Esoteric Ebb seemed like a game made for me. An irreverent, dialogue-focused RPG that proudly touted its inspiration from Disco Elysium: ...... In my mind's eye, I could see my expectations for a game like Soul, which had nothing to do with FromSoft's magic.

After trying out a second draft demo of the game, I'm happy to report that my fears were unfounded: Esoteric Ebb is not merely an imitation of Game of the Year 2019, but a sparkling RPG adventure of its own, using a familiar format! ...

You play as the world's worst cleric and may already be the dumbest of the Dungeons & Dragons classes. Sorry cleric fans, but while healing magic is always welcome, ecclesiastical fantasy just doesn't do it for me, and as Obsidian's design director Josh Sawyer once said, quoting the great Ronnie Coleman, "Everyone wants to put a cleric in the party, but nobody wants to be the main attraction."

In other words, I am grateful that the game has forced me into that role and is building and rebuilding this archetype in new ways. Even though the class is set in stone, you are free to choose the status of your cleric and play it any way you want. You could raise Wisdom and Strength to become a bullying Priest, or maximize Dexterity and Charisma to become a flamboyant, egotistical cleric, or you could lean toward the "worst cleric in the world."

Esoteric Ebb adapts 5th edition D&D to Disco Elysium's exploratory, dialogue-oriented RPG style, and the retrofit works well. Attributes are conversational like Disco's skills, but instead of 2D6 rolls, which is Disco Elysium's bespoke system, you roll a D20. Despite this change, Esoteric Ebb nailed the slapstick tension of playing Disco for the first time and the sense that a failed check or ill-advised decision can cause a situation like no other RPG.

It was exhilarating to go from playing a bard who was good at everything, as in "Baldur's Gate 3," to being a useless dope who got a stomach ache from eating apples while trying to tunnel through a massive pile of apples. One of the most memorable and embarrassing blunders was when one of my men reflexively bit his tongue so hard that it bled, and the next time he opened his mouth to speak, red stuff spurted out of his unremovable helmet.

Instead of waking up to a lynching investigation with a legendary hangover, the unfortunate cleric of Esoteric Eve resurfaces after being fished out of the river and finds himself in the morgue. On the eve of the first election in this fantasy city, a teahouse explodes, and you are assigned to help investigate the local goblin tribe to determine the cause.

I am curious to see how the political aspects will play out in this vastly different setting, but I am already impressed with Esoteric Ebb's sense of worldbuilding. There is a sense of history constructed "as we already know it," which I liked so much in Disco, and this fantasy world is going to be a bit grumpier and stranger than it first appears. Esoteric Ebb combines his sensibility with a cheeky Shrek-like banality in his treatment of the magical and the fantastic.

One of my favorite characters in the demo is the imp, who embraces his innate evil streak, "Lawful," and offers legal advice, including a delightful aside on the history of resurrection magic.

This little corner of town in the demo already feels grimy and tactile, and the cel-shaded art style, with its bright pastels and clean textures, recalls 2021's "Sable." Esoteric Ebb is very Disco Elysium like, but it feels like something is cooking, and I'm looking forward to the rest of it.There is no release date for Esoteric Ebb, but you can check out a demo and purchase it on Steam.