As our associate editor Tyler Colp recently put it, the fate of Disco Elysium 2 is uncertain, but other games might make up for it. One such potential plug for the Disco-shaped hole in our hearts is S
Audio player loading…
As our associate editor Tyler Colp recently put it, the fate of Disco Elysium 2 is uncertain, but other games might make up for it. One such potential plug for the Disco-shaped hole in our hearts is Sovereign Syndicate, a CRPG set in an alternate Victorian London. You can tell it’s an alternate reality because the menu screen shows it’s got zeppelins, as all alternate realities are required to have by law. The minotaur’s a bit of a giveaway as well.
While the final version of Sovereign Syndicate will have three player-characters to choose from—Clara the corsair, Otto the automaton, and Atticus the minotaur—the current demo is restricted to the minotaur. An alcoholic in a top hat, Atticus Daley is a small-time illusionist and big-time loser who begins the game in extremely Disco Elysium fashion by waking up from a bender with a head full of voices and a gut full of bad booze.
(Image credit: Crimson Herring)
The similarities extend to the interface, which scrolls dialogue down the right-hand side of the screen as abilities like Wit and Spryness offer their opinions, each illustrated with a stark portrait. One difference is the addition of an external voice called the Crone, who the other chatterers are upset to find cohabiting your skull. The first quest in my journal is to figure out who she is and what she’s up to.
More pressing matters emerge in the shape of the masked stranger who wakes me up, insists we have business, then waits for me to pull myself together. This opening scene involves meandering around a grubby London street, examining discarded junk.
