Love the plot on the both micro and macro scale and the fact that this lets me roleplay as the misogynistic apolitical gamer I am is a true feat, not as big on the percent skill checks or seemingly random morale losses though. I also think there's some odd pacing barriers and tedium, with the shivers mural check being one of the worst. Zipping between the fishing village and the east side is also fairly annoying, and in general the game could benefit from a quick travel option for some key-locations. Also suffers a bit from the Planescape problem where people can just drone on and on about the most trivial bullshit or superfluous exposition.

All said however I do think this game approaches politics from a novel and interesting perspective, and is even more commendable for being closer to the political zeitgeist than whatever irrelevant WRPG/JRPG narrative is being deemed 'political' at the moment (see: Trails series). The relentless satire is funny, if a little repetitive, but is just a mask for the darker critique of convenient ideology at the heart of the story. The critique goes much farther than just a simple 'don't be dogmatic because reasons' platitude, and tries to demonstrate how being an ideologue disrupts your mental health, personality, relationships, etc.

In particular, the Fascist Thought seems pretty counterintitutive from a gameplay perspective, decreasing your morale every time you choose a fascist thought, but it's reflective of how mentally taxing being a fascist is, especially in a "thing" as blatantly left-wing and degenerate as Revanchol. The alcohol benefit of the Fascist thought seems like a cheap joke, but it's equally reflective of how the only way to maintain sanity as a Fascist is through intentional reality-disruption: i.e. constantly be drunk. The satire seemed too jokey at a first play-through but upon further inspection they're carefully considered, reflecting on what it's like to hold these beliefs both in the real-world and as a member of Revanchol. Politics is as important as it is banal, and is as universal as it is personal, and Disco Elysium really captures the contradictarory nature of all it.

However, if I had to give one substantial criticism, it's that the ending is too abru