Developer: ZA/UM
Publisher: ZA/UM. Humble bundle
Platform: PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia
Tested on: PC
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut – Review
When Disco Elysium came out it got overwhelmingly positive reviews. Rightly so, you might say. The story, based on a written table-top RPG, took many people down with it. Down to the wonderful madness that Disco Elysium has to offer. That being said, there’s always something to improve. The developers just figured they still didn’t make that game that they wanted to make. This resulted in improving the graphics, adding new quests, and adding voice-overs for all characters in the game. Ladies and gentlemen: Here is Disco Elysium – The Final Cut.
Story
Disco Elysium follows a rugged detective who wakes up in a trashed hotel room with a weird case of amnesia, a severe hangover, and possibly a couple of undiagnosed mental issues. Apparently, he stayed in the hotel where a hanging took place in the garden. The body is still there, and he quickly meets up with his designated partner to do some investigating in the post-apocalyptic-ish war-torn city of Revachol. The detective is constantly communicating with the people around him, the detailed surroundings, and with multiple parts of his inner being. His feelings, his sensations, they all have something to say in the best way possible.
The strong suit of Disco Elysium is that it’s insanely well-written, with unexpected funny moments while communicating with anything. The game is able to take you by surprise, grab you by your throat, and drag you down a rabbit hole. It’s full of wonderous moments to explore, people to piss off, and conversations only the best writer could create. The game might flow a bit slower than expected in terms of “main story” progression, but that’s exactly what’s great about it all: You don’t get at all what you would expect. This is a different world with many unique, unpredictable qualities.
Graphics
Everything you see feels like a painted piece. The stylized artistic qualities of the models in the world really work in the game’s favor. Especially, because often, the game tends to get slightly surreal. This is expressed in occasional absurd events, but also by i.e. making your portrait a vague shade-like person, as you obviously don’t really remember who you are. These types of artistic influences reflect on the game’s story directly, which makes them more than “just” art. It’s all well crafted and it speaks to your imagination constantly. Aside from sometimes being unsure where you can walk, the graphics and animations are smooth while still keeping their mysterious side. There is simply a lot to see in Revachol, and it’s a treat.
Sound
Aside from the great retro melancholic to depressing music that’s made by British Sea Power, the game now also has voice-overs for all characters. This probably is the very best thing that Disco Elysium has done to create Disco Elysium – The Final Cut. From delicate French-English accents of the inhabitants of Revachol to the raw power of the voiced parts of your body and mind that are talking to you, the quality is impressive. Each part of the overall voice-acting really adds something to this game because it’s done with expressive qualities and soul.
Gameplay
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut plays like an RPG, following some classic tabletop RPG rules. You got a set of.. peculiar skills as a mentally exhausted, experienced detective. Where in a normal tabletop RPG you would have stats such as strength, stamina, or constitution, Disco Elysium offers you rhetorics, conceptualization, and a bunch of other artistic meta approaches to character stats. You still use these as in any other RPG though. Once you get in a situation where any form of perception or engagement might require a roll of the dice, you can often choose to do so. Other checks are done automatically if your stats allow it. These automated checks are often granting you extra background information or allow you to see things from a different point of view.
While Disco Elysium is weird and satisfying in its own unique RPG ways, exploring, talking, and choosing chat options is basically all there is to do. It’s the way how these things are written and the number of choices you get to make that are the real fun though. Is your inner self screaming out to sing some sad karaoke? Bam. You got yourself a new quest buddy. Are you a smoker or not? Are you going to keep drinking like the detective you are? Do you want to better your life or did you accept the fate that this is simply who you are?
The strength of this game lies not in specially crafted combat mechanics, but it lies in the way combat is described. It lies not in the tons of availabilities to customize your character by i.e. going to a blacksmith, but in the original approach to still utilize certain pieces of clothing and gear in the same traditional fashion. Rubber gloves might be handy for dealing with dead bodies, but they also might do something to the complex inner system of your detective’s deep thoughts in a surreal world. Yes, the real strength of Disco Elysium is, in multiple ways, the writing. It starts in the elaborate and original story, and it ends seeping through in the mechanics of the game. It’s well noticeable that this could be a game purely played with nothing but pen, paper, and your imagination, and it would still be a great experience.
Conclusion
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut mainly adds full voice-overs to an already amazing game in our opinion, and it’s great. Disco Elysium really excels in writing, and the voice-overs just enhance this entire experience. The complete package offers you a unique experience that should be in any RPG-lovers’ library of games. It’s an original take on the genre, where story reigns supreme, and not solely the mechanics.
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut - Review,
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