@mysticpirate: I'm bummed that Shadowbringers got basically skipped too, but I don't know if anyone actually played it. Jan started a character but I think he's going through the MSQ, not jumping to the new content. With any luck we'll hear about it next year if he keeps up with it. Austin Walker over at Waypoint has been playing through the game and he's been giving pretty regular updates on his progress on their podcast, if you're interested.
I will say, even if I disagree with Abby on Disco, I absolutely adore that she came to the table with a well reasoned and explained reasoning. Its a personal take, like everyone is allowed to have and is totally valid. For the many people I am sure who are not even gonna take the time to really listen to what she has to say with an open mind? It's on you.
Abby comes to the discussion with an open mind, a well reasoned and understable opinion, and explains herself well. She is respectful of others views on the game even if she disagrees. Class act all around for what has been, I assume, a super shitty thing to deal with.
Just saying, you can disagree with her, but don't discount or reject her opinions cause of some stupid "she's woke lol" or etc memes. If you actually listen to the discussion, that nonsense is quickly squashed.
Agreed with all of this, and I want to add that I think Ben also comported himself very well during that, addressing her concerns without trying to minimize her lived experiences, without neccessarily being too over the top with it. It was a good segment, and I felt that Disco Elysium was very well represented. I don't think it's going to climb very high on the GOTY list because as far as I can tell Ben is really the only one to play it to completion, let alone have strong feelings for it, but I hope it makes the list at least.
The only thing I would disagree with Abby on is that I feel the game does give you a lot more options than various bigotries to be a "total shithead". My character was kind of a monster at several points of the game, taking every single drug and pretty pathetically asking for bribes whenever possible, but I avoided most of those racist/sexist dialog choices. This is all to say that I feel like the game is fairly flexible in the character flaws you can give your character.
Remember when we were all excited about the Paragon/Renegade system because it felt like a breath of fresh air against the "Good/Evil" morality systems we had been seeing?
I agree with everything you said about Disco Elysium, Ben. One of my favorite games of the decade, along side Outer Wilds. Can't wait until ZA/UM makes their next.
@sorla10:To be fair, the game does not allow you to go from Normal to Hard, only from Hard to Normal. Putting several hours into a game only to realize that in order to enjoy it you're going to have to start all over is kind of a bummer. That's also why I think games that have difficulty settings should let you change those settings on the fly, or at least between encounters. It's one of the things I liked about Jedi Fallen Order, that and it being very clear what variables the difficulty settings were changing.
@bladededge: So, I just want to offer a counter point, because I don't know if it got across from the conversation.
Outer Wilds ends with the death of the universe, but also the birth of a new one. It's ultimately a game about grief, death, and finally acceptance. About being happy and curious in the face of it all. The universe dies, but it wasn't for nothing. Materially, because of what you do, the new universe is created, so literally what you did in the game ultimately matter. But also it wasn't for nothing because you still had those experiences, and those experiences are not made lesser or defined by the ending. Because the ending is the same no matter what for everyone and eventually everything.
I'm highlighting that because usually I'd agree with you. A story that ends badly usually invokes a feeling of 'oh so none of that mattered? Nothing was accomplished", but I fundamentally don't thing that's happening in Outer Wilds. I actually don't think it's a sad/bad ending. It's melancholic, it's contemplative, it's not triumphant in the traditional "and the heroes win!" sort of thing, but it is not mean spirited. It's not a "gotcha!"
If that isn't a compelling argument for you, I understand. I'm not in the business of changing people's minds, especially about this game which is so personal. I might suggest that you just watch the ending and maybe you'll see what I mean. It's not very long, and I think it would be worth your time to do so.
Also seeing that Brad is on board with Outer Wilds makes me very happy. I wonder how much of it is recency bias, but it ensures that it's going to get a high place on the GOTY list. Maybe not first, it depends on how Jeff feels about it winning, but I think it easily fits in the top three.
Is Outer Wilds bingable? I just bought it. I would have done so sooner, but I totally slept through the PS4 release. I feel like I need to finish it tonight, if I want to continue listening to these podcasts.
Kinda? I bought it late in the year and got through it over the course of maybe a little under a week. I had a friend with me who was eyeing a guide at the end to give me light nudges along the way. I don't know if I'd want to rush it, but if you're okay listening to this next week then I think you could do it.
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