极乐迪斯科

There, the heading says it all. This is, simply put, the best game ever made. It is hauntingly beautiful, quietly depressing, genuinely hilarious and existentially frightening. It juggles heavy philosophical ideas, wacky antics, absurdist undertones, a thrilling murder plot, a failed communist revolution and many, many more themes - and manages to do so in such a fantastic way that, once it all came together, I was left genuinely speechless. You know, the kinds of games where, after beating it, you just sit quietly staring at the credits rolling by while trying to find your way through all the emotions coursing through your body? I had that with Disco Elysium. I sat there quietly for a good 10 minutes just feeling it all. You probably already know all the essentials about the game: isometric adventure game where you play an washed-up amnesiac police detective/bum trying to solve a murder in a run-down part of town in a unique world. I hesitate to describe more, not least because the narrative has more branches than Yggdrasil and every run is guaranteed to be unique. One caveat: This game is text-heavy. Thanks to the Final Cut adding voiceovers to everything, it isn't as heavy reading as something like Planescape Torment, but you still need to be able to sit and enjoy dialogue upon dialogue without skipping through them, if you really want to enjoy this game. Also, you need to be okay with RNGesus screwing you over at the most crucial of times - a lot of outcomes in the game are decided by dice rolls, and if you're the type who rage-quit out of XCOM 2 because your sniper missed a 96% shot then this will probably not be for you either. If you are okay with the above then you can truly savor one of the most unique games ever made. As I saw a video essay term it: "There will never be another game like Disco Elysium". Truer words were never spoken. Play it. Something beautiful is going to happen.

Disco Elysium is an experience. While inspired by CRPG classics (notably Planescape: Torment, although you play as a drunken cop and not an immortal warrior), it’s very much its own beast with a unique atmosphere and smartly-designed mechanics. Being a narrative-driven game where everything is achieved through dialogue trees and dice rolls, DE is thoroughly well-written, and a great example of gameplay/writing integration. It goes to great lengths to let you forge your character’s personality as you see fit: the Detective will be a different person in each game, with events and conversations each time playing out in a new way. It’s pretty much impossible to see all the game has to offer in one playthrough, but DE cleverly encourages you to embrace your failures, as selecting terrible dialogue options or failing checks will often yield hilarious results! What I’d consider a design flaw though is that some skillchecks are needed to complete important quests… And if your character is not built for them, those can be nearly insurmountable, even with temporary modifiers applied. It can be frustrating. Still, Describing DE in terms of gameplay does not do it justice. It’s a dense and heartfelt experience, hard to sell without spoilers. It’s about psychology and politics. About the comedic and tragic aspects of mental illness. About the secrets people and places hold from you. About all the things we messed up and can never fix again. About all the hope and beauty left in the world. About so much more. It feels a bit “artsy” on occasion, but has so much to say and says it so well that you can’t fault it for that. So yes, Disco Elysium is worth your time and attention, for all these reasons and more (I haven’t even gotten into the stellar quality of the visuals, music and voice-acting!) Considering the issues around the studio that made it, they may never release anything else of this quality, but they still game us one of the best and most unique RPGs on the market.

There are parts about this game that I love. But some of this is just sooo tiring. It's not the intellectual stuff that's the problem, that part I enjoy (even if it's a bit shallow). But the amount of conversation it takes to achieve things is sooo frustrating. Ok I found the murderer!!!! Oh no I need to have 30 more minutes of conversation about unrelated stuff... sigh. So anticlimactic and feels like a chore. With all that said, I respect the art and soul that went into this unique creation. And I can definitely understand why some people will love it. For me? 6.5/10

The greatest RPG of all time stolen by con artists releasing a meme update so that when you Google the game you don't see the headlines talking about how they stole it.

I am not saying this lightly. The plot, atmosphere, characters and the music will all impress you. I cried many times over the course of the game. Do not buy it for: - combat or action - cinematography Do buy it for: - story - lots of quality dialogue and descriptions to read - character development (and the best sidekick games have to offer) - fitting visuals Get it and see what the hype was all about!