Disco Elysium, a video game developed by ZA/UM is an absolute masterpiece of the role-playing genre. Whether analyzing the incredibly written behemoth of a narrative totaling at over one million words, observing the beautiful oil painting-inspired artwork, or listening to the perfectly atmospheric soundtrack. Disco Elysium is sure to capture your attention for hours at a time.

Disco Elysium has been heavily praised on all fronts, winning multiple prestigious awards from various award shows. Many magazines even cited it to be their game of the year, such as PCGamer[1] and Zero Punctuation[2]. The narrative was the majority subject of praise, setting you in the post-revolution seaside district of Revachol. You awaken hungover and amnesic in a hostel before you head down to the cafeteria where a man is waiting for you. Introducing himself as Kim Kitsuragi, you quickly find that you are a detective assigned to the murder of a hanged man and he is your partner to the assignment. The game is entirely open-ended past that point, allowing you to explore and speak to those who pique your interest.

Part of the reason Disco Elysium is so highly praised is its non-traditional style of progression. The game is highly narrative-driven, with combat being an extremely rare occurrence. Rather, Disco Elysium heavily utilizes skills, categorized as ‘Intellect’, ‘Psyche’, ‘Physique’, and ‘Motorics’; 6 skills in each. The core narrative is already more than enough to entertain and intrigue, the skills are just the cherry on top; and it is a very, very big cherry. Your skills will speak to you, talk to you, and control you. You’ll hear things you couldn’t hear before and see things you wouldn’t have otherwise. Hearing your skills pitch in, to varying degrees of worth, the arguments, and the off-hand comments about yourself and others. It truly cranks the entertainment value all the way up in such a hilariously egregious manner.

Disco Elysium’s intricate world cries of the human condition, scarred into its people. Their hopes and fears plastered onto everything that once was. The oil painting-inspired visuals set this tone magnificently. The character portraits are one of my favorite things about Disco Elysium, it captures a person in striking detail. Their expressions, the shapes, the color, you know who you’re talking to from the very moment you see that portrait. This same detail is reflected into the portraits of your skills, clear or visually abstract, the meaning never escapes you. For all of this, I feel as though Disco Elysium’s visual direction is devastatingly underrated. It was one of the best games of 2019, but it’s sure to be remembered as one of the best of all time.

1. PCGamer - ‘Game of the Year 2019: Disco Elysium’ [pcgamer.com/game-of-the-year-2019-disco-elysium/]

2. Zero Punctuation - ‘2019 Best, Worst, and Blandest – Zero Punctuation’ [escapistmagazine.com/v2/2019-best-worst-and-blandest-zero-punctuation/]