"You know it's a good game when I finish it at 2:30 in the morning, completely sleep-deprived!" was the original review of this. Since then, I thought a lot about this game. Disco Elysium has had a profound impact on me. The writing is striking and brilliant, so full of sadness, so full of hoplessness - yet it manages to cath sparks of hope inbetween. There's so much humanity in the characters, so much sorrow in the world, haunted by the past resurfacing, or burying itself. Over and over again, Revachol, the city of ghosts. A Hauntology of pasts long gone. I love this game so, so much. There's more here than I could've ever wished for. And it takes the player seriously. It's actually art. And that cannot be said for most of the current gaming landscape. At least for my definition: something with precise theming, profoundly striking in its impact.

Disco Elysium Review
Disco Elysium is a text adventure game. There’s a lot of text hidden under one of the most beautifully designed worlds I’ve ever had the pleasure of exploring. Despite a seemingly simple game mechanic, the game has been crafted so carefully and lovingly that it’s hard not to appreciate the immense project this was.
The art is exquisite and reminiscent of oil paintings while the animation is smooth, well-choreographed and exciting to watch. My personal favourite lies in the surreal and almost horrifying art in the thought cabinet, which works as it’s translating unusual concepts and thoughts, of which most seem to be unhealthy, into a tangible visible form. The character art is another part I appreciate as portraits and models are in no way alike nor are they flawless and attractive: they’re incredibly human.
The story follows a detective on a case who is currently suffering from memory loss and this may be part of the best decisions in the game. With memory loss, the game perfectly rationalises being an RPG with an already fully developed character. You cannot remember who you were, but you currently have to suffer the consequences of being someone else whilst also choosing your own dialogue options that influence the kind of person you will become. This is possibly the strongest element of the game as there are an amazing amount of dialogue choices all of which can subtly affect your future dialogue choices. Choosing a slightly political, sexist, racist or quirky piece of dialogue leads to even your own internal monologue having different wordings for the same scenario. Even the case you need to solve isn’t necessarily the main story as your roleplaying can actually impact what you prioritise. All of this is wrapped in incredibly witty and genuinely hilarious writing that reinforces the setting, provides a great deal of depth to characters and immerses you in the game. There’s something to appreciate in the moral options the game provides as some actions don’t have clear consequences and characters are not just good or bad (except for Lt. Kim Kitsuragi who is a paragon of all that is good in the world); it’s very much up to you whether you’d like to go the extra mile and interpret the future how you’d like.
The other gameplay mechanic is a literal dice roll on the many attributes of what kind of an individual you are. These attributes can influence the kind of information and dialogue options you’re privy to alongside whether or not you’re successful in certain actions. Choosing strength attributes helps you pass through the physical world unharmed but you don’t get access to as much information had you chosen intelligent attributes. Choosing to be skilful and perceptive with details may mean you miss out on the supernatural or metaphysical information the city could provide. This is very exciting early on but with levelling up, clothing and your thought cabinet this becomes almost trivial as you can just reach any attribute level you need to. Regardless it’s still an interesting experience to see what happens when you’re lacking in certain attributes.
There’s incredibly little to dislike about such a well-made game as even small bugs have been addressed quickly. Time is a great concept to bring life to Revachol and the looming deadline definitely adds a sense of foreboding but after 2 playthroughs you can manipulate this to make the most out of everyday especially when you realise you can’t go past 2am. My personal taste would’ve tried to make the benefits from themed clothing match more so my character didn’t look like a hodgepodge from a charity shop but it adds to the quirkiness of the character.
This game was made by people who care about the art they create and it shows in every aspect of the game.

it's been over 30 hours since i finished the game, and i thought by now i'd have something substantial to say but for now the only words i can muster in my forlorn state are "good game. great game. fuck. go play this game."

utterly fulfilling. beautiful to look at. depressing as hell. one of the best written things i've ever experienced. if i never played another game again i'd be fine considering the emotional exercise i got out of this (i'd like to praise the intelectual elements too but i feel too stupid to say anything about that just that it felt super smart in a genuine way).

The rare game that just does everything it set out to do so perfectly. The music, the acting, the writing, the gameplay & the atmosphere all work so perfectly with each other.

Disco Elysium is a game that would never be made by a AAA studio. The sheer content this has both in routes the player can go & how story driven it is would be enough to send a publisher like EA & Activision running for the hills. Thankfully, this game still got out there and it was an absolute blast.

Played this on my base PS4 and it seems like I was extremely lucky. I had no bugs and it only crashed like once so I can't really comment on the technical issues this game had. From what I can tell as of writing this, it should be pretty much perfect to run now.

an even better version of an already 5/5 game. an adventure game, a crpg (in the vein of planescape: torment), a detective sim, a sprawling choose-your-own-dementia jamboree, a dreary mucking-around in self-destruction, inner dreams, despair, love, hope (?!), and loads of politics. you're the sorry cop, the hobocop, the broke-dick disco king of dire debauchery. an absolute scumbag who, just maybe, wants the world to be better. you have the coolest partner, kim kitsuragi: a moral anchor of sorts—sympathetic, albeit amply capable of becoming... displeased with you. it all depends. there are many ways to blaze your trail through revachol. in the milieu of computer games, disco elysium is a rare flower reeking of human life, history, and the yearning of loneliness in a capitalist shit-world. breathe in the stink and let the heartless wind run its fingers through your hair.

I went in as blindly as I could, just knowing from comments and reviews that this game was likely exactly the type of game for me and it was!! I loved every second of it and felt so engrossed in the plot and these characters. I thought it would be some edgelord nonsense, but it was surprisingly sweet and hilarious if you let it be. It was such a fascinating and ingenious game with character, personality and decision-making completely steering your adventure.

Also I love Kim Kitsuragi so much.....loml

A nearly flawless isometric RPG. The slow, intricate gameplay may turn away most, but those who endure will experience one of the best Detective stories, and games ever created.

Disco Elysium is a love letter to table top RPGs, perfectly adapting the mechanics into a digitized form, while painting a sprawling single player campaign. The story, characters, and thematics are masterful in execution and design.

Disco Elysium has become a quick favorite of mine. The world is so fascinating, the struggles of the cast so enduring. The themes it explores are in direct contrast to the lives of most people, which makes them feel even more hauntingly genuine.

no puedo enumerar la cantidad de veces en la que este juego cruzo la línea que cualquier obra de ficción quiere cruzar, la cantidad de veces que me vi reflejado en el charco de agua turbia y lodosa que es su protagonista, la cantidad de veces que me hizo quedarme inmóvil después de un dialogo o un pensamiento, simplemente mirando a través de mi monitor a un vacío infinito mientras escuchaba su música mezclándose con sonidos de una ciudad ruinosa, o las veces que deje de jugarlo para acostarme a llorar en posición fetal.
una vez que lo termine me di cuenta que por mas interesante sea la historia, la historia no es lo que importa, lo que importa es como el juego te habla y aún mas importa como te escucha, porque te escucha, sabe lo que pensas y lo que queres y a veces te lo da pero a veces es caprichoso, como la vida.
compensa no solo tus triunfos si no también tus fracasos, y te regala cosas hermosas, te regala risas y te regala angustia.

creo que no me voy a olvidar de Disco Elysium.
Disco Elysium va a quedarse por mucho tiempo, ahí, fermentandose en mi hipocampo hasta que Martinaise me vuelva a llamar para contarme otra historia.

gracias Disco Elysium.