The Top 10 Games Of 2021 - Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Put on your best Sherlock Holmes impression for Disco Elysium: The Final Cut. We're sure most of you have heard of - or played - ZA/UM's 2019 RPG, but with a massive expansion in 2021, it's earned its place on the Top 10 games of the year.
Even though topping Best Game lists for multiple years in a row is no mean feat, Disco Elysium does it with ease. Given that author Robert Kurvitz and his writers fleshed out a 6,000-year history for Elysium, is it any surprise there's a rich tapestry luring you in?
Disco Inferno
Click to enlargeWith its oil painting art style, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut reintroduces us to Harry Du Bois and his questionable taste in ties. Like the boozy detectives of yesteryear, Disco Elysium lets us explore the realm of Elysium and its war-torn factions.
A seemingly simple case of a body being hanged from a tree soon unravels into a complex web of political unions and Gangs of New York-inspired unions. You can choose whether to buff Harry's intellect or physical prowess, but each comes with their pros and cons.
Like any good RPG, the various skill trees and conversation paths let you pick whether you're the world's best detective or just another corrupt copper trying to pull a fast one. Either way, there's something tragic about Du Bois and the general drabness of the city of Revachol. How about four Political Vision Quests that were originally cut giving a whole new reason to return?
If you already owned Disco Elysium on PC and thought you'd seen all there was to see from Harry's macabre murder mystery, the added bonus of a free console upgrade was a welcome present in 2021. The adored game is also sure to continue its success in 2022 thanks to a physical release on the Switch to accompany the digital port.
The Final Round
Click to enlargeThe Final Cut added more than we care to count, with fully realised voice performances for every character being a big pull. Considering the colourful cast of rogues was a highlight in itself, it's great to see the likes of Cuno and Annette find another level of depth. For those that didn't have voice actors first time around, they sound almost exactly as we'd imagine them.
If political leanings were a large part of the OG, this was only expanded on in The Final Cut. Although one of the few critiques had been that these were never properly explored in 2019, that's not the case this time around. Disco Elysium was never a game about combat, and thankfully, The Final Cut doesn't change that.
Unlike so many companies that might outsource these 1.2 million words, ZA/UM kept the voice work in-house to keep the general feel of Disco Elysium's already well-rounded character work. Still, the addition of jazzy musician Lenval Brown's deep bass only accentuates those noir detective vibes.
The best bit is, The Final Cut was based on the feedback of players, meaning it was already improving on what was already great, without wasting time on unwanted DLCs and cosmetic perks. All of it combines to make Revachol almost an NPC in itself.
In case you weren't sold, The Final Cut elevates the already stellar Disco Elysium to nearly unparalleled highs - with some saying it's the best immersive sim since Dishonoured 2. High praise indeed.
