The game resembles Disco Elysium but with a Dungeons & Dragons twist, providing an entertaining experience.
Initially, I had difficulty diving into Esoteric Ebb, a CRPG from developer Christoffer Bodegård. This game’s premise is like Disco Elysium set in a Dungeons & Dragons fantasy: you play as a cleric unraveling the mystery of an exploded tea shop in a town while juggling different character traits in your mind. The game features a lot of reading, decision-making with your internal voices, and risky dice rolls akin to Disco Elysium. Despite feeling aimless at first, the game eventually captivated me, making me laugh frequently.
In Esoteric Ebb, you create your cleric by assigning traditional D&D ability scores and a background focus, or you can choose from prebuilt characters. I selected “Unstable Cleric” for its high charisma, ideal for persuasive dialogues, and high dexterity for pickpocketing. The game’s intro described my character as the “dumbest cleric imaginable,” prompting me to opt for whimsical choices rather than perfect outcomes common in RPGs.
This led to hilarious situations. During an election plotline, I urged everyone to vote for me as god-wizard-king, but people were wary. While fishing with a merman landlord, I chose to bite my tongue (a literal action), causing blood to pool around me, which the merman ignored.
Combat is rare and involves text-based interactions with crucial dice rolls. Frequent deaths weren’t an issue due to pre-encounter saves. You can cast spells to affect the narrative, enhance dice rolls, or open new dialogues, even with characters like a giant snail.
Esoteric Ebb’s initial aimlessness is perhaps intended. Like a rich fantasy novel, the game takes time to immerse you, revealing interconnections among characters. Biting my tongue led to a surprising revelation about my cleric’s past from the merman.
Bodegård’s intro indicates a 5-8 session journey, akin to a well-crafted Dungeon Master-led adventure allowing wild instincts. As the game wrapped up, I was engrossed in its narrative, eager to explore every bizarre scenario, culminating in a satisfying conclusion where my bumbling cleric emerged a hero.
Esoteric Ebb is available on Steam.