Disco Elysium is an incredible game with an amazing script, fun gameplay, and importantly, wonderful art. Written by the novelist Robert Kurvitz, it’s an absorbing role-playing game that is absolutely worth a try.
Disco Elysium’s art is part of what makes the game so unique. Here’s a brief exploration of the art of Disco Elysium, and what makes it so memorable.
Led By Aleksander Rostov
The art has a unique oil-painterly style, with the team (led by artist Aleksander Rostov) working hard to capture his signature style in every aspect of the game. The brushwork is bold and distinctive, from the logo to the characters to the backgrounds.
The process was long: according to an interview with MCV/Develop, even the act of creating the inventory icons took a year to develop, and they created an incredible 193 squares of 4k resolution environment textures for the game. Their art team was made up of painters and draftsmen, to begin with, rather than video game designers. This influenced the unique style of the game.
Concept Art
If you have time, it’s worth checking out the Disco Elysium concept art. You can see the incredible attention to detail, and it’s a fascinating glimpse into how it all came together. It’s interesting to watch how the characters developed over time.
The artists were inspired by fine art painters, including Jenny Saville and Mikhail Vrubel. It’s an unusual style for a videogame, but something about it works beautifully with the unusual story. It creates the illusion that you are playing a novel: reading the story and seeing it play out in front of you in vivid brushstrokes.
The landscapes are detailed, even in areas that you probably won’t pay much attention to. You can see this in the concept art for the fishing village:
The game looks even more beautiful at different times of the day. Wandering around the district of Martinaise at sunset has a totally different feeling than exploring in the daytime, with the setting sun casting long shadows over the landscape.
Disco Elysium Art
The characters of Disco Elysium are so beloved by fans that a huge amount of fan art has been uploaded to the internet, with a whole Discord channel dedicated to the game. You can find tons of fan art on Twitter, too, particularly of Kim, who seems to be universally adored. You can also find a lot of art based on fan-favourite Cuno.
There was some controversy around the release of Disco Elysium. There are some adult themes including sex, violence, and drug use, and this caused problems with the rating system in Australia, delaying the game’s release until 2021.
It’s a truly beautiful game, and well worth playing if you haven’t tried it yet. It’s a true example of how video games can be an art form, and it’s easy to pick up in 2022. I’d recommend it for RPG lovers, as well as gamers wanting to try something different. The witty dialogue and excellent voice acting, along with the distinctive character designs, make the world of Elysium feel vibrant and alive.
Megan is a freelance writer based in Somerset, England. She writes about videogames, books, and pop culture.
