It took me about forty hours to complete a single, thorough playthrough of Disco Elysium, but that was more than enough for it to leave a phenomenally lasting mark on me. Simply put: it's one of the greatest games I've ever played. Others have, quite rightly, testified to its immense quality in writing, gameplay and the depth with which both of these systems intertwine. It's a fine, sophisticated RPG that is challenging, but with an intention that pushes you into the struggle the game wants you to have, to be at its greatest power. It wants to mire you in the protagonist's circumstance - where your choices, as a player, really matter (risks in dialogue choices and actions and what you choose to invest in). All of it makes sense and that makes the experience all the more memorable and impactful.

When times have been hard, or I've let my mind wander to the "could have been", I've returned to this game and its discussion of ideals and contradictions, both in our personal lives and in clashing ideologies. It reminds me that life is deeply complicated and even a righteous struggle for change, in the world or in ourselves, is not one earned easily or without struggle. But it's up to us to try our best and face up to our sense of self to begin any kind of meaningful development - whether that's a drunken detective thumbing over his past failures or myself, reflecting on the choices I've made and where it led me today, writing this review. This game gave me an easier path to healing and growth, lodging itself in a space very few pieces of art have ever gone - a rumbling in my soul that reminds me that I'm not alone in this and neither are you.

Listen to that Volition inside of you. Be nice to Kim (or not). Something beautiful is going to happen.

It took me about forty hours to complete a single, thorough playthrough of Disco Elysium, but that was more than enough for it to leave a phenomenally lasting mark on me. Simply put: it's one of the greatest games I've ever played. Others have, quite rightly, testified to its immense quality in writing, gameplay and the depth with which both of these systems intertwine. It's a fine, sophisticated RPG that is challenging, but with an intention that pushes you into the struggle the game wants you to have, to be at its greatest power. It wants to mire you in the protagonist's circumstance - where your choices, as a player, really matter (risks in dialogue choices and actions and what you choose to invest in). All of it makes sense and that makes the experience all the more memorable and impactful. When times have been hard, or I've let my mind wander to the "could have been", I've returned to this game and its discussion of ideals and contradictions, both in our personal lives and in clashing ideologies. It reminds me that life is deeply complicated and even a righteous struggle for change, in the world or in ourselves, is not one earned easily or without struggle. But it's up to us to try our best and face up to our sense of self to begin any kind of meaningful development - whether that's a drunken detective thumbing over his past failures or myself, reflecting on the choices I've made and where it led me today, writing this review. This game gave me an easier path to healing and growth, lodging itself in a space very few pieces of art have ever gone - a rumbling in my soul that reminds me that I'm not alone in this and neither are you. Listen to that Volition inside of you. Be nice to Kim (or not). Something beautiful is going to happen.