There’s really only one fundamental rule in Disc Room: Avoid the sharp, spinning discs. It’s a simple premise that offers enough variability to sustain at least an eight-hour experience. But from the outset, it’s apparent what an undertaking it all is.
Disc Room
Developer: Terri, Dose, Kitty, JW
Price: $15
Platform: PC, Switch
MonsterVine was supplied with a Steam code for review
A collaboration by industry veterans, Disc Room is the latest title to enter Devolver Digital’s pantheon of highly reputable indie classics. It takes thrilling edge-of-your-seat gameplay and gives it an air of nuance and complexity.
In 2089, a giant celestial disc is discovered orbiting Jupiter and scientists are sent to see what that’s all about. Upon arrival, you (as an amorphous spaceperson) learn it’s something of an intergalactic slaughterhouse teeming with sentient saw blades that thirst for blood. It’s a compelling enough setup that finds inspiration in sci-fi juggernauts like Event Horizon, but this isn’t why most of you will buy this game.
Most levels, or rooms, begin easily enough: There might only be a few rotating saw blades once the timer begins, but as the clock ticks up – or down – more whirring, bloodthirsty discs are thrown into the mix. In a matter of seconds, minor hazards expand, multiply and explode to fill the room, leaving your situation increasingly imperiled.
Disc Room takes place across a sprawling map of locked, interconnected rooms. Entry to these rooms is only granted once a corresponding objective is completed in a neighboring cubicle. Early on, this mostly entails surviving for five or 10 seconds, but later rooms require harder and increasingly obscure criteria. Each quadrant of the map is a distinct biome that comes with its own subset of rules and features. Without this structure – and under normal conditions – I’m not sure how long I could have stuck with Disc Room. It breaks up the tedium and supplies much of the game’s variety.
The layout isn’t the only thing that diversifies gameplay. Throughout the game, the player is endowed with abilities, like dashing or cloning themself. The kicker is that you can only use one ability in a room and doing so will stop the timer until you’re done using it. Abilities are a safety net that can pull you out of some hairy situations, but they’re not something you can overly rely on either.
For all intents and purposes, Disc Room is a “bullet hell,” a ‘genre’ of game that chooses to inundate screens with flashy projectiles and legions of foes. That classification is sure to cause more than a few to shudder as it comes with some intense baggage. Bullet hell games can be ruthless, frustrating and downright unfair at even the best of times, and Disc Room isn’t an exception in these regards.
But to reduce it to mere convention would be disingenuous. It conjures up an idea that it’s meant to induce rage, like its whole purpose is to provide its creators with the sadistic thrill of knowing that somebody somewhere is in anguish because of them. Disc Room isn’t like its ilk. Underlying it all is a meaningful experience that makes Disc Room more nuanced.
You’re going to die a lot in Disc Room, and the developers acknowledge that. So, death is given purpose beyond just frustration. When a new disc cuts down the Scientist, it’s documented in the pause menu bestiary. Thus, dying in every way imaginable is a core part of the overall experience – and a fundamental key to unraveling the great orbiting disc’s secrets. There are even rooms that require the player to die to a certain number of disc types before entering.
The ingenuity of the bestiary comes two-fold. It’s a means of assessing death and provides a glimpse into the player character’s musings about the giant disc. From it, we learn a whole host of information that would otherwise be missing. It also brings out some of Disc Room’s themes, which are decidedly nihilistic, and motivations, which will find relatability with anyone thinking of giving up on this game.
Most people could leave a similarly styled game feeling like they’ve experienced its entirety before it’s ever finished. But well after I’ve beaten it, Disc Room still holds at least one secret I’m desperately trying to solve. Like the scientist I was in control of, Disc Room pulled me into its mystery and left me wanting more. It’s a great game, but frustrating and unfair sometimes. Regardless, it’ll feel right at home among Devolver Digital’s brightest.
The Final Word
You’ll play for the addicting bullet hell action but stay for complexities beneath its surface. Just don’t pull your hair out along the way.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
