I mean, Epic published it and funded its development. It's not Remedy insisting so much as sticking to the terms of the contract that gave them the budget to make the game in the first place.
I agree that it sucks, though. At least they seem to be shopping around a bit when it comes to Control 2, so let's hope they don't end up with Epic again for that one.
Perhaps audiobook is a better description? Ever since the Final Cut came out almost every line in the game is voice acted.
Especially as Michael Ironside seems to have gotten over his medical troubles. I know he's 74 now but one last outing as Sam Fisher? Imagine?
It's amazing how something I so closely associated with joy during my childhood has turned into a source of constant vehement hatred.
Fuck Nintendo.
Yeah this is the likely outcome. Happens all the time, tons of great old Cyberpunk mods broke with 2.0 and will probably never get updated for example.
I know it technically claims to be an RPG, but Disco Elysium plays more like a visual novel really. It has none of the grindy, stat-heavy progression that seems to turn you off of traditional RPGs.
It uses the interactivity of the video game medium as an important part of its storytelling and presentation, however, and has an incredibly deep lore and very interesting world building.
I was going to wait longer, but I got sucked back into Cyberpunk and decided it's time to finally purchase Phantom Liberty and do another playthrough. I haven't played with the post 2.0 changes yet, and I haven't played on my new PC either so I'm excited to see it in its full path traced glory.
Still haven't started actually playing yet as I've been busy setting up mods first. Doing it properly with MO2 this time, which has been working surprisingly well. I only wish it had a built-in conflict checker for Cyberpunk archives.
I've definitely seen some people bounce off the game, though maybe not for the exact same reasons as you. I think the nuanced characters are a real strength the game has, and even though there are definitely some bad people to encounter there are genuinely sweet and lovely characters as well. Right out the gate you have not just Kim but Lena, Anette and Tommy Le Homme. Even Mañana is a very pleasant character, though whether he is a good person becomes a more philosophical discussion.
Most people I've seen who stop playing early are those who get very upset at how the main character behaves. They come into the game with the idea of being given a blank slate like many other RPGs, and get incredibly frustrated by being forced to select "stupid" or insane dialogue options. You're not really allowed to live out any character concept, the whole point is to explore this deeply flawed, pre-defined protagonist.
And there are also those who finish it but end up disappointed. These are typically players who wanted and expected a detective game, a CRPG whodunnit about a murder mystery. The game isn't really that, and if you skip a bunch of "side stuff" and just try to focus on the case you probably miss not just many important moments but probably the whole point of the game. And then the conclusion will leave you disappointed.
I love Disco Elysium, but I totally get that it's not for everyone.
I think it's probably just different tastes in the end, then. I was hooked by the writing and voice acting pretty much immediately from the start at the dialogue with the Reptilian Brain and the Limbic System during the blackout. The dialogue option "I like pain and burning light and wanting things from people who don't want to give them to me." and the bit about evil apes duking it out on a giant ball had me from the get-go, and after the very funny failed first couple of red checks I knew I was in for a trip.
But even then I underestimated how profoundly moved I ended up being by the game. It's ability to make me laugh, cry and think in almost equal measure is very special among games I have played. Though again, I definitely came out of it feeling like I had consumed an interactive novel, rather than played a game.
Interesting, I personally found the world building and lore to be excellent and fascinating. I also just love the balance they strike between making the world familiar and yet strangely alien. Have you found out about the pale?
Otherwise yeah, the game is definitely info-dumpy and exposition heavy, I was just eating it all up.
As for plot, the ostensible plot of the game is less important than the pervasive themes. And for me those just resonated very heavily, I think. Dealing with depression, failure, addiction, loss... I could very easily relate to (or at least sympathise with) the protagonist. And I enjoyed the knife's-edge balance between nihilism and hope.
Disco Elysium is one of the best pieces of media I've ever consumed, but it's not really a regular CRPG, he'll I'd argue it's hardly even a game. It's more visual novel than anything.
If you're okay with that (and considering you're only a few hours in) I advise you to give it another chance. There are some bad people, but most characters are considerably more nuanced than they appear at first glance (including the protagonist).
I don't blame you if you bounce off it though, I've seen it happen because the game itself kind of presents a false front. It claims to be a detective game CRPG about a murder case, but I would argue it's barely any of those things. And I've seen people who come at it expecting (and wanting) that type of game be disappointed.
My advice is: don't tunnel vision on the case. Don't be afraid to explore, or to fail, or to say wild things. And accept that you're not given a blank slate. You can choose some characterizations, but it's more like Geralt in Witcher 3: at the end of the day you're playing a pre-defined character. In fact, the exploration of that character is a huge part of what makes DE great.
Don't know if you're interested anymore but there are a ton of mods out there that fix the stability issues, including a partial engine rewrite last year.