While the creatives behind the excellent Disco Elysium have since split into multiple studios, the game remains a modern classic in the eyes of practically everyone that played it. Offering some of the best dialogue and storytelling in the entire video game industry, Disco Elysium managed to become a household name without flashy combat. Its exploration of politics and mental illness through its stellar writing, not to mention its clever “voices as skills” concept, have made it the gold standard for narrative-focused games. And for fans of isometric RPGs seeking another game that they can fully engross themselves in, then the upcoming Steam title Sucks To Be In The Sticks could be ideal.
Sucks To Be In The Sticks Features at a Glance
- EXPERIENCE a bleak world reflected by a deliberately familiar art style, political commentary, and more.
- LEARN the stories of everyday people whenever you consume their blood.
- PLAY various, emotional mini-games to learn more about the people important to protagonist Ilo.
- WORK odd jobs and spend your earnings on things like feeding stray cats.
A teenage vampire getting hooked on blood in a world that traded it for energy. See the absolute worst of what humans do to one another in every drop… A narrative adventure about a rather short eternity.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Sucks To Be In The Sticks Balances Teenage Angst With an Important Message
Sucks To Be In The Sticks is a game all about a 19-year-old named Ilo, who experiences big changes in their life when they become a vampire. Each time they drink someone’s blood, whether it’s a childhood friend, their mother, or a random everyday civilian, they’ll experience the victims’ dreams or darkest thoughts. Instead of just playing out in a back-and-forth dialogue exchange or the usual walking sim gameplay, these character-specific stories will be delivered via mini-games, with one of the examples shown involving painting.
While there will be plenty of heartfelt conversations in this Disco Elysium-like game, these moments are balanced out by the day-to-day activities one would expect a depressed 19-year-old to carry out. For example, players will be able to work some odd jobs, and with their earnings, they can do things like feed stray cats in the neighborhood. This reflects well on Ilo as a person, and contrasts with the bloodlust they’ll likely display due to their condition. Perhaps caring for stray animals will even influence some of the game’s interactions and plot beats, though it’s unclear if it’s optional or not.
While Sucks To Be In The Sticks lacks Disco Elysium’s internal voices, instead leaning on the mini-games as its unique trait, it does follow in Disco Elysium’s footsteps when it comes to its intent. Instead of just telling an emotionally impactful story, What Sucks To Be In The Sticks has both a political message and a focus on representation. For the former, metaphor and realism will be blended to show how autonomy is punished, empathy is suppressed, and resistance is erased. Players will witness activist protests and power struggles behind closed doors, too. As for representation, expect to see migrants, minorities, and queer people in key roles throughout the game’s story.
Sucks To Be In The Sticks is one of many games that offer a Steam demo, allowing players to see if they’re interested in the game before purchasing it.
Don’t expect any punches to be pulled in this game, as the Steam page includes a trigger warning that highlights concepts the game will explore, like (non-graphic) child abuse, (light graphic) self-harm and (implied/non-graphic) sexual abuse. With such serious topics, it’s fitting that the game’s art style is deliberately crafted to capture the “bleakness and beauty of a dying town.” It will supposedly feature the “full spectrum of (non)human life,” with pain and fear in some scenes contrasted with comedy, joy, and love in others. Sucks To Be In The Sticks will task its characters with dealing with their grief, laughing at the absurdity of life, and finding hope in a depressing world — a powerful message given what so many people have to go through every day.
