Should I try a more story-driven RPG after Disco Elysium?

[LukeJ]

I just finished my first playthrough of Disco Elysium and I’m honestly a bit lost on what to play next. That game’s unique blend of pure role-playing and detective work has completely rewired my expectations, and now everything in my library feels either too combat-focused or too straightforward.

[Charles57]

Disco Elysium set a bar I didn’t know I was chasing. After the credits rolled I found most games feel loud or push you toward combat, and that felt hollow for a while. I tried sticking to writing-heavy RPGs like Planescape Torment for a while, just to recapture that detective-y, word-heavy vibe, but it was a different texture. Still, it reminded me you can chase mood with dialogue and choices, not clashing swords.

[Camila_M]

I bumped to something with slow pacing and puzzles, like Return of the Obra Dinn, and it gave me a similar itch without more gunfights. It’ll scratch the investigative itch, but the payoff isn’t the same. Maybe you’ll like it if you want a mystery baked into mechanics rather than chat trees.

[ScarlettT]

Are you sure the issue is the genre mix and not your current mood or fatigue? Sometimes you crave that kind of worldbuilding and you’re just not in the right headspace for it.

[Brandon75]

I drifted into a side project of skimming RPG design essays while the Disco Elysium OST played on repeat, which felt both nerdy and comforting. It didn’t fix the itch, but it reminded me that not every great narrative needs hours of combat to land. Maybe I’ll sample a couple of smaller interactive novels next.