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Only a shade of your former self, neurons annihilated in an ethanol holocaust, thoughts irradiated by the fallout of sorrows and what-ifs. That’s the sorry state of your yet-unnamed protagonist, a police officer tasked to investigate murder in a post-revolution banlièue called Martinaise.

With melancholy being the centerpiece of its entire leitmotif – hell, it’s the entire leitmotif - you’re resuscitated into a world that is just as crumbling as your own self. If the demons of your past weren’t enough, you also have a case on your hands. With this premise in mind, Disco Elysium builds a world that couldn't be farther from its ‘Elysian’ namesake, and doesn’t pull any punches in depicting the true-and-gritty nature of it. You’ll come across the worst of human nature, and have a choice whether to improve or indulge even deeper in your own self destruction. Or both, as the writing is flexible and farseeing enough to have middle-grounds.

The painted-canvas like art style is subtly-entwined with modern graphics tech, as it does deliver some splendid light effects and impressive visuals, but only at the right times. It’s not a game that doesn’t look good because it can’t, but more a title that knows exactly how it wants to look, and doesn’t care about flashiness in order to pursue a style that integrates with its mood. And that’s great.

The Martinaise district and its environs trade extension with saturation, as far as content is concerned. Jam-packed with interactions, NPCs with endless dialogue options and thought-provoking caricatures of cityscapes at every corner, you’ll likely take hours to get to the bottom of each building, street and locale. Of course, you may even revisit already-explored locations once you have the skills or the specific tools to access previously-unlikely or downright impossible areas, interactions and skill checks. It’s a rewarding exploration system that works organically and intelligently, but at the same time doesn’t give second chances in many cases (unless you reload, but where’s the fun in that?).

There’s a metric ton of optional locations, secret items and unique interactions for you to be discovered -admittedly, some exceptionally obscure and nigh-impossible to figure out, unless you stumble onto them perchance. The lack of a detailed map and inconsistent fast travel that just doesn’t always work are minor issues, as the sense of direction and uniqueness of each environment are strong enough for you to not get lost.

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Crown jewel and core of the experience, the dialogue system, and generally the interaction framework with the environment as a whole - including yourself - is a highly-advanced one. As in any RPG, you’ll be presented with skill checks at every turn, testing one of the dozens of attributes you may invest into. Dodge a bullet with Reaction Speed, avoid blacking out from pain with Pain Threshold, formulate logical conclusions with Logic, become a (quasi)human trivia machine with Encyclopedia - these are just a few of the many skills, each governed by an attribute.

The checks are both active and passive, some can be retried after a day passed or after you leveled up, while others have only one chance of success. The system deciding the outcome is RNG-based, however in many cases, such chances can be boosted by performing other actions that give that specific check a boost. For example, knowing as much as possible about someone, before questioning them or their motives, will give you a better chance at understanding them and tell if they’re lying. Works in the same way for everything else, in a system that is contextually-plausible and realistic (most of the time).

Despite the world and your own mind saying anything but, you -can- actually improve, and become a smarter, faster, stronger, savvier alcoholic wreck with each XP-based level up. Passive and active checks award experience, needing 100 each time to gain a Skill Point that you can use to improve your skills - or, invest them to unlock Thought Slots that, when filled with more-or-less insane metaphysical, social or philosophical digressions, award a great variety of passive bonuses (and maluses).

Other than that, being Martinaise adequately-filled of abandoned junk as any post-revolution liberal dystopia should be, you may appropriate such junk in the shape of clothes, accessories and consumables that might as well boost your stats, or even have more special effects - changing your apparel frequently based on the task ahead isn’t only smart - it’s suggested and implied in the gameplay design. Lastly, fun-based consumables like drugs and alcohol can boost your core stats and give great bonuses, especially when stacked, but there -will- be consequences for fueling your self-annihilation.

Lastly, you can get various archetypes stuck to your sorry sketch of a human being; some of them political, based on the opinions you voice about social issues and circumstances, while the others strictly archetypal, classifying you as one of several “copotypes” that express the kind of cop you have become. While none of these massively influence the experience, they do unlock interesting stuff.

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In terms of story, System Shock won’t present you with intricate mysteries or 300-IQ plots; Tri-Optimum’s brand-new AI, SHODAN, went rogue (or rather, was made…) - in consequence, the corporate station orbiting Saturn quickly morphs into a nightmarish prison filled with mutants, scrambled robots and other horrors, all ruled by their cybernetic god(des).

Playing as the nameless, silent and experienced Hacker, you’ll have to find a way to stop this madness. Throughout the station you’ll reveal, either by log files or environmental storytelling, the fate of its crew members - many of which branch into sub-plots of sorts that may give you useful hints, and are interesting to follow. The writing of all characters is crowned, of course, by SHODAN; each power-tripping rant and email is more terrifying (not to mention actual, nowadays) than the previous.

The setting spans throughout a dozen levels, masterfully crafted to be as faithful to the original as possible. The world-building makes the station feel like a cramped, dark, dangerous hell you have to progressively conquer and cleanse, while each level has enough features to feel unique and apart from the others. Combined with the great soundtrack and creepy sound effects, immersion is assured.

Citadel Station is nothing short of massive, divided between twelve levels and the command bridge. You’ll explore it on foot, with a handy automap updating itself as you go. Some upgrades and tools will also allow you to highlight loot and perceive the unseen, but normally you’ll have to rely on your own perception to find items, supplies or secrets - the latter of which are abundant, and hold valuable resources or even unique items. Many areas will initially be locked-out behind security keys, codes or hazards that you might only overcome with specific items or actions.

Other than the recordings you’ll find or receive, there won’t be any further hint on what to do or where to go - except if you play on Easy mission difficulty, that is. But don’t do that, as figuring things out is part of the experience, and the game is designed well enough so that you won’t need to google stuff all the time, if you pay attention.

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Fights in SS are slowly-paced, tactical and high-stakes most of the time. From deranged cyborgs to genetic abominations, all enemies will move and attack at a moderate pacing, but so do you (unless you pump yourself full of drugs and become a superhuman demigod for half a minute…). Your ranged foes will be dead-accurate and lethal, while melee enemies can tear you to shreds in just a couple of hits on Hard. Baiting shots to then peek from cover and shoot, taking your time to advance without rushing, paying attention to sounds are all critical components of a system that punishes recklessness.

Most weapons will have different types of ammo, best-suited for diverse foes, such as piercing ammo being perfect for dealing with armored robots. Ammo is finite, enemies are not - the respawn rate will be oppressive at first, until you destroy enough security cameras and computers - that will slow and eventually stop the respawns entirely in each level. Boss fights are few, but quite unique and significant; these formidable foes won’t only be durable and have a distinct armament, but also capable of one-shotting you if you’re not careful with positioning and cover. That being said, if you save up enough consumables and ‘good’ items for them, like EMP grenades capable of stunning even bosses, they will be much more manageable.

The physics and modern touches added to combat really enhance the action, with enemies being beautifully mutilated, decapitated and torn to pieces on a regular basis, emphasizing the power of your shots. In general, there’s a good weight, stagger and realism behind how guns are handled - it’s a shame, though, that the aiming dot can’t be disabled and that you can't ADS either - those would have been good modern additions, as well.

Your fights won't end in reality, as cyberspace is another battleground where you'll fend off SHODAN's formidable virtual defenses, and breach security, in a 6DOF shooter fashion, developing throughout labyrinthine cyberscapes.

There won’t be any XP or levels to be gained; your only form of progression will be the items you’ll find around the Station. Between better implants to enhance your cybernetic functions, like night vision or energy shields, and weapon upgrades sold at automated machines in exchange for credits, you’ll increasingly become more powerful and have a better variety of options at your disposal. You’ll quickly run out of space, so finding a place somewhere relatively safe is a very good idea for storage purposes - or, you can just leave behind what you can’t carry, but I wouldn’t recommend that, as you’ll really need every bullet and medkit on the higher settings.

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Your main objective is simple: stopping SHODAN. As to how you accomplish that, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. There will be optional sub-objectives of sorts, derived from the info you’ll find in documents and recordings, like, for example, a secret stash to locate. These optional tasks will lead you to secondary parts of the station over various levels, and are worth doing for the sake of exploring and obtaining better gear. The lack of hand-holding in a game needs to be well-designed, and in this case it indeed is, as there won’t be anything too obscure, provided you spend time reading the files you find. If you don't like reading and just want a quest marker to show you the way, play on Easy mission difficulty.