I love a good story. Hell, a good portion of our content is dedicated to storytelling and lore, analyzing questlines, and finding the deeper meaning behind dialogue that’s all too often skipped over. When Disco Elysium was first teased, I wasn’t sure what I’d be getting into. All I knew was I needed it, especially by the time it came out given a few things I was going through. It felt familiar and foreign, comforting and frightening all at once. And I loved every minute of it.

You see, one doesn’t play Disco Elysium. They experience it. On the surface, it’s a dialogue-based cRPG surrounding a workplace lynching and you’re the protagonist who swoops in to figure out who done it. But you’re not just unraveling the crime. You’re also figuring out who you were before a three-day binge of alcohol, drugs, and violent depressive episodes that everyone else remembers but you.

From its captivating storytelling, amazing world, and innovative game mechanics that blend the old and new so smoothly, Disco Elysium has the largest stamp of Metzge approval. Even if cRPGs aren’t your thing or you prefer combat-rich games, Disco Elysium is the kind of game everyone needs to try (or at least watch) once. It’s only been since BioShock Infinite that a game has caused me to have a great deal of emotional reflection and prompted personal growth for having played it. I do wish I could enjoy Kurvitz’s novel Sacred and Terrible Air that provides the backdrop of Disco Elysium‘s universe (it’s written in Estonian and I’m not cultured enough to know that language). Still, I truly hope that he and the rest of ZA/UM continue delving into the eponymous world of Elysium, with or without our star detective. Of course, that’s assuming the Pale hasn’t swallowed us all whole by then.

If you'd like to check out my full reaction (since it's too long for Steam's review system) complete with screenshots and supplementary info, look it up on Start 2 Continue[start2continue.com].