Disco Elysium
- Initial release date: October 15, 2019
- Developer: ZA/UM
- Setting: 80s/Noir
- Co-op? No
- Platform: PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Google Stadia, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
In Disco Elysium, you play a detective suffering from memory loss after alcohol and drug abuse, tasked with solving murder cases. The game is based on a “pen & paper” system from the same studio that was released a few years earlier. At release, Disco Elysium was incredibly well received.
Similar to Baldur’s Gate 3, you play in isometric perspective (“angled from above”) and can use and improve various skills. The game heavily relies on dialogues and decisions to advance the story.
However, there are no battles in Disco Elysium. Everything is determined through skill tests, even the outcome of a conflict. This sets Disco Elysium apart from other RPGs.
The “feeling” is likely to be closest to Baldur’s Gate 3: Disco Elysium builds on mature entertainment, is not shy in terms of sex and violence, and features a wide variety of choices.
Shadowrun
- Initial release date: July 25, 2013 (Returns); February 27, 2014 (Dragonfall); August 20, 2015 (Hong Kong)
- Developer: Harebrained Schemes
- Setting: Cyberpunk/Sci-Fi
- Co-op? No
- Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch (all) and iOS and Android (only Returns and Dragonfall)
Shadowrun is one of the older “pen & paper” systems and has gone through many iterations. The basic idea remains the same: due to the “awakening of nature” in 2011, magic has returned. Some people became meta-humans (“trolls”, “dwarves”, “elves”, etc.). At the same time, corporations gained power and now govern the world after the governments of most countries have collapsed.
As a Shadowrunner, you are one of those who do not wish to be controlled by the “corpos”. You remain free and engage in heists against the corporations to steal from them, often using violence or the matrix.
The Shadowrun video games each tell their own plot, in which you lead a team of runners through one or more missions:
- Returns is set in Seattle. A friend has been murdered, and his dead man’s switch has notified you. The deceased asks you to find his employer. Here is the review on GameStar.
- Dragonfall is set in Berlin. After your leader, Monika Schäfer, literally melts her brain during a failed hack attempt, you have only one last clue from her: Firehawk. Throughout the story, you find out what this name means. Here is the review on GameStar.
- Hong Kong is set in the free trade zone of Hong Kong, which is ruled directly by corporations. Your character has a direct connection to the team you play with. In search of your brother, you become embroiled in the city’s intrigues, the triads, and the police. Here is the review on GameStar.
With its sci-fi setting, Shadowrun is significantly different from Baldur’s Gate 3, but you have a similar character development with your companions. Only the depth is not at the same level.
Planescape Torment
- Initial release date: December 10, 1999
- Developer: Black Isle Studios
- Setting: Fantasy
- Co-op? No
- Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
For those looking to play one of the old classics, Planescape Torment is a great choice. Like Baldur’s Gate, the game builds its own world and invites you to explore every corner of it.
Planescape Torment is based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and is considered by our editorial director Schuhmann as “the best D&D game” as well as a direct predecessor of Baldur’s Gate 3:
You play an immortal who suffers from amnesia. Your task is to find out why you were created at all. One of the biggest features here is the companions, all of whom have a dark secret that you gradually uncover.
Planescape Torment plays with a somewhat quirky, not overly serious humor. For instance, you encounter a talking skull early on that somewhat resembles Murray from Monkey Island.
