It's not a Stardew ripoff, but very much it's own crafting-centered game. With voice-acting and 3D graphics (that's a mixed bag). It's designed for controller, making it a great solo couch game. (no multi-player, that would have been nice) If you like building/creating games, this should be in your pocket. Esp on sale.
First, I'm uncomfortable with the RPG designation. It's every bit as much adventure game and visual novel as RPG. Second, the game is not for everyone. Virtually no controllable "action", tons of dialog. If you loved Planescape: Torment, you'll probably love Disco Elysium. Otherwise, maybe not? Third, the game richly rewards at least three playthroughs, probably more. Choices matter. I've played as an honest, average cop, a charming, slightly dim brawler, and an anti-social genius. Each time has been radically different, and completely fun. Fourth, best writing, best voice acting in a game, ever. Full stop. Fifth, while it won't run on a potato, it runs flawlessly on an average toaster. (AMD Ryzen 7, Radeon Vega, 8GB ram, eye-candy maxed, an honest 60 FPS) Sixth, this joins the short list of non-strategy games I've spent more than 200 hours with. Baldur's Gate,, Planescape: Torment, Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim. Seventh, if you are still unsure (really? Is that possible?), DE goes on sale regularly. $40 USD is a hit. Wait six months and it will be $15 or 20. Eighth, (because I like 8, it's a good number, rounded in multiple directions). This game absolutely belongs on "Eight best all time games" lists. It is that good, really. Ninth...are you still here? Go! Buy, play, comment! (or at least Wishlist it for a 50% off sale.) :)
I'm usually not a platform fan (aging eyes and fingers), and I've never been a furry (though I've known a few). I would never have discovered this until GOG put it on sale for the price of a good cup of coffee. It's from a tiny (almost one-person) studio. The art, animation, sound, controls are pretty much flawless. I found it appropriately challenging on "Normal", YMMV. A dozen hours in, I think I'm getting close to the finale, but it's a Metroidvania game, so it needs at least one more playthrough. Snap this one up quick, while it's on sale, you won't be sorry!
There's a lot I wanted to love about this game. The art and music are outstanding. I love card games. I love the historical specificity. However: The game is absolutely unplayable with K+M, don't even try without a controller. The gameplay, at least in the demo, is limited. It mainly consists of QTE's where you match motion patterns to signal cheats to your partner. Fun the first couple of times, not so much after. We'll see about the full version. It's still on my watchlist, but right now I'm not seeing a lot of depth or replicability. This is a *maybe* that I'd love to flip to the win column, but for now, I'll pass.
Let's get this out of the way. It's the most NSFW game I've ever seen on GOG. It makes the Leisure Suit Larry games look appropriate for Sunday School. It is raunchy, sophomoric and completely gratuitous. If you are offended by nipples and crotch shots, steer clear. It's also a pretty damn good game. The graphics are surprisingly good and crisp. The voicing and soundtrack is straight outta 80's porn, and perfect for it's job. And at it's heart beats a better than average management sim. I didn't want to believe it either, but strip away the pr0n and it's smarter than your average sim. But if you strip away the pr0n you are missing the point, and someone I won't invite to my next Halloween bash.
If a game installs and plays correctly, I never ask for a refund. I did for Bound by Flame. To it's credit, it installed fine, and looked fine on my middling laptop. Controls and UI are pretty standard. That's why I gave it 2 stars instead of one. I knew, within the first 20 min, it had to go. The protagonist voice acting is singularly the worst I've heard over many hundreds of voiced games. He sounds like a girl trying to sound like Hercules. Alternately the fem protagonist sounded like a guy trying for Xena the Warrior Princess. It was truly fingernails on the chalkboard. If you can get past that, it might be an OK game. But for me, I'm glad GOG has a fair return policy.
