Keeping up with the Disco Elysium, ZA/UM saga is difficult to say the least, especially when it comes to tracking all of the splinter studios featuring different members of the original development team.
Complicating matters further is the fact that one such studio, Dark Math Games, has altered the title of its previously announced game – XXXNightshift – to Tangerine Antarctic. In addition to this, they’ve modified from an isometric RPG that follows directly in Disco Elysium’s footsteps to a third-person RPG, perhaps looking to distinguish it somewhat, despite the familiar UI and tone.
Tangerine Antarctic
Tangerine Antarctic, the new title of what had been XXXNightshift, also describes the setting of the game.
Timo Albert, founder of Dark Math Games, had this to say: “Set at the World’s End ski village at Mount Hope, British Antarctica, Tangerine Antarctic is the name of the in-game hotel, designed by renowned Estonian architect Kaur Stőőr, where most of the games’ action takes place.
“This is where you are stuck because of the blizzard and must solve the mysterious murders. And Tangerine Antarctic is one of the important characters of this true detective’s RPG.”
The shift from isometric to third-person is interesting, as it moves the game further away from its Disco roots, even when the art-style, tone, style of world-building and UI remains similar. However, as more and more companies (many of which stemmed from previous Disco Elysium developers) make games inspired by that RPG, standing out becomes all the more important.
Dark Math Games
The team behind this game consists of around 20 people, with roughly half of the Disco Elysium development team. Timo Albert was the motion graphic designer on Disco Elysium and serves as one of the directors of the studio, alongside Heiti Kender, who is the brother of one of the more controversial figures in the drama behind ZA/UM, investor Kaur Kender.
The Disco Elysium Competitors
This update comes off the back of ZA/UM, the original studio behind Disco Elysium, announcing that its next game is an isometric RPG called Zero Parades. While gameplay has yet to be publicly revealed, several previews have highlighted its similarity to Disco Elysium.
Those credited as being the “central figures” behind the development of Disco Elysium, including Robert Kurvitz are apparently working on a new game at their company Red Info, and another central figure, Argo Tuulik, founded Summer Eternal, and is working on what he describes as a narrative RPG.
