Disco Elysium Reviews
An irresponsibly deep detective RPG that lets you be any kind of detective you want. Even a bad one.
Disco Elysium is a deep, sharply written, unique blend of noir-detective fiction and traditional pen-and-paper RPGs.
A verbose and rich psychological roleplaying game that doesn't offer enough choice in the role you play.
A fiercely original take on traditional computer role-playing games that often seems unrefined and self-indulgent but is still a welcome shake-up of genre norms.
The mystery has a satisfying payoff, but the bigger draw is navigating the main character's competing thoughts and weighing what kind of person you want him to be
Disco Elysium is a detective RPG that sets a new standard for storytelling.
Disco Elysium shines most when it gets weird. I was once pretending to be a psychic medium to get a woman to let me look through her supposedly haunted bookstore for a huge novelty polar bear freezer I could use to hide a very dead human body. I knew there were probably more reasonable options for places to store a corpse, but where's the fun in keeping it somewhere official and boring? This is what my character thought was best, and I was there for the ride.
There’s unexpected joy in the little moments of Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium wants to get you in touch with the voices in your head. This detective RPG calls back to the old Infinity Engine games like Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate, but it put a unique spin on everything. With a beautiful oil painting aesthetic, it also features a system that treats your skill like additional party members, each with their own opinions on your actions. Ultimately, every lengthy run-though of Disco Elysium is about the consequences of your choices and actions, adding up to some fantastic stories. A great, surprising entry into RPG canon.
The heart and soul of Disco Elysium is stumbling through success, which has a certain charm to it. Sometimes that road is bumpy and restricted, but the fluff behind those bumps is at least interesting.
If you’re someone who doesn’t “like to read” or wants a lot of action in their games, Disco Elysium might not be the best pick. It does an excellent job of bridging the worlds of literature and gaming, and offers a unique blend on the venerable CRPG formula.
It’s not very often that a game of this calibre comes along. Disco Elysium is mad with psychedelic energy, unabashedly dramatic, and dangerously well-written.
An excellent role-playing game that will delight lovers of the genre but does not serve as an entrance for new players.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Disco Elysium is an intelligent game with lots to say, but struggles with its tone while saying it.
Disco Elysium is perhaps one of the best role-playing games of all time, and I don't say that lightly. I haven't played a game that has been able to so masterfully flex to my actions as well as ZA/UM's freshman outing. The writing is sharp, the characters genuine, and the choices possess true stakes.
A masterpiece, but flawed, and proof positive that if ZA/UM can do flawed masterpiece for their first outing, they might already be chipping away the flaws in time for their next.
Disco Elysium is a difficult game to describe, but it's easy to recommend. One of the most inventive games in recent memory, it's an often cynical, mean-spirited RPG that's nonetheless full of beauty and humanity. While its obsession with the nastier parts of the human psyche will definitely turn some people off, the depth of its story and systems reward a deep dive into the mire, as do its beautiful art and writing.
It's impossible not to fall for Disco Elysium, from its intriguing murder detective work to the world it depicts, not to mention the voices inside your own head. It's an experience that could easily make the top of some Game of Year lists and for good reason.
If you love RPGs, reading or fancy something different - and I mean really damn different - then track down Disco Elysium.
The world is not our own, but the fantasy of it allows the game to dig really deep, and I considered political views I hadn’t had to confront in years.