Disco Elysium (2019) – 10⭐

Reaction Speed [Failed]

You’re late. So late. Everyone else solved the case, turned in their badge, handed in their report. You’re standing in the ruins of a video game cultural moment, piecing together what everyone already experienced. The game came out in 2019. It is now unacceptably later than that. But you made it. Eventually. That counts for something, doesn’t it?

Logic [Success]

This isn’t a game, is it? It’s a book. A visual novel. It’s dressed up like a detective RPG, with stats, skill checks, inventory slots. But still a novel. The core structure? Reading. Thinking. Rolling dice.
But, damn it, it works. It’s a philosophical spectacle of failure wrapped up in film-noir narration. It’s… magnificent.

Empathy [Success]

They’re all broken, aren’t they? The washed-up singer. The political fanatic. The abused cunt kid. Even the corpse. They feel real. In a fucked up sense because it’s a fucked up world. But you start to care for them. And you will cry, or come close. Because they’re not characters after all. They’re people. Beautiful, fucked up people, trying to make it. Just like you.

Inland Empire [Failed]

Something was supposed to happen here. Didn’t you say you like puzzles and the detective genre? You get sidetracked by bullshit. You pick up a plastic bag to return bottles for pennies. You beg like a bum. Thought you were Sherlock Holmes, smarter than everyone, opening doors others thought shut forever. Not in this game. Some doors you didn’t even know were there open, others open, but don’t open for you. Not this time. Maybe on a replay. It’s rather beautiful, isn’t it?

Half Light [Success]

Get out. They are watching you. Kim. The Dockworkers’ Union. The city. The necktie. Make the wrong move and everything falls apart. You will be judged. You will fail. Strike first. Or run.

Suggestion [Success]

This game? It’s got something, detective. Something smooth. It slides under your skin like a warm voice on a cold night. You might not get it at first but you want to like it. That’s okay. That’s normal. Because it’s unlike anything else. The writing? Electric. The choices? Hard. The failure? Inevitable. Get it. Play it. Lose yourself within it. Then try to pretend it didn’t change you.