Many consider the 2019 RPG Disco Elysium to be underrated, especially with how much praise the game has received for its characters, writing, narrative and gameplay among both fans and critics. It's a narrative-focused indie RPG that blends the genre with investigative elements. With a 91 on Metacritic and the site's "Must Play" award, as well as several 10/10 reviews across the board, Disco Elysium is a great game that doesn't get talked about as much as it should.
Those who haven't checked it out yet are in luck, though, thanks to the release of Disco Elysium - The Final Cut. Not only does The Final Cut add tons of new content for those who already own the game on PC, but it finally brings Disco Elysium to PlayStation and Stadia, with Xbox and Nintendo Switch ports planned for later this year. This makes now the perfect time o check out Disco Elysium's dark and gritty narrative that feels straight out of a detective show. Here's what The Final Cut adds to the already-massive RPG.
Disco Elysium boasts an open world gives players a surprising amount of freedom, though the game's main premise has them fill the role of a murder-solving detective simply known as "The Cop" in the city of Revachol. Players have a variety of skills that they can level via skill trees to customize their character. This freedom of choice is less about having a massive amount of options and more about how every choice a player makes in Disco Elysium will benefit them in some way throughout the game.
Development team ZA/UM chose to expand on the narrative aspect of the game, with the most significant addition in The Final Cut being full voice acting for every single character in the game. Critics say that this has gone a long way in helping the town of Revachol feel much more alive. The voice acting also highlights the game's writing and narrative, putting the strongest aspects of Disco Elysium front and center.
A new set of quests has also been added to the game called "political vision" quests. The player character's political alignment was already a significant theme in the base game, and these side-quests serve as a deeper exploration of the game's existing political theme, which critics have praised for being naturally woven into the Disco Elysium experience.
The game's theme of failure is also further explored through the addition of a hardcore mode. This may seem like an odd choice, as traditional RPG combat is fairly non-existent in Disco Elysium. However, this serves as a way to emphasize the finality of the player's choices. It also forces players to think about how many of their mistakes The Cop could reasonably make in-universe with others thinking they are in-character.
Still, players shouldn't expect Disco Elysium's hardcore mode to be too difficult, as the game is already a bit on the easier side. Hardcore mode instead focuses on putting the player into a similar mindset as The Cop. Any decision they make could be their last, so it's incredibly important to approach a problem or investigation from more than one angle. Tunnel vision will end a run incredibly quickly.
The rest of The Final Cut's additions are mostly technical tweaks or inclusions. Ultra widescreen monitors are now supported, there are more languages to improve the game's accessibility and the game can now be played with a controller on PC. Players can also pick up the game's full soundtrack as a standalone release. Returning players may also notice new animations, characters, locations, music and some general gameplay improvements that cement Disco Elysium - The Final Cut as a must-play RPG.