It took me a while to get into it mysterious descentA new CRPG from developer Christopher Bodegard. The elevator pitch is basically disco elysiumbut in fantasy style dungeons and dragons: You play as a cleric wandering around a small town who, among other things, is trying to figure out why a tea shop in town exploded, and all the while, you’re interacting with various character traits in your mind. Like disco elysiumYou see the world from an isometric, top-down perspective. also like disco elysium, mysterious descent need one Very Reading, weighing the opinions of your competing voices, and making some bold dice rolls that don’t always work out. The first few days that I played the game, I felt like I was playing slowly and aimlessly. But by the end, I found myself engrossed – and laughing harder than at any game in recent memory.
when you start mysterious descentYou create your cleric by assigning different ability scores – traditional D&D Focusing on background—like strength, intelligence, and charisma—and giving your character some history. There are also some premade characters if you don’t want to waste too much time tinkering, and I chose the “unstable cleric” with the highest charisma stat, because I like having motivational conversations in these types of games. (This option also has a higher Dexterity score, which was great for picking stuff out of people’s pockets.) After I set my character, the game’s intro said I was “the dumbest cleric imaginable.” You can have other details of your cleric based on his starting stats, but in my case, this was very useful framing; Instead of always trying to get the “best” outcome, which is what I often default to in RPGs, I followed my stupid instincts to see what would happen.
During the adventure, this led to all kinds of ridiculous moments. As part of an ongoing election plot, I encouraged everyone to vote for me, promising that I would rule as a god-sorcerer-king. (Civilians were generally wary of my suggestion.) Once, while fishing with a mermaid who was also a landlubber, I chose a dialogue option for biting her tongue, rather than commenting on the fact that my conversation partner was a mermaid, and the game explained how my character literally bit her tongue in such a way that blood pooled around her shoes, which the mermaid pointedly ignored.
From time to time, you will come into combat situations. While they’re still mostly weaving through text conversations, you’ll have some tense dice rolls that could affect the outcome of the battle. I died often, but since I usually saved before meaningful encounters, it wasn’t a big issue. You can cast spells to affect situations, improve your rolls, or open up new opportunities to talk with all kinds of characters in the game. I also talked to a giant snail.
Looking back, I think my initial, unfocused experience was actually the intended experience. mysterious descent. Like a great fantasy novel, it just takes a little while to settle into the game’s world, and over time, I realized that its characters are interconnected in ways that will slowly reveal themselves. For example, when I bit my tongue in front of Merman, he told me a surprising fact about my clerical past.
mysterious descentThe introduction is actually signed by Bodegaard, and he says “We will play for about 5 to 8 seasons”. This signals that you are in the hands of a capable Dungeon Master, one who has worked hard to craft an entertaining campaign, but who will also work with your wildest instincts to create an interesting journey. Bodegard succeeds with heart. As I neared the end of the game, I was so lost in the story – and looking for every ridiculous situation – that I was racing to see it to the end. Somehow, the narrative threads actually tied together, making my 16-hour journey worthwhile. I learned that even my big-talking Maulvi can become a hero.
mysterious descent Now available on Steam.
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