Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 88 | 104 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 95% | 90 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 85 | 42 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 95% | 90 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 89.3, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 9,460 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Mar 11, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 6937 total reviews in window · weighted 260.8 up / 13 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (65)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“Is a remarkable achievement, a solo developer’s love letter to the CRPG and tabletop traditions that creates something genuinely new from familiar inspirations. The Disco Elysium comparisons will follow it everywhere and they’re not wrong, but they’re also not the whole story. Norvik is Bodegård’s city. The Cleric is his character. The humour, the warmth, the political earnestness, these are his voice, and by the end of a playthrough they’re entirely recognisable as such. At $24.99, Esoteric Ebb offers more genuine creativity per dollar than almost any other CRPG on the market. The rough edges and occasional over-reliance on its inspirations are the honest price of a singular creative vision. For fans of Disco Elysium, Planescape: Torment, and narrative RPGs generally, this is absolutely essential. For more RPG coverage, check out our full reviews section.”
read full review ↗ - 89
“Esoteric Ebb will delight those who love fantastical tabletop adventures but have been craving a single-player experience, especially if you are remotely into medieval stuff, silly stuff, political stuff, and/or male identity stuff. I am not alone in thinking that it's one of the best successors to Disco Elysium, a game I very much loved. There's strong potential for Esoteric Ebb to get a sequel, or even some DLC, and I'll be lining up to try it. I think Esoteric Ebb is an excellent example of the CRPG genre, though it is pretty deep into its systems and those who are new to this style or don't enjoy it will be hard-pressed to click with it. But if you do love a TTRPG, you're gonna love it. I'm confident that, at the end of the year, I'll be putting it on my list of best indie games.”
read full review ↗ - 95
- 96
“Esoteric Ebb is the rare game that makes you feel genuinely smarter and significantly stupider at the same time. A few rough edges here and there can't undo the fact that this is one of the most inventive, wickedly funny RPGs in years.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Esoteric Ebb upends the reductive ideological schema that has long sat deep in the genre and industry that D&D birthed.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Esoteric Ebb borrows liberally from Disco Elysium, and both because of and in spite of that, it's one of the finest CRPGs ever made.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Esoteric Ebb is a remarkably confident CRPG that wears its Disco Elysium inspiration on its sleeve while delivering exceptional writing and meaningful player choice. Though not entirely original, its execution is polished, thoughtful, and often brilliant. One of the strongest narrative-driven RPGs in recent years.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While Esoteric Ebb certainly doesn’t try to avoid the direct comparisons to Disco Elysium’s style, it manages to stand out through its original setting and entertaining set of mysteries. The ingrained usage of skill checks to help guide conversations and what the game reveals to players helps keep them engaged, with plenty of highly enjoyable quests and interactions to be had all the way through. There’s lots to enjoy here, particularly for those who like seeing how their choices affect the presented mysteries and obstacles.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Esoteric Ebb is an absolutely worthy successor to its inspirations. It effortlessly manages to be both intellectually rigorous and deeply, humanly messy, blending its philosophical questions with the overarching narrative and tea shop mystery, elevating all aspects in the process.”
read full review ↗ - 97
“Esoteric Ebb is a debut of exceptional rarity; an indie title that doesn’t merely fill the void left by its inspirations, but actively contributes to expanding the boundaries of what the genre has to offer. Christoffer Bodegård’s ambition is evident in every aspect of the production, from the complexity of the world-building to the sophistication of the progression system, from the quality of the writing to the art direction. Sudden Snail has delivered a debut of rare maturity to the indie scene. Norvik is a city you’ll want to return to, Snell is a companion you won’t easily forget, and the Quest Tree is a fully realized design concept.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Make no mistake: Esoteric Ebb is just what the doctor ordered for a quick-witted, choice-heavy, path-altering, and experience-defining RPG title that knows how to tinker with your cerebral mentionables.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Esoteric Ebb succeeds because it embraces its inspirations with confidence and reverence. It borrows the philosophical backbone of Planescape: Torment and the introspective depth of Disco Elysium, then reshapes those ideas into something playful, political, and unmistakably its own. This “thinking person’s RPG” will surely find a spot in our Best of 2026 list.”
read full review ↗
TheBigBois
The Punished Backlog
3DNews
Raider King
Slant Magazine
Jump Dash Roll
PLAY Zine
RPGamer
STWGames Italia
Kakuchopurei
Gameffine…and 53 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Hotfix v1.2.2Apr 8, 2026
- Hotfix v1.2.1Apr 1, 2026
- Patch v1.2Apr 1, 2026
- Hotfix v1.1.3Mar 19, 2026
- Hotfix v1.1.2Mar 18, 2026
- Hotfix v1.1.1Mar 12, 2026
- Patch v1.1Mar 11, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix v1.0.3Mar 4, 2026
- Hotfix v1.0.2Mar 3, 2026
- Hotfix v1.0.1Mar 3, 2026
- NEXT FEST Demo Hotfix #6Feb 27, 2026
- NEXT FEST Demo Hotfix #5Feb 26, 2026
- NEXT FEST Demo Hotfix #4Feb 25, 2026
- NEXT FEST Demo Hotfix #3Feb 24, 2026
- NEXT FEST Demo Hotfix #2Feb 24, 2026
- NEXT FEST Demo Hotfix #1Feb 23, 2026
- Demo Hotfix #6Dec 1, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #5Nov 21, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #4Nov 19, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #3Oct 3, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #2Sep 25, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #1Sep 21, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #3Mar 4, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #2Mar 1, 2025
- Demo Hotfix #1Feb 28, 2025
- Taking Down The Second Draft Demo! (And Some Fun Reflections)Aug 15, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix #4Jan 19, 2024
- Hotfix #1-3Dec 13, 2023