Esoteric Ebb Reviews
Check out Esoteric Ebb Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 19 reviews on CriticDB, Esoteric Ebb has a score of:
Esoteric Ebb brings an enthralling mystery to the forefront of Indie Gaming, a must-play.
Become a legendary cleric. Fearless, brilliant, omniscient, immortal. Roll the dice and face the consequences of your decisions.
There’s a part of me that wishes I had never played Disco Elysium. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a phenomenal game that’s groundbreaking in several ways: the character buildout and social choices, the dialogue and off-the-wall decisions, and the incredible replay value that comes from approaching different angles. It’s a shame the developers got completely screwed, but they’re thankfully working on Hopetown now, and it looks like it’ll be a smashing success.
Esoteric Ebb is a gorgeously illustrated, dialogue-drunk RPG that marries Disco Elysium’s inner-monologues with D&D's gameplay bones. Its bureaucratic labyrinths, strange citizens, and bickering ability scores keep every conversation swaying between revelation and the ridiculous. Solid writing and solid technical performance make the whole investigation run smoothly. It’s a game for anyone willing to take the bad rolls with the good—and enjoy the story that spills out when the dice decide you’re not the hero today.
This isometric, narrative-focused RPG, developed over 8 years, arrives as one of the year's biggest surprises.
Esoteric Ebb borrows liberally from Disco Elysium, and both because of and in spite of that, it’s one of the finest CRPGs ever made.
If you like RPGs, you owe it to yourself to play Esoteric Ebb.
I’ve only played one table-top RPG session in my life, and it didn’t go great. Despite the rude DM and a one-shot that haunts me to this day, I’m still enamoured by video games that so faithfully tap into the rulesets and world-building of the pen, the paper and the dice. We’re so familiar with the rules and tropes of video games that have become an implied bare-minimum for every release, but when a game goes out of its way to adapt the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset or mythos into the virtual world, it creates this challenging and unfamiliar box to play in that I adore. Baldur’s Gate 3 took the rules and world of the TTRPG and transformed them into a sweeping RPG epic. Esoteric Ebb, meanwhile, mixes those familiar structures with a unique, yet nostalgic world, creating an unforgettably charming and hilarious narrative adventure as a result.
Overall, Esoteric Ebb does a great job of applying aspects of its influences into its own splendid package. The experience is one that is full of surprises and delightful in its own way. While not for everyone, the game is sure to be memorable for those who enjoy the genre as well as those who simply put in the time to complete a playthrough. With so many variables available even at a surface level, each player’s first playthrough should be unique enough. If you are a CRPG fan at heart, Esoteric Ebb is a no-brainer to give it a shot. If you’re not, there’s still likely something for you if anything about the game resonates with you at all.
Esoteric Ebb may borrow heavily from some of the greatest games in its genre, but it takes what it borrows and shapes it, creating something that still feels unique and fresh in its own right.
In our Esoteric Ebb review, find out why this funny CRPG is a fantastic spiritual successor to Disco Elysium.
Esoteric Ebb is an isometric, disco-inspired TTRPG-turned-CRPG, featuring deep, branching dialogue and staggering player choice, in a richly imagined Arcanepunk fantasy world.
Weaving Pratchett, Gilliam and more, Esoteric Ebb is a comedic, policial D&D adventure about a waylaid Cleric, a crime, and the world's first election.
Christoffer Bodegård's Esoteric Ebb builds on the cRPG revival started by Disco Elysium et al. An entertaining setting, enjoyable writing and quest design, and superbly utilised tabletop gameplay aspects helps it stand out on its own.
Where Esoteric Ebb feels new and fresh is in its approach to the fantasy genre.
Esoteric Ebb is a mix between Disco Elysium and Dungeons & Dragons. Claudia dove into this story-driven CRPG to see if even games with little action...
At the end of the day, Esoteric Ebb is a weird game in the best way possible. It's a bit of a slow start, but once it gets you hooked, you'll want to see it through to the end. While it doesn't offer up information on completing quests, it does give you the freedom to explore the world and characters. If you're a fan of DnD looking for something unique with some solid writing and good humor, then you won't find a better game to play than Esoteric Ebb.
I am known for my position that Disco Elysium is the best game ever, and I’m not sure if Esoteric Ebb is going to dethrone it, but it’s definitely going on the medal podium. This is Disco Elysium by way of Planescape: Torment, but with the humor of Discworld, a detective roleplaying game that’s less about killing monsters and leveling up and more about the joy of screwing around in a fantasy world.
However, as randomness often overwhelms your choices and sudden deaths occur without warning, the experience becomes fragile in a way that feels far too punitive. If the game were to offer a way to mitigate the consequences of a chain of bad rolls through a more controlled system, it would have the potential to be an outstanding, unapologetically niche CRPG.