Let's make some Summer Memories: Let's all play Disaster Report 4 maybe

Back in the winter I posted this in the Game You Played Today topic regarding Disaster Report 4:

It is summer and while I don’t think I have the authority to say “let’s all play this game right now” I did reach out to @Polygonzo and they were down, so at least two of us are gonna game club it and if anyone else wanted to jump on board it’d be very swell.

I got it downloaded onto my PS5 right now and will be starting it up tomorrow, now to figure out if I want to download the free Power Ranger knock-off costume from the PS Store and roleplay as one of them.

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mucho kudos @username, I haven’t played a game since…Wario World two months ago…the curse shall be broken

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I wasn’t entirely sure about Disaster Report 4 at first but it ended up being my favorite game from whatever year it was released.

Be sure to do both endings (easy to get in a single playthrough) and the epilogue. All are worth your time.

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I have had the switch cart of this for like 2 years and never inserted it so i guess the time is now

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Might get in on this and play the PC version. I played the PS4 version way back when. Disaster Report games are so amazing!

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I installed the copy of this I bought a couple years ago and will maybe even play it??

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I played through the opening bit today (basically the content that was in the demo) and will hopefully get a post up about it soon (since it was the demo content I took a lot of screenshots, how spoilery could it be), but there was one important thing I had to take care of immediately.

We all see the clear problem with this…

…there, now that’s the Disaster Report I remember!

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why play anything but a gyaru or gyaru-oh?

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Day 1: In which I post a lot of screenshots and spoil the intro/demo content

Since I assume many of us don’t really know what the game is about exactly I figured I’d just mini-LP the intro section. Don’t know that I’ll do so beyond this point (likely not to this degree) but hey, gotta start with something.

This is my well dressed guy, who really just wants to walk around the park and definitely is not going to a job interview.

He’s rather on the ball, unwilling to buy into the fake news the mainstream media is shoveling. I don’t think Japan even gets earthquakes…

One earthquake related bus accident later

Ouch, stupid driver.

(BTW had to pause to answer the phone and look at how cool I accidentally framed this shot)

I like to imagine that the descriptions above the NPC’s heads is how my guy sees them, and the fact that he thinks this guy who is sitting up is paralyzed means he’s not so sharp.

Pfft, exercising caution is for nerds…

Two minutes later a light pole falls on my head

Ouch again.

Stupid false flag operation.

At this point I remembered I downloaded all those free costumes and briefly considered playing as space santa. Instead as I lack the play dress up gene I stuck with the suit and put on red gloves and decided to just be an American Psycho level sociopath, let’s see how long I can remember that with this light pole-related concussion I have.

In the park I stumble upon this old guy who lost his job last month and is doing the whole “pretend to go to work but just eat lunch in the park to keep his loved ones in the dark, but it would have been payday soon and I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up” deal. This may be my first real chance to really interact with someone!

That could not have gone any better.

Given that this is merely the tutorial area I feel like I am actually being very honest with them!

I know what you are thinking but I am still very hurt and likely concussed from the light pole, should probably keep hold of those bandages.

I come across a teacher who lost three high school students, I don’t know about Japan but in the States teachers don’t make enough to be worth holding up for money and I’m gonna draw the line on perving on minors, so creeping on the teacher it is! Better to know how pervy the game is early on I say.

I found two of the three students and they are wearing way too much make-up, so dodged a bullet there.

Yes, let the sociopathy grow strong!

Outside this suspicious looking guy asks me an even more suspicious question. I have not seen anyone matching this description (although now looking at the screenshot the guy may legit be right behind him) so I pick the only “I have no idea” option. I am then given 4 immoral points, the only time this happens and when I was actually being honest! I will get Disaster Report God back for this.

I run into this guy who was here for the job interview I said at the very start I was not here for (I chose to walk around the park instead).

He starts rambling on about how his family is poor and they saved up to send him to the city for this interview and he doesn’t know if they can afford to send him back at another time and I really don’t care but I’m also still very concussed so I sit next to him. Once he is done talking I have to evaluate him and…

Yeah, that’s just the level of rationalization I’m going for.

I go to the help desk and complain about having to pay to come here for the job interview they just canceled for frivolous reasons (that I was not actually visiting here for), and then lie about my travel costs to get thousands more yen off of them. I pick the realistic lie as I don’t want to blow the scam and I make several thousand yen from the deal. I have no idea what that equals in American dollars, let’s assume a lot; I’m rich!

There was an x button prompt near the fire, but when I got close enough to press it I accidentally burnt myself and because I’ve been at 1 health (out of 100) this whole time from the concussion I immediately collapse into the flames and am engulfed.

Because of this I respawn at full health with all my progress intact, so I make a mental note that fire heals you in this game. Also there is the third school girl.

There is a whole deal about getting back to the school and maybe having to crawl under a collapsed metal thing to proceed but it might be dangerous so who has to go first. The teacher’s explanation about being in many disasters but always being rescued raises several red flags but I choose to let her go first as one needs to see if they have you crawling right behind her and checking her out. You don’t, it turns out it is all BS as no matter what you select they all stand around and only follow after you go.

With that we emerge beyond the intro area and end this day’s work. So far I gained one moral point (via being forced to give an old lady my seat on the bus) and 4 immoral points for being honest, ripped off a business to the tune of several thousand yen, vibed with the sad old guy in the park and have been purified by the flames. All in all I’d consider that a success, next time we’ll see what else this supposed “earthquake” has done.

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The red gloves kick ass. Nice touch! I know I played as a sociopathic gloved lady in one playthrough and definitely creeped on the teacher.

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This rules. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

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this is the kinda game I spend the first half hour just dicking around and seeing how silly I can make it

being able to clip through NPCs…

they sure hit you with a lot of questions at the beginning, definitely feels more in the vein of the third game’s J-drama + personality tests + public service announcements (at one point they make it clear that in the event of an earthquake you should gather in a safe area and stay put…but also that this will not progress the game so get out their and wander around!) instead of the blockbuster action dollhouseness of 1 and 2…even has you crawling out of a bus wreck like 3 though not the memorably grim procession of that game

I (Polly Gonzo) am playing as A Jerk, I guess, kinda bummed my character didn’t actually curse at the old lady for having to give her my seat on the bus when the option described that!

I did overcharge a bunch of people for bandages I had, then explored a department store and rescued a fashion designer after making her promise to reward me and now I have more bandages again. ended my playthrough there but I’m gonna see if I can sell those same rubes more bandages next session >:)

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omg i wanna play this so bad, thanks sb. i’m gonna get the steam version soon. i’m supposed to be listening to a lecture so i’m gonna stop posting for a bit now but this game looks like it kicks ass, i’ve been dying to play ever since i saw the trailer for one of these like a year or two ago?

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Day 2: In which I learn how to use the summary feature

I ended up taking way too many screenshots again, but this would start to spoil stuff for those who want to play but haven’t got a chance to start yet, and I don’t want this thread to accidentally end up being about me LPing me way through blindly, so I’m gonna dump everything behind the summary feature I totally remember was a thing before a few hours ago. Spoilers obviously.

Summary

So we go forward a bit and our path is blocked by a bunch of abandoned cars and literal pools of gasoline, gasoline that all the school people are standing in the middle of. They deserve whatever happens next.

Of course it is up to me to try and push this truck out of the way with only the teacher helping me, as these girls are just the worst. Fortunately we are interrupted by an aftershock…

I have no idea how that works.

Fortunately last time I learned of the healing powers of the flame and wish to let it purify all of us!

Unfortunately now the girls decide to help and push us into the next area, I will remember this.

Taking a second to collect my thoughts, it becomes clear that this is all incredibly overblown and I need to just chill out a bit and take it easy.

The people on twitter are correct, you try and cut the police force’s budget and the cities become a warzone. We need to gentrify stat!

I enter a local convenience store and look at these hooligans… patiently waiting in line in the middle of a supposed disaster despite the fact there is literally no one working here.

I find the clerk hiding in a back room, too scared to face the specter of an organized line. He begs me to handle it, giving me an extra uniform.

Eh, my horoscope did say to go with the flow.

Don’t yell at me, it’s just surge pricing.

I deserve to be paid for my work.

I pocketed all the money everyone in line gave me, and got a total of 5 Immoral points for it. More importantly I’m even richer!

Let’s see what else is going on in this store.

Someone is struggling in the bathroom so I do my best to cheer them on. Turns out they are out of toilet paper, and the coward who wouldn’t face the line tells me there is some in the storage room.

It’s right next to this injured guy barely moving back there. I quietly grab it and and leave without disturbing the poor fellow.

I explain the concept of supply and demand to this gentleman and let the market decide a fair price.

I deeply regret helping this man/not charging him more.

The hurt guy desperately needs water (I’d have assume first aid, but I’m not currently injured so what do I know) and I sense an opportunity for profit, so time to check the shelves for any water.

Who the hell set the price of a bottle of water at 3000?!?

…wait. Shoot. Fine, I’ll just charge the injured guy more.

Dang nabbit.

This is me going to the inventory screen to see if I could just drink it in front of him, sadly it was not an option. Rather than lug it around for the rest of the game I let him have it.

According to the game I’m now much more moral than immoral. Sucker.

Turns out this was the guy that suspicious looking fellow was looking for earlier, so I lie and say I was protecting him and sent that guy in the wrong direction to see if this can be in any way salvaged.

Cha-ching!

You will never see me again.

Back up front this lady with a baby wants to know if there is any water left for sale. I hope she’s got 3k handy…

…or I guess 20k now. I choose this option as it seems the one more likely to let me punch this guy who touched me with his unwashed hand.

…Then I continue to see how far I can make him raise the price, want to see how much this lady is carrying on her.

Anyways it turns out he doesn’t even work here and was just running a scam, the bastard. Who would do such a heartless thing… in such a sloppy fashion.

…Let’s not tell him about every other customer. Anyways got a free first aid kit out of this, and I totally got more moral than immoral points in here (I just got 10 more moral points for this!) so I must be drowning in good karma as I walk out the door.

…and a giant highway sign immediately falls on my head and gives me another concussion. I think getting back to back ones is very not good for you.

Sadly I cannot reach the fire and heal myself.

If at some point I have to let one of you die I have already made my choice.

Lady there are collapsed building across every road, I am angry this is the meanest response I can give.

So this building also collapsed back when that sign fell on my head, and for a good 10+ minutes afterwards I walked around this area trying to figure out where the yelling was coming from (hey cut me some slack, I’m concussed). Turns out you can climb up this desk into this building even though there is no prompt letting you know one can interact with it.

I found the yelling lady, what she should have done was go down the stairs and hop out the window to the street, you know what I did but in reverse.

I try to lead her down the stairs but she instead chooses to levitate slightly and walk in place and I am suddenly so very tired. I think that might be a concussion side-effect.

Anyways she has no issue following me into the bathroom and watching me pee. Fun fact, if one ends up in a building that has partially collapsed and is at a harsh slant pee in a urinal that is slanted downwards, not back towards you.

After watching this she’s now willing to walk down the stairs (don’t ask me, I tried multiple times before this and she always starting levitating), now to hop out that window and…

…Have the roof collapse on us. Just great, if you didn’t waste all that time ignoring gravity we’d have been out of here by now.

Wait a sec, multi-floor building, several above us… but the ceiling stopped a few feet above the floor.

Oh my god gravity actually is a myth, Joe Rogan was right!

Anyways we cross into a different building that is all the way sideways (I naturally drop through a pair of sideways bathrooms which must just be a mess, thank you not-Irem for not animating the grossness), head for the window and…

…huh. Moving on we exit the building and collect ourselves, I glance at her and…

I think I have fully mastered human interactions.

And that is where we’ll call it a day. For those keeping track I gained 5 immoral and 20 moral points this session which must mean I am a pretty great guy. I tried to pull us all into the flames, overcharged and stole from the convenience store I pretended to work at, lied to an injured guy and stole his key, chose which high school girl is first to die, unlocked VR and spat in gravity’s face so yeah, I think that math checks out.

Wow that ended up rather long. Next time less pictures!

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It seems to me that it’s a game that gets more fun to play in company than alone. Am I wrong?

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I really like the smudgy yet clean grafix, at least on switch. It lends itself well to the shitty corporate ad world aesthetic the game seems to be going for. Like the very faceless city, all the office worker filler npcs who live in such purgatory that all they can think about after a huge disaster is going back to work. The people lining up to pay in a destroyed and abandoned convenience store. The pleasant kinda cheap tv show looking lighting and camera angles. It seems to be going for like, how shocking of an experience do we need to wake up to how fucked our lives are. The guy who lost his job and the guy who is sad because he worked so hard to make it to this job interview that got cancelled… like it is clearly ridiculous that they’re worried about this stuff in the moment but at the same time, we all know capitalism will absorb the blow of this disaster and will only expect those people to fulfill all their obligations despite the circumstances…

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FWIW I think the game is plenty fun solo but it is goofy enough that I think it could work in a group setting.

I didn’t use this screenshot last post, but it feel relevant now

This was after the whole building collapsing on us deal. I will note again that every single prompt up until this point I’ve chosen to say I was not looking for a job interview.

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coming in to say that while i have the enthusiasm to play this, i lack the time. i will keep watch over this thread tho. y’all have fun! <3

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Day 3: In which we struggle with the concept of mortality

1st day I said I took too many screenshots as I took like 130ish, said I’d do better the next day.

The next day I took about 210, last words of my last post were “Next time less pictures!”

Just checked my screenshot folder and it says it has 275 images from today, please send help.

(Same rules as last time, spoilers and a ton of screenshots hidden in the summary field)

Summary

I leave anti-gravity lass behind me and walk down the street, bearing witness to a building being healed by plentiful fires.

I thought this was an odd way to describe the road also being flooded, but I google the term on my phone and it apparently is “the phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by earthquake shaking or other rapid loading”.

This lady sure does know a lot about earthquakes… almost too much if you ask me.

I leave the likely state actor behind as I see a car dealership across from the inferno, again I’m not exactly sure how much a yen is worth but 30k of them should be enough to get me a decent set of wheels.

Inside the dealership is this very important businessman yelling about not being able to reach people before storming out and knocking me to the ground.

I grab my head and claim that I am concussed yet again, but the jerk just blows me off.

I naturally swear revenge against him, as any super sane man would.

No one there would see me a car so I decided to check out the Italian place next to the raging inferno. It is currently flooded which is exactly the kind of outside the box fire protection I expect from a place with a 2.8 on yelp.

The chef is currently mourning how she finally opened her dream place and now it is ruined, but there was maybe four tables in this large place and all the other ones still have the chairs upside down on the tables. You were doomed anyways, this way you at least get a nice insurance check.

Oh my god, the owner was still making everyone stay at work even though it is flooded and the building next door is on fire, this is every family owned Italian restaurant I’ve ever visited.

I take one of their hats (not like they’ll need it anymore) as it looks to be just the right shape to offer the most protection from any further concussions. I also buy a block of parmesan cheese off one of them as the Italian is also strong in me.

They let me exit through the back and I let myself into an open door down the alley and past the fire. It leads me into a jewelry store and like… this place ain’t wrecked, it’s been looted despite the fact the front door is still locked. This is why I don’t buy this natural disaster narrative they are shoveling, the only way this would make any sense is…

…if it were being robbed?

Huh. Fair play then.

Yes, very out of breath. I’m sure the corpse will be fine later.

Moving on, I think it is only fair that I get my cut of the jewels. She seems very adamant that they are hers and… you know I always said we need to believe women, particularly ones who are willing to knife people.

I notice her arm is slashed and… I mean she probably was acting in self-defense when she stuck the knife in that guy’s back, always best to help those in need and who also have a lot of jewels. Unfortunately she is still unwilling to share so I’ll have to get by with the key to the front door and my 3 moral points.

I make my way to a less wrecked area of the city, where a ton of people who won’t talk to me as they make their way down the street to…

…A blocked road. They are literally just walking in circles. They literally deserve whatever they get.

I catch sight of the guy who knocked me down earlier making his way into a building and am about to follow him when I see the most terrible thing just a bit further down the sidewalk.

A frickin’ musical panhandler bothering passer-byers with their guitar and melodic voice. This is why we need anti-homeless spikes on every surface, to keep these animals away from upstanding citizens like me and the lady in the jewelry shop.

Fortunately another citizen steps up, allowing me to not have to solve everything myself for once. Maybe there is still hope for this place.

It turns out there is a hunger system in this game, so I just eat this cheese wedge straight up. A future bathroom visit might become complicated, but I’m satiated for now.

Entering the building and I find an entire floor of people panicking about the company’s current stock price, worried that someone has been spreading rumors about them that have spooked investors. I assume with half the city collapsing no one is paying attention to unsubstantiated business rumblings, unless this company happens to sell earthquake insurance…

What a selfish employee, worried that he won’t be able to pay off the loan on his house just because he was mostly paid in company stock. This sort of me-first attitude is probably why this place is going down the drain.

I find the jerk who seemingly is the company president, who is worried that two of his most trusted employees have jumped ship to a different company… wait, Nakanishi?

I am always 100% Team Nakanishi.

You legit knocked me over, which is the worst thing that has happened to anyone today! He leaves me and his assistant asks how I know the president.

Sadly he was not able to help me with this and told me to come back at a later time.

Seeing no way to get satisfaction I leave the building just in time to see the giant looming overpass start to collapse. Fortunately I have my new hat so I am safe from any possible concussions…

One quick death and reload later

Stupid worthless hat, this is why that restaurant failed!

Well the road is blocked but I think I can make my way under what’s left of the overpass…

Oh look, everyone is… lying down. As far as the eye can see.

(so we definitely have time to animate some death poses, right?)

(I mean, maybe?)

I leave all the sleeping people behind and… I could really go for a burger after that.

There is literally a giant window at the front of the store facing the now-collapsed overpass. This is why you are stuck working register!

I’ve had it with the surface world, hopefully the subway treats me better.

Stupid movie poster, nothing but franchise dreck is released any more.

This entire station is abandoned but since this bathroom does not match my gender I’d better not enter, I was told it’d be unsafe for everyone and if any single word can describe my day so far it would be “safety”.

I eyeballed it as a few seconds.

A bit further down I stumble upon a woman who had part of the ceiling collapse onto her (probably used the wrong bathroom).

Even with the mangled legs she’s prettier than me, this simply will not do.

Sorry but all beauty must die, I’ll just be leaving…

I said I’ll just be leaving…

sigh

Don’t thank me, I literally had no choice.

I have already been slowed down, just walk off the crush syndrome and hopefully we can get out of here before any more headaches befall me.

Goddammit lady, you are the worst.

I literally roll my eyes so hard they nearly collapse into themselves, I didn’t want to bring her along in the first place can I just…

…Great.

You and me both. I pulled her out of the rubble and all I got for it was being tied up and 10 immoral points just now.

Alright we’ll just scooch around while he walks this same path repeatedly with a flashlight, if we can just make it to that convenience store I think I can probably cut through these ropes.

Voila~

I’m free, now you…

Oh. Well… best of luck!

I didn’t want to keep dragging her along anyways.

Oh you made it too. Great, just great.

OH FUCK THE LOCKER WITH THE VALUABLES IN IT, I KNEW I FORGOT SOMETHING!

I am just having the worst day.

Super. Shoulda left you… well not with the drunken rapists, but probably under the rubble.

I guess tomorrow we head for the ferry. Saved someone’s life today, supported a restaurant that was literally underwater, used the correct bathroom and offered first aid to a murderer in need and I still somehow had 7 more immoral than moral points today (10 to 3), some days you just can’t win.

I cannot possibly have more screenshots tomorrow.

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Well I got called into work at odd times for the next half-week and it turns out there is a Steam puzzle game dealie with a lot of potentially limited time demos available, so my time available for this (and in particular curating screenshots and writing about them) is probably gonna be limited for much of the next week or so. Definitely not gonna stop playing but that’s possibly it for me as an LPer.

I’ll definitely let you all know if I make that guy kneel.

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