Game reviews / Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium
2019 · PC · macOS · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 · Xbox One · Xbox Series X/S · Nintendo Switch · Stadia · Android · iOS · Role-playing · Adventure · Detective · Narrative
5 scored sources · 4 countries contributing scores
Review consensus
Disco Elysium is an unusually ambitious detective RPG built around conversation, skill checks, ideology, and the unstable inner life of its amnesiac protagonist. Critics consistently praise its literary writing, painterly world, sharply characterized cast, flexible role-playing, and willingness to make failure narratively rewarding. Its dense dialogue, limited action, occasional self-indulgent lore, and technical problems—especially in early console versions of The Final Cut—can frustrate players expecting conventional combat or a polished port. Nevertheless, the combination of investigative freedom, political complexity, dark comedy, emotional vulnerability, and inventive psychological systems makes it one of the most distinctive and acclaimed narrative RPGs of its generation.
Limited geographic coverage. Treat this score as an early indication.
Last researched: 2026-09-20
Pros
- Exceptional, literary writing blending comedy, politics, mystery, and emotional depth
- Highly flexible role-playing through skills, thoughts, dialogue, and ideology
- Distinctive painterly art direction and richly realized setting
- Failure and replayability produce substantially different experiences
Cons
- Very text-heavy and slow-paced, with little conventional combat
- Some lore and optional conversations can become long-winded
- Final Cut console editions suffered from bugs, progression blockers, and long loading times
Review sources
5 sources found across 4 countries. This is not exhaustive worldwide coverage.
- COGconnected · Canada · 92/100
- Vandal · Spain · 92/100
- PC Gamer · United Kingdom · 92/100
- Destructoid · United States · 85/100
- Game Informer · United States · 90/100