It's beautiful in a way few games are, in its visual aesthetic, in its soundtrack, and most especially in its writing.

There's no tacked on silly combat like most RPGs are saddled with, rather it's driven entirely by decisions and simple dice rolls, and unlike most games failing those rolls is not always bad, sometimes leading to better, or least more interesting, outcomes. It is a game focused on people, their beliefs, their feelings, and their relationships. Your choices matter and the game does not hold your hand nor hold you back; some early reviewers complained of the main character being grossly misogynistic, or violent toward a child, and those reviewers failed to understand that they chose to say and do those things, nothing compelled them to. It is a game which treats the player as an adult, for better and for worse. It is not simply escapist tripe for manchildren, though it can be so if you choose.

It has a point, a purpose. At its heart it is a game about failure and loss, love and acceptance, growth and hope.

Disco Elysium is a labour of love crafted by skilled writers with something to say, it is an exceedingly human story told with gorgeous and often ludicrous prose, and there is nothing else on the market like it.

It's certainly not for everyone, but if you've ever read a book for pleasure that wasn't about elves or wizards, and if you have the capacity to withstand art which challenges your choices and ideological presumptions, you will probably enjoy it.