Tabletop roleplaying games don’t always refer to themselves as games. It's a bit of challenge given what the G stands for in RPG, but it makes sense in a way. When all the players sit around the table with Games Master at the helm, it isn’t exactly about winning. It's about telling stories. Cooperative storytelling experiences are some of the most satisfying and fascinating experiences you can have, and Disco Elysium might the first video game that captures that same feeling.

In Disco Elysium, you are a detective trying to resolve a murder. From the looks of things, you’ve solved it once, got blackout drunk and destroyed all your deductions. Bravo! But while you’re doing all these things that look and sound like your typical top-down RPG, like dialogue branches, ability checks, and searching the environment, the experience itself is quite different. You never exactly feel like you’re competing against the computer. Even when NPCs are purposely withholding evidence, and you know it, it all adds to the story. Instead, it feels like you’re working with the game to tell a story.