Disco Elysium

This game, truly, is one of its kind. I would not call myself a gaming enthusiast normally, but not only is Disco Elysium an exception and sitting at the very first spot on my (admittedly, rather short) rating of all-time favorite games, I also consider it one of my favorite works of art in general and, I do not say this lightly, literature. The story itself is absolutely incredible. It is simultaneously brutally honest and earnestly hopeful; its clear-as-day love for humanity is not blind. It deals completely transparently but nonetheless deeply empathetically with issues like politics, loss and addiction. Despite having so many themes that induce kneejerk reactions in most people, it never tries to preach one correct conclusion to the questions raised; it instead makes you look inside yourself and analyse the *why* of your beliefs and ideas. You are given a world to explore, and you learn about it at the same pace as the protagonist. He is therefore very easy to connect to and emphasize with while still noticeably being his own person and not a great one at that. You are given many choices to rectify those faults, let them fester further, ignore them or never learn of them at all; not one of those choices is ever made to feel incorrect. You truly get to shape him, but he never feels like a hollow self-insert. The dialogue not only has a very unique and distinct format and voice, but is also very natural without at any point being awkward or irritating in an unintended way. The people all *feel* like people; I believe I've seen even the most irrelevant NPCs have dedicated fans. All the reading this game has you do never feels like a chore; the writing is witty and engaging despite the pacing being way on the slower side. The amazing voice acting further underlines that; while the voices are obviously recorded professionally, they don't feel out of place for the down-to-earth tone of their lines themselves. Speaking of sound, the soundtrack for this game is absolutely immaculate. I normally dislike videogame OSTs as a whole. In Disco Elysium, however, the music is not only a huge part of the atmosphere (and doing a good job being such), but every single track holds up as a standalone piece wonderfully and is 100% worth listening to even apart from the game. I routinely listen to these themes as I would to regular music. The artwork in the game is on another level, too. I actually returned to painting as a hobby after playing because the beauty of it inspired me. Every portrait is pleasant to look at and visually dissect. All in all, this is, in my opinion, something like "mandatory reading" for any ensouled person. Exemplary game that I hope will influence many more great creations to come. It's one of those works of art that could've only been produced by humans. HOWEVER, just as only humans could have created it, only humans could have then wrapped up the story of its development so disgracefully. All the original developers, artists and other minds behind the game were kicked out of ZA/UM fraudulently by corporate scum, the game itself stolen and tarnished by their greed. Not only that, but they now use its name to advertise a ripoff game that tries to very poorly mimic its spirit (and fails because the soul was kicked out with those who birthed it). When you buy this game on Steam, the actual creators behind Disco Elysium don't see a dime of the revenue. It all goes to those shady investors who stole it. While I completely recommend this game and insist that everyone should experience it at least once, what I absolutely cannot recommend is buying it here like I made the mistake of doing before I learned of this story. The people hiding behind the name ZA/UM now do not deserve your money. Please either acquire the game elsewhere, or at least don't get it at full price. It's truly a shame these circumstances force me to leave a negative review. I adore this game with all my heart and, truth be told, it changed my life. Still, I cannot support these evil thieves, and I hope this review convinces others not to, either.