Author: Trafficblast

Over the next few days, we will reveal what we believe are the 10 best games of 2019, organized by release date. Then, on December 17, we will reveal which of the nominees gets to take home the coveted title of GameSpot’s Best Game of 2019. So be sure to come back then for the big announcement, and in the meantime, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best Games of 2019 hub.

Disco Elysium is unlike anything else we played this year. It takes traditional CRPG mechanics and puts a psychological spin on them, with your skills feeding into how conversations unfold in clever and unexpected ways. To that end, it has some of the best writing we’ve seen in a game to date–at once unavoidably bleak and effortlessly funny, both a brilliant detective game and an incredible work of existential fiction besides.

While the bulk of the game is reading, Disco Elysium’s inventive twist on traditional RPG systems sets it apart from a regular novel. A lot of the text you read consists of the main character’s interior monologue, and the loudest voices are the skills you spec into–things like empathy, logic, and even electrochemistry, the part of him that’s addicted to drugs and alcohol. How you craft your amnesiac, alcoholic cop transforms how conversations play out, what responses are available to you, and the kinds of clues you pick up on in relation to the murder investigation at the core of the story. Logic might tell you that a locked door must have a key somewhere, while electrochemistry might encourage you to do the drugs you confiscated from a kid and empathy will suggest that you look into his clearly troubled home life.

Whether you listen to any of these inner voices is up to you. Sometimes they’re wrong; there are always skill checks being rolled in the background, and if, say, your empathy isn’t high enough for a particular situation, it might suggest something inaccurate or insensitive instead of helpful. While you are afforded some freedom in how you roleplay the detective–including whether he’s a communist or a fascist, for instance–a lot of the time, you are instead deciding whether to act on his impulses or not, and that makes him feel more human.

Because of that, you really do feel like a detective, even if the detective you control is a bit of a disaster. A passing observation early on can lead to an unexpected revelation down the line, leaving you to wonder what you might have missed. The side activity that seems like a distraction may very well lead back to the case, if only because it gives you a fuller picture of the city you’re in and the people who live and die there. Seemingly unrelated events and interactions come together in surprising ways. And crucially, the story isn’t tied up with a neat bow–events and people intersect in believable ways that make Disco Elysium’s world feel lived-in, and while the murder mystery has its satisfying aha moments, it’s also beautifully messy.

The game finds humor in flaws, too. Choose too many non-committal answers and you’ll unlock an achievement mocking you for being a centrist. Fail a critical skill check while trying to crack a joke and everyone will just stare at the detective blankly. He can even die from sitting in an uncomfortable chair for too long (heart attack–the alcoholism has done a number on his body). Often incisive comedy provides much-needed levity in Disco Elysium’s darkness: the immense emotional pain the detective feels but can’t identify, the ills of late capitalism and corruption that rot its world, the frank descriptions of human decay during an autopsy.

It’s a testament to the quality of Disco Elysium’s writing that the sheer volume of it doesn’t get overwhelming. It’s a dense game, both in the number of words and the depth and breadth of the subject matter, but no words are wasted. Not everything has a direct purpose–you might inspect something suspicious-looking at the behest of your drama skill to discover it’s obviously unrelated to the murder case, for example–but every conversation, observation, and interaction provides something for your trouble. It might be a deeper insight into the world, its inhabitants, or yourself, or it might just be a witty joke, but regardless, taking the time to read and explore in Disco Elysium always yields something worthwhile.

In The Mandalorian Episode 6, There were a ton of fun cameos, plus a starring role for comedian Bill Burr, who was seen in the trailers. And as usual, there were a handful of Star Wars Easter eggs and references, which you can check out in the video above.

The long list of cameos and guest stars in Chapter 6 also includes Clancy Brown (Rebels, The Clone Wars, Spongebob Squarepants), Natalia Tena (Harry Potter series, Game of Thrones), Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd), Matt Lanter (The Clone Wars), and The Mandalorian episode directors Dave Filoni, Rick Famuyiwa, and Deborah Chow. And none other than CH-33Z the mouse droid from The Star Wars Show!

Check out our previous Easter eggs and references videos for The Mandalorian Episode 5 and Episode 4. If you want more Baby Yoda (and who doesn’t), learn how you can pre-order Hasbro’s Baby Yoda plush toy.

Microsoft made a splash at The Game Awards by showing off its next-generation console, the Xbox Series X–previously known by its codename, Scarlett. The company also shared a ton of technical specs and details exclusively with GameSpot, but one big question remains if you’re currently plunking coins into your piggy bank: how much will it cost?

Though Microsoft hasn’t revealed a price for Series X yet, it has talked quite a bit about how it’s approaching the price tag. In June, Microsoft’s Jason Ronald said the company is keenly aware of what consumers see as “reasonable” for price, while stressing that it will be a high-end piece of hardware. Xbox head Phil Spencer echoed those sentiments in November, suggesting that the company had learned a hard lesson from being both significantly more expensive and less powerful than the competition.

“I would say a learning from the Xbox One generation is we will not be out of position on power or price,” Spencer said. “If you remember the beginning of this generation we were a hundred dollars more expensive and, yes, we were less powerful. And we started Project Scarlett with this leadership team in place with a goal of having market success.”

All of that suggests a price that is on the higher-end of normalcy. One report with purportedly leaked specs in October claimed the higher-end model would be $500, which fits that criteria. However, it’s unclear if Microsoft is pursuing a strategy of two models at launch, so that report could be inaccurate. Spencer did mention in the Series X reveal that the name “gives us the freedom to do other things with that name so that we can create descriptors when we need to.” That implies a strategy around multiple models, at least long-term.

One reason Microsoft hasn’t talked more openly about price could be that the decision is still in flux. Spencer said in June that the price could be impacted by a lot of factors, including President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

“The price will be important. Clearly, price is one of those things that people want to know,” he said. “As we’re watching how the cost of the components are coming in, and things like tariffs and other things, trying to figure out what that price is going to be next year. We have a price point in mind; I think we’re going to hit that. But we want to make sure everything comes in right. We’ll get price out as soon as we can.”

Finally, we may not know the price yet, but Microsoft is offering a roundabout way to start paying in installments. The Xbox All Access program returned for the holiday season, letting you essentially make monthly payments on a new Xbox One along with Game Pass Ultimate, which includes both the subscription service and Xbox Live Gold.

The subscription model, similar to cell phone payment plans, has you pay off your console over 24 months. If you go for the highest tier–which includes an Xbox One X–by the end of 2019, you can upgrade to the Xbox Series X after 12 months. At that point, your 24-month payment plan will reset, and Microsoft hasn’t detailed what those monthly payments will be. Assuming Microsoft wants to move its All Access customers neatly over to the new console without raising their monthly rate, the new console would need to be priced at roughly the same point as a current Xbox One X–which is $500.

For more on the Xbox Series X, check out everything we learned.