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Disco Elysium is a lot of things. It's about solving a mystery that could be the catalyst to a violent collapse of society, but also a personal journey of self-discovery as your amnesiac character rediscovers his past demons. It has fantastical elements, but also emphasizes the mundane reality of many stories. It is equal parts melancholic and macabre, but also absurd and hilarious at times. But. it's these contradictions add up to make Disco Elysium one of the most fascinating and impressive titles to be released not only this year, but this decade.


This game shares many similarities with other modern isometric RPGs visually, barring the unique setting of this game. It resembles a watercolor painting made by someone who adores the color gray, but accentuates more vibrant colors to ensure that the world doesn't feel lifeless. And like most RPGs, the faces of the characters you meet all resemble painted portraits, but the characters themselves are designed in a way that bring out their grotesque beauty as they struggle in a world on the brink of chaos. The world feels gloomy, in all the right ways, as it borrows from dystopian worlds, with just a hint of cyberpunk influences and 1920's-30's technology to further set the immense world apart from your average RPG. Overall, the visual design as a whole does an excellent job of establishing the story's tone while using a unique setting to tell it.


The name of the game here is talking, and when you have a game daring enough to outright remove combat in an already text-heavy genre, you will be doing a LOT of talking no matter what kind of approach you try to take. Speaking of approaches, one of the things Disco Elysium takes pride in is the variety of ways you can approach a situation, and offering a means of still continuing the game, even when you fail your skill checks in dialogue. However, the game is actually quite linear. Regardless of how you approach things, it starts and ends the same way. Some may see this as a criticism, but I believe the fun of the game comes from how you reach the end. You can play the intelligent douchebag cop, the sensitive cop that is able to read people like a book but has a few screws loose upstairs, or you can just make your own approach and get by with that. There are so many different ways to get the answer to a question (or ways to just circumvent the question altogether), but of course, this doesn't add up to the bigger picture. Your choices DO matter because there are a lot of smaller-scale events that impact the game, but how the story ends remains mostly the same. And while I love getting from point A to point B in my own way, once you reach point B, skill checks become frustrating as you're pretty much forced onto a linear path from there. Of course, as I said earlier, the game still progresses forward even when you fail, but skill checks become more frustrating to lose because they often end up being the only way to reach a certain outcome instead of offering viable alternatives. The restriction of the variety in choice at the end does leave a bitter taste in your mouth, but it's not in a major way. Aside from that, though, I'll admit that the linear structure is fine here because it's still fun to try and figure out your past and the mystery itself, but it's very much a game that is about the journey rather than the destination.


Without a doubt, this game's biggest strength is easily the incredible writing. It gives a text-heavy game more life than many gameplay-focused games out today. For example, you can have a conversation with your stomach about embracing fascism. But for this review, I'd like to especially focus on how extremely well-written the characters are. My favorite is Kim Kitsuragi, who I believe is one of the best companions in any RPG ever. His dry humor and analytical nature serves as the perfect foil for your character's wacky antics. He is a source of entertainment, but also a source of hope for you in the suffering world of Revachol. There is so much depth packed into every character that each playthrough can be different simply because of how each character can prove to your investigation. I found myself clicking on every single thing I could, just to read what the game had to say, and the incredible writing really helped draw me into this deep, complex world. Speaking of which, the worldbuilding is not only massive, but jaw-droppingly insane as well, as it has been fleshed out over ~15 years(?). The most controversial aspect of the story is the ending, but I didn't actually mind how it played out. Some people thought it was a stupid, out-of-left-field reveal, but there are plenty of details in the game that help point you in the right direction and foreshadow the ending. It's better than it sounds, and plays well into some of the game's themes. However, I will say my main story criticism is its pacing, being stuck in a similar trap to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by presenting a high-stakes situation that needs to be addressed immediately, but not pushing it on the player or punishing them for remaining idle or focusing too much on side activities. Unfortunately, to discuss the story any further from there would be going into spoiler territory, and this game is at its best if you walk into it completely blind, so in conclusion, the story is very, very good aside from some pacing issues.


No game is perfect, and Disco Elysium's Achilles' heel is its voice acting. It's not completely awful, but it's so inconsistent that some of the voice acting feels very amateur, and can break the immersion of the game. This wasn't always a problem, but the shift to mediocre voice acting for certain characters happened enough for me to need to address it. The music, however, is great, ranging from being chilling vocal tracks to peaceful disco tunes. There isn't much else to say here, but at least the music somewhat makes up for the voice acting.


I played this game with some Wi-Fi issues, so my actual playtime is around 20 hours. However, there are varying accounts of how long this game will take for some people. I've heard of a bare minimum of about 16 hours, but there are some people getting upwards of 35 hours. But with the amount of ways you can approach a situation and the different quests that can open up from them, this game does have a lot to offer. The ending might remain the same, but if you enjoyed the journey itself enough, then you will definitely be able to replay the game. Otherwise, there is so much to think about regarding the game's story, characters, and themes that it will certainly resonate with you for a long time, and the excellent writing helps make it a very quotable game. Therefore, the game is certainly worth buying at full price, especially considering it's $20 than your standard AAA game.


To conclude, Disco Elysium is very ambitious, but it's very successful in what it sets out to do. It's not for everyone, but those who appreciate the complexities of its world and its Kafkaesque, existential themes will be delighted with one of the most unique RPGs of this generation. I adored this game despite its flaws, and I cannot wait to see what else the developers do with this universe.

Graphics - 9.5/10
Gameplay - 8.5/10
Story - 9.5/10
Audio - 7.5/10
Content Value - 8.5/10

.:9.0/10:.
"Amazing"

**PERSONAL PICK**

+ Amazing writing
+ Well-developed characters
+ Deep worldbuilding
+ Build variety
+ Pretty watercolor visuals

- Too restrictive at the end
- Pacing issues
- Inconsistent voice acting

[u]Like my reviews? Go follow my [url=https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/33012112-Gandhi-Talks-Games/]Curator page.[/url][/u] [i]Disco Elysium[/i] is a lot of things. It's about solving a mystery that could be the catalyst to a violent collapse of society, but also a personal journey of self-discovery as your amnesiac character rediscovers his past demons. It has fantastical elements, but also emphasizes the mundane reality of many stories. It is equal parts melancholic and macabre, but also absurd and hilarious at times. But. it's these contradictions add up to make [i]Disco Elysium[/i] one of the most fascinating and impressive titles to be released not only this year, but this decade. [h1]Graphics[/h1] This game shares many similarities with other modern isometric RPGs visually, barring the unique setting of this game. It resembles a watercolor painting made by someone who adores the color gray, but accentuates more vibrant colors to ensure that the world doesn't feel lifeless. And like most RPGs, the faces of the characters you meet all resemble painted portraits, but the characters themselves are designed in a way that bring out their grotesque beauty as they struggle in a world on the brink of chaos. The world feels gloomy, in all the right ways, as it borrows from dystopian worlds, with just a hint of cyberpunk influences and 1920's-30's technology to further set the immense world apart from your average RPG. Overall, the visual design as a whole does an excellent job of establishing the story's tone while using a unique setting to tell it. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The name of the game here is talking, and when you have a game daring enough to [i]outright remove combat[/i] in an already text-heavy genre, you will be doing a LOT of talking no matter what kind of approach you try to take. Speaking of approaches, one of the things [i]Disco Elysium[/i] takes pride in is the variety of ways you can approach a situation, and offering a means of still continuing the game, even when you fail your skill checks in dialogue. However, the game is actually quite linear. Regardless of how you approach things, it starts and ends the same way. Some may see this as a criticism, but I believe the fun of the game comes from [i]how[/i] you reach the end. You can play the intelligent douchebag cop, the sensitive cop that is able to read people like a book but has a few screws loose upstairs, or you can just make your own approach and get by with that. There are so many different ways to get the answer to a question (or ways to just circumvent the question altogether), but of course, this doesn't add up to the bigger picture. Your choices DO matter because there are a lot of smaller-scale events that impact the game, but how the story ends remains mostly the same. And while I love getting from point A to point B in my own way, once you reach point B, skill checks become frustrating as you're pretty much forced onto a linear path from there. Of course, as I said earlier, the game still progresses forward even when you fail, but skill checks become more frustrating to lose because they often end up being the only way to reach a certain outcome instead of offering viable alternatives. The restriction of the variety in choice at the end does leave a bitter taste in your mouth, but it's not in a major way. Aside from that, though, I'll admit that the linear structure is fine here because it's still fun to try and figure out your past and the mystery itself, but it's very much a game that is about the journey rather than the destination. [h1]Story[/h1] Without a doubt, this game's biggest strength is easily the incredible writing. It gives a text-heavy game more life than many gameplay-focused games out today. For example, you can have a conversation with your stomach about embracing fascism. But for this review, I'd like to especially focus on how extremely well-written the characters are. My favorite is Kim Kitsuragi, who I believe is one of the best companions in any RPG ever. His dry humor and analytical nature serves as the perfect foil for your character's wacky antics. He is a source of entertainment, but also a source of hope for you in the suffering world of Revachol. There is so much depth packed into every character that each playthrough can be different simply because of how each character can prove to your investigation. I found myself clicking on every single thing I could, just to read what the game had to say, and the incredible writing really helped draw me into this deep, complex world. Speaking of which, the worldbuilding is not only massive, but jaw-droppingly insane as well, as it has been fleshed out over ~15 years(?). The most controversial aspect of the story is the ending, but I didn't actually mind how it played out. Some people thought it was a stupid, out-of-left-field reveal, but there are plenty of details in the game that help point you in the right direction and foreshadow the ending. It's better than it sounds, and plays well into some of the game's themes. However, I will say my main story criticism is its pacing, being stuck in a similar trap to [i]Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild[/i] by presenting a high-stakes situation that needs to be addressed immediately, but not pushing it on the player or punishing them for remaining idle or focusing too much on side activities. Unfortunately, to discuss the story any further from there would be going into spoiler territory, and this game is at its best if you walk into it completely blind, so in conclusion, the story is very, very good aside from some pacing issues. [h1]Audio[/h1] No game is perfect, and [i]Disco Elysium's[/i] Achilles' heel is its voice acting. It's not completely awful, but it's so inconsistent that some of the voice acting feels very amateur, and can break the immersion of the game. This wasn't always a problem, but the shift to mediocre voice acting for certain characters happened enough for me to need to address it. The music, however, is great, ranging from being chilling vocal tracks to peaceful disco tunes. There isn't much else to say here, but at least the music somewhat makes up for the voice acting. [h1]Content Value[/h1] I played this game with some Wi-Fi issues, so my actual playtime is around 20 hours. However, there are varying accounts of how long this game will take for some people. I've heard of a bare minimum of about 16 hours, but there are some people getting upwards of 35 hours. But with the amount of ways you can approach a situation and the different quests that can open up from them, this game does have a lot to offer. The ending might remain the same, but if you enjoyed the journey itself enough, then you will definitely be able to replay the game. Otherwise, there is so much to think about regarding the game's story, characters, and themes that it will certainly resonate with you for a long time, and the excellent writing helps make it a very quotable game. Therefore, the game is certainly worth buying at full price, especially considering it's $20 than your standard AAA game. [h1]Verdict[/h1] To conclude, [i]Disco Elysium[/i] is very ambitious, but it's very successful in what it sets out to do. It's not for everyone, but those who appreciate the complexities of its world and its Kafkaesque, existential themes will be delighted with one of the most unique RPGs of this generation. I adored this game despite its flaws, and I cannot wait to see what else the developers do with this universe. [b]Graphics[/b] - 9.5/10 [b]Gameplay[/b] - 8.5/10 [b]Story[/b] - 9.5/10 [b]Audio[/b] - 7.5/10 [b]Content Value[/b] - 8.5/10 [b].:9.0/10:. "Amazing" **PERSONAL PICK**[/b] + Amazing writing + Well-developed characters + Deep worldbuilding + Build variety + Pretty watercolor visuals - Too restrictive at the end - Pacing issues - Inconsistent voice acting