Disco Elysium Game Review

Disco Elysium is an unusual amalgamation of genres. It incorporates elements of New Weird Western RPGs and detective stories with classic tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

A lot of the game’s world-building comes through dialogue. Harry talks to cryptid hunters, cursed bookstore owners, and corporate negotiators, but most of his interactions are with people who are dealing with communal trauma.

Gameplay

A spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment, Disco Elysium does a great job of creating a world that’s both interesting and fun to explore. The game has a lot of text, but the writing is very good, and the voice acting is outstanding. It’s a long game, but that’s because it has so much to say, and the choices are serious and have real consequences.

Disco Elysium has an unconventional take on combat that relies more on dice rolls than button-mashing skills. For example, rolling a high number might allow you to stealthily knock out the bodybuilder guarding a door, while a low roll might get you socked in the face.

The game is set in the Martinaise district of the city of Revachol, and players control Harrier du Bois, a detective with Precinct 41 of the Revachol Citizens Militia. The amnesiac detective investigates the murder of the Hanged Man and many smaller Tasks. The game was first released in October 2019 and later rereleased as an expanded edition with full voice acting, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, in 2021.

Character creation

Disco Elysium is a non-traditional role-playing game that relies heavily on skill checks and dialogue trees to resolve events. Unlike other games, however, most of what hurts you in this world is verbal, a result of the fact that most conversations are fueled by arguments over ideology and character traits.

When you first start playing Disco Elysium, you will be able to assign your four basic abilities and skills based on your preference. Each of these areas represents a different aspect of your character: Intellect, Psyche, Physique, and Motorics.

You can choose to start from one of the pre-defined archetypes (Thinker, Sensitive, or Physical), each with its own set of preset levels for these attributes, or you can create your own custom character. The most important decision you will have to make, though, is what to pick as your Signature Skill. This will provide a +1 bonus to all of the skills associated with it, and it will also increase the maximum level for the rest of those skill groups by 1.

Story

Disco Elysium is set in a fictional city plagued with poverty, crime, and environmental degradation. The protagonist awakens with amnesia, and as the game progresses he uncovers the truth about his past while solving a murder investigation.

The world of Disco Elysium is a diverse and intriguing one. It is rife with political ideology, with nations and cities following four main ideologies: communism, fascism, moralism and ultraliberalism.

Each new face in the game carries its own unique story, and each of their backgrounds can be explored through the skills that you build up with the voices in your head. Want to be able to interrogate a witness? Add Psyche to your skill list.

The game was first released in October 2019 on PC, with ZA/UM later releasing an expanded version featuring full voice acting and extra quests. Titled The Final Cut, it was a free upgrade for anyone who had previously purchased the original game.

Soundtrack

Designed by a pan-European game team, Disco Elysium is proof that video games can tell unique stories you won’t see on TV or read in a book. And the soundtrack is just as dazzling. The 28 tracks of the OST are a whirlwind journey through a world of squalor and despair, featuring ambient drones and long panoramic guitar-oriented songs.

The first song, Instrument of Surrender, opens with a cornet – a brass similar to the trumpet – that repeats a simple melody over a background of percussion and deep reverb. It sets the mood for a soundtrack that’s soaked in misery, but also carries a dogged sense of resistance and acceptance of defeat.

Disco Elysium is about a fallen city and the lost potential of its protagonist. Thankfully, the soundtrack isn’t afraid to explore that theme from multiple angles. From the sulking, and self-pitying of “Whirling in Rags” to the melancholic, synthesized tones of “Sad FM”, the OST is an unforgettable experience.

Disco Elysium Game Review

Gameplay

Character creation

Story

Soundtrack

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