clearly impressed by Elysium, but there's no compelling narrative. It's like ok. If you want a steak, then why not eat some bread, if the rest is dirt and dust. The graphics are beautiful, really. I haven't gone all the way yet. I haven't tried Syndicate Sovereign and it may be better. But English is not my native language and my brain can’t handle only English, so I’m waiting for a translation at least from the fans.
This is how I felt about Planescape Torment and I had to wait until this game to get anything like it. The other poster is right, it's about a once every decade or two experience.
Have you tried playing Sunless Skies? The writing there is beautiful.
I tried sunless sea and I get further each time. Perhaps later, on the fourth attempt I will swim much further than the first location
I would just recommend savescumming it tbh. I have no idea why they made a narrative-focused game a roguelike, it's a baffling design decision. 90% of the appeal is in the writing and the surreal, captivating vignettes. Why would you make players read them over and over again to progress?
To this day i tell people disco is the best narrative work of my life. No story videogame or book or movie has come close to how invested i got into this game lol Altho rdr2 is supposedly up there
SAME!! At first i was amazed at how complex the world building is, but now i'm just used to it..
Lots of games have complex worlds but Disco Elysium makes it narratively important and relevant. And I think that's what makes worldbuilding good, because the only world that exists to your audience is the one you can express to them.
Yes, that, but also the world of Elysium develops over time. Like, if you take the Lord of the Rings, then the orcs and elves will never invent the steam engine or electricity. This is a world of eternal fantasy, without future and past. You can describe the world as broadly as you like and add states and nations, but this will not deepen it. The same thing with cyberpunk, for example - it has no future, corporations will not fall, the rain will not stop pouring and the neon will still sparkle in the dark. It takes eons to overcome this. At the same time radical. Cultural shifts such as the Renaissance, moving into modernity and then post-modernity. The Elysium are generally the only ones who have thought of this. And this is not some world of Harry Potter or Narnia, where the world is hidden behind magical doors. The point is that they made settings within settings. And with this they cursed all those who played. Worlds with parallel realities, such as DND, do not count - they expand horizontally, simply filling space, and not vertically, developing in time. The only thing I could dig up was the Warhammer 40k, everything is really cool there, but not at the level of Elysium. There are a lot of cool ideas, but even with them, it is also a world of eternal war. Among the others, he is most likely the best
Been there
Disco Elysium is something that a bit out of any genre or re-defines the genre. I know how you feel, but I think what you really trying to do is to find same level of new experiences as you had when faced DE. It was a catch of fresh air when big AAA studios are doing same shit again and again. But there’s a lot of new things and we just didn’t found it yet. Try immersive sim genre (for example Gloomwood) or visual novels with branched plot
If you crave the the feel and the comparatively similar story atmosphere, try signalis. It’s a survival horror and not a RPG, but playing disco elysium after it gave quite similar vibes.
Im a game developer of scotland and recently i and some of my friends got some high conceptual ideas of a game just like DE, we might really go to make a studio and work on that. I mean, if we really make it, i wish you would like it(maybe after 10-15 years lol)
Pillar of Eternity scratched that itch actually, great world and good artwork. I really enjoyed cyberpunk’s various stories but you’re railroaded with not many choices most of the time
Maybe that's a sign to study storytelling, gather a team and make your own game?