Post
Disco Elysium's true successor?
Esoteric Ep In-depth ReviewThe long-awaited spiritual successor to 'Disco Elysium', 'Esoteric Eb', has finally been released. This game is full of captivating humor, a deep world, and an excellent narrative that reacts to player choices, offering an experience akin to playing a tabletop RPG with the best dungeon master. Although not perfect, it has once again proven the possibilities of the RPG genre as an indie game.
1. 🎮 Esoteric Eb: The Spiritual Successor to Disco Elysium
· 'Esoteric Eb' offers a brilliant, endlessly captivating, truly fun, moving, reflective, and raw experience.
· This game shows that the developers truly care and have poured a part of themselves into it, making it a true successor to 'Disco Elysium'.
· It perfectly embodies the freedom of tabletop narrative, providing a magical experience as if playing with the best dungeon master.
· There's almost no gameplay, no combat, and no voice acting, requiring a lot of reading, but it boasts an equally immersive story.
· Like 'Planescape: Torment', it embraces the bizarre, seamlessly blending humor with complex socio-political critique through sharp and witty writing.
· A vast background of thousands of years of world-building, culture, language, and politics is delicately constructed, unfolding the story of a cleric surrounding a tea explosion incident and the city's first election.
· Even within a seemingly simple story, it always offers new discoveries for players who wish to delve deeper.
· This game shows that the developers truly care and have poured a part of themselves into it, making it a true successor to 'Disco Elysium'.
· It perfectly embodies the freedom of tabletop narrative, providing a magical experience as if playing with the best dungeon master.
· There's almost no gameplay, no combat, and no voice acting, requiring a lot of reading, but it boasts an equally immersive story.
· Like 'Planescape: Torment', it embraces the bizarre, seamlessly blending humor with complex socio-political critique through sharp and witty writing.
· A vast background of thousands of years of world-building, culture, language, and politics is delicately constructed, unfolding the story of a cleric surrounding a tea explosion incident and the city's first election.
· Even within a seemingly simple story, it always offers new discoveries for players who wish to delve deeper.
00:00 - 02:48
1. 🎮 Esoteric Eb: The Spiritual Successor to Disco Elysium
· 'Esoteric Eb' offers a brilliant, endlessly captivating, truly fun, moving, reflective, and raw experience.
· This game shows that the developers truly care and have poured a part of themselves into it, making it a true successor to 'Disco Elysium'.
· It perfectly embodies the freedom of tabletop narrative, providing a magical experience as if playing with the best dungeon master.
· There's almost no gameplay, no combat, and no voice acting, requiring a lot of reading, but it boasts an equally immersive story.
· Like 'Planescape: Torment', it embraces the bizarre, seamlessly blending humor with complex socio-political critique through sharp and witty writing.
· A vast background of thousands of years of world-building, culture, language, and politics is delicately constructed, unfolding the story of a cleric surrounding a tea explosion incident and the city's first election.
· Even within a seemingly simple story, it always offers new discoveries for players who wish to delve deeper.
· This game shows that the developers truly care and have poured a part of themselves into it, making it a true successor to 'Disco Elysium'.
· It perfectly embodies the freedom of tabletop narrative, providing a magical experience as if playing with the best dungeon master.
· There's almost no gameplay, no combat, and no voice acting, requiring a lot of reading, but it boasts an equally immersive story.
· Like 'Planescape: Torment', it embraces the bizarre, seamlessly blending humor with complex socio-political critique through sharp and witty writing.
· A vast background of thousands of years of world-building, culture, language, and politics is delicately constructed, unfolding the story of a cleric surrounding a tea explosion incident and the city's first election.
· Even within a seemingly simple story, it always offers new discoveries for players who wish to delve deeper.
02:49 - 12:31
2. 🎲 Unique Skill System and the Importance of Choice
· Inheriting 'Disco Elysium''s skill and thought cabinet system, it adapts core 'Dungeons & Dragons' skills with its own unique voice.
· Each skill has its own personality and desires, and the conflicts and interactions arising from internal monologues add to the game's enjoyment.
· Stats not only shape character builds but also serve to present dissenting opinions to the player's choices.
· Like the philosophy 'wide as a puddle, deep as an ocean', the story unfolding in a small part of the city of Norvik may not bring world-changing shifts, but it imbues great meaning in small details, quests, and momentary responsiveness.
· Even failure is designed to feel enjoyable, capturing the true charm of a CRPG.
· Criticisms:
· Like 'Disco Elysium', there's a tendency to guide players down specific paths, which might reveal cracks on replay.
· While 'gate checks' exist for main story progression, blocked paths can be reset through 'Shards of Jaw' items and short rests, making it more flexible than 'Disco Elysium'.
· Late-game progression was unclear, sometimes requiring players to stumble upon the path, and the minimal impact of choices in the ending epilogue remains a disappointment.
· 'Disco Elysium' handled the immediate and cascading consequences of choices better.
· Thanks to a variety of weapons and accessories, players can create their own unique builds without 'min-maxing' issues.
· The way developer Christopher reacts to player choices and narrates, much like a dungeon master, provides an immersive experience akin to rolling dice with friends.
· Each skill has its own personality and desires, and the conflicts and interactions arising from internal monologues add to the game's enjoyment.
· Stats not only shape character builds but also serve to present dissenting opinions to the player's choices.
· Like the philosophy 'wide as a puddle, deep as an ocean', the story unfolding in a small part of the city of Norvik may not bring world-changing shifts, but it imbues great meaning in small details, quests, and momentary responsiveness.
· Even failure is designed to feel enjoyable, capturing the true charm of a CRPG.
· Criticisms:
· Like 'Disco Elysium', there's a tendency to guide players down specific paths, which might reveal cracks on replay.
· While 'gate checks' exist for main story progression, blocked paths can be reset through 'Shards of Jaw' items and short rests, making it more flexible than 'Disco Elysium'.
· Late-game progression was unclear, sometimes requiring players to stumble upon the path, and the minimal impact of choices in the ending epilogue remains a disappointment.
· 'Disco Elysium' handled the immediate and cascading consequences of choices better.
· Thanks to a variety of weapons and accessories, players can create their own unique builds without 'min-maxing' issues.
· The way developer Christopher reacts to player choices and narrates, much like a dungeon master, provides an immersive experience akin to rolling dice with friends.
12:32 - 16:11
3. 👥 Charming Companions and a Vibrant World
· The charm of 'Esoteric Eb' comes from its small but very entertaining characters.
· It humorously unpacks the absurdities of the D&D world, featuring characters like a demon offering free legal advice, a lich running the local morgue, or a drunken halfling railing against capitalism and calling for revolution.
· The game is very political, but it gives players the freedom to draw their own conclusions, delivering subtle political messages without being preachy.
· A small cross-section of the city of Norvik showcases vibrant life through diverse characters, from a drunken female sphinx to boys dreaming of becoming nationalist heroes, and even colossal eldritch beings.
· Despite being a short campaign from Level 1 to 6, it achieved far more than the multi-million dollar 'Baldur's Gate 3'.
· Key Companions:
· Through character-driven storytelling, it successfully implemented a wide range of endlessly entertaining characters.
· It humorously unpacks the absurdities of the D&D world, featuring characters like a demon offering free legal advice, a lich running the local morgue, or a drunken halfling railing against capitalism and calling for revolution.
· The game is very political, but it gives players the freedom to draw their own conclusions, delivering subtle political messages without being preachy.
· A small cross-section of the city of Norvik showcases vibrant life through diverse characters, from a drunken female sphinx to boys dreaming of becoming nationalist heroes, and even colossal eldritch beings.
· Despite being a short campaign from Level 1 to 6, it achieved far more than the multi-million dollar 'Baldur's Gate 3'.
· Key Companions:
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Snell (Goblin) | A calm, cool, and reliable companion Provides advantages depending on the situation, and his slingshot is useful in combat |
| Aether (Angel) | An ancient celestial being who was with the city's founders Emotionally distant, but provides crucial insight into the complex socio-political environment of 'Esoteric Eb' |
16:12 - 17:56
4. ✨ A Masterpiece Showcasing the Potential of Indie Games
· Despite concerns that its initial depth and openness might fade on replay, 'Esoteric Eb' remains an astonishing and special game.
· The story is much deeper than it appears, but the world and its characters truly play the most important role.
· Like 'Disco Elysium' or 'Planescape: Torment', it's a rare masterpiece, proving that such games are possible in the indie sector without corporate interference.
· The beautiful, storybook-like art style drawn by Moebius, the melancholic soundtrack, and the extensive writing, world-building, and RPG design all combine to enhance the game's completeness.
· If you didn't like 'Planescape: Torment' or 'Disco Elysium', you might not like this game either, but if you want to experience the wonder that RPGs can offer once again, 'Esoteric Eb' is an excellent choice.
· It has received overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, and its success is well-deserved.
· The story is much deeper than it appears, but the world and its characters truly play the most important role.
· Like 'Disco Elysium' or 'Planescape: Torment', it's a rare masterpiece, proving that such games are possible in the indie sector without corporate interference.
· The beautiful, storybook-like art style drawn by Moebius, the melancholic soundtrack, and the extensive writing, world-building, and RPG design all combine to enhance the game's completeness.
· If you didn't like 'Planescape: Torment' or 'Disco Elysium', you might not like this game either, but if you want to experience the wonder that RPGs can offer once again, 'Esoteric Eb' is an excellent choice.
· It has received overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, and its success is well-deserved.