Raw Fury 10th Anniversary Preview: Esoteric Ebb

Freedom of choice is a concept that many videogames, especially RPGs, have explored, trying to find the balance between telling a story and letting the player run wild. It’s a fascinating subject, as it may be one of the only facets where tabletop games still reign supreme; the cold truth is, it is very difficult for a program to replicate the kind of understanding, reactivity, and imagination a human game master can provide. However, during our recent excursion to Raw Fury’s office in Stockholm, Sweden, we were given a sneak peek into an upcoming title that aims to give us humans a run for our money — best of all, it’s not even AI!

Esoteric Ebb is a CRPG developed by Christoffer Bodegård wherein we take on the role of a Cleric. Basically, a government goon, we’ve been sent to investigate the explosion of a local tea shop, as having smouldering ruins instead of shopfronts makes everyone look bad, and the first ever election is right around the corner! What follows is a humorous adventure of intrigue, red tape, bureaucracy, and religious fervour as you follow clues and red herrings from one venue to the next.

The game forms its unique identity with a fusion of its two major inspirations: Dungeons & Dragons (specifically from the 5th edition), Esoteric Ebb takes the Cleric class, its level progression, and the basic framework of attributes, such as Strength and Intelligence, in addition to the concepts of spells and spell slots. So, at the start, you will be able to cast a few weak cantrips, but as you grow in power, you will unlock mighty incantations as well as the ability to cast more often. This title then takes the skeleton of D&D and drapes a fancy layer of Disco Elysium on top.

How that works is that most of the interactions with the game are done via the medium of dialogue, where your many attributes are represented as separate entities with their own personality. For example, Strength is loud, wants to fight everything, and expresses dialogue in short sentences, whereas Wisdom is more eloquent and verbose. Whenever you are presented with a choice or obstacle, the game gives you a number of options on how to proceed, often tied to your individual stats, in addition to having a Difficulty Class to surpass.

Every time you attempt an action, you roll a twenty-sided die (or d20), add in any positive or negative modifiers, and then get your result! What I absolutely loved about our little trial of the game was how your stats reacted based on how well you roll, with high results leading to clear and helpful answers or results, whereas a low total often ending up with your attribute friends leading you astray, usually in the funniest way.

In addition to your physical and mental might, you can also use the aforementioned spells to interact with the world, help with puzzles, or cause some damage. As an example, you can magically understand any spoken language, giving some insight into normally unintelligible characters, or you bless yourself to get an edge on a critical roll, to name a few.

In our run through the short, 30-minute demo, my colleague and I decided to play as the most stubborn and dumb Cleric we possibly could. Our exploits included, but weren’t limited to, having (and losing) a staring match with a Kobold, seeing beyond the veil at a magic stone, losing a few fingers to a gigantic seagull, and making a biblically accurate angel chuckle… and completely ignoring the actual plot to the consternation of our patient minder.

Esoteric Ebb, based on our small look, is a fantastic title with a lot of potential. The world feels deep and interesting, the characters are charming and funny, and the system itself is amazing, making for great encounters and a bounty of water-cooler discussion. Though I’ve played a few games that use the same formula, Esoteric Ebb managed to feel fresh, and it is a game I am very much looking forward to!