I started playing Disco Elysium yesterday. It's a bit like a cross between an RPG, an adventure game, and a visual novel - you have stats, but they're used for interacting with NPCs and problem-solving rather than fighting, and there's a good bit of reading involved (but good voiced dialogue too). According to reviews I've read, the basic setup is the same each time you play, but your detective character's personality can vary drastically based on how you assign his stats (and what thoughts you allow him to internalize, and possibly a few other things).

The character you play is a complete and utter mess of a human being. After three days of drinking, you wake up in a trashed hotel room in only your underwear, with no memory of who you are, why you're there, or what you're supposed to do next. Your first task is to get dressed. Depending on the stats you start off with, it's actually possible to die at this stage of the game. If you can manage to get dressed and leave the hotel room, you'll eventually find your partner and learn that you're supposed to be investigating a murder. You were supposed to remove the body from the crime scene when you first got there several days ago...but then the drinking happened. So your next task is to examine the body and remove it from the tree where it's been hanging.

I have yet to accomplish the body removal task. I've been attempting to play as a Sherlockian sort of detective, very intelligent and perceptive, terrible with people. I've had a grand total of two fairly cool Sherlock moments, but none of those involved body examination or removal, and my very hungover detective has thrown up on the crime scene twice now.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing yet (I only just figured out how to internalize thoughts, and I haven't yet had a chance to see what those do to my detective), but it's been an interesting experience so far. I hope the replay value is good. I have a feeling I'm going to fail my first attempt pretty quickly - my detective is due to be kicked out by the hotel manager soon, doesn't remember where he lives, and doesn't have another place to stay lined up.

Typical Reynolds, typical Revelation Space Reynolds at that: Memory and identity issues, gruesome Gothic elements, psychopaths. Also the usual slow pace initially with a gallop through the final third or so. The main thing holding my interest was the mystery, which was more than sufficiently mysterious.

Missing memories...an unsurprising feature of a book set in the Revelation Space universe.

After an unusually fast-paced opening segment we're back to the usual Reynolds slow build up. Also, what's goin' on? All very mysterious.

Mysterious deaths and political manouvres.