Disco Elysium is one of the most fleshed out RPGs currently available on the market. Though much of the game’s world, culture, and politics are shrouded in mystery for a large portion of the game, as the world of Elysium slowly begins to unravel, it becomes mind-bendingly deep. That’s in part due to the fact that the development team behind the game started as a D&D group and slowly built their world into what is now Disco Elysium. Additionally, the lead designer, Robert Kurvitz’s, has also written an Estonian novel set in Disco Elysium’s world.
It’s no small wonder that the world of Disco Elysium is so incredibly rich, not only in culture but in its physical geography. The team behind the game had practically lived in this world for more than a decade when they apparently began building the world inside their own personal D&D campaign. From then on, they crew would slowly but surely build out the world of Elysium by crafting music, artwork, and expansions surrounding their dense new universe. It was from 2009 on that ZA/UM studio was formed and Disco Elysium as a video game began to take shape.
It’s no surprise that many outlets have listed Disco Elysium as having one of the best stories of 2019, as it really does stand with many of the greats. However, while the culture and politics of Disco Elysium are incredibly rich, the actual geography of Elysium itself is just as complex. So, let’s focus mostly on the physical geography of Elysium for now, as it is quite a lot to tackle on its own. NOTE: This article contains SPOILERS for Disco Elysium.
Elysium
The first thing to focus on when talking about Disco Elysium’s world is the actual world itself: Elysium. As stated before, not much is revealed about the world of Disco Elysium until later in the story, after talking to various NPCs and completing a quest to get a lowdown on reality by talking to a rich company representative named Joyce. Speaking to Joyce is one of the best ways to get a general idea of the world of Elysium, and this can be done fairly early on by talking to Lena in the Whirling-in-Rags first.
Joyce reveals that not much is actually known about the actual physicality of Elysium, as space travel is still somewhat limited and any pictures taken come out blurry. However, humanity has gleaned that Elysium is not actually a sphere, but something more akin to a disc, meaning that Disco Elysium essentially takes place on a flat earth surrounded by a gray corona – or glow – of light. If that weren’t shocking enough, Joyce also reveals that Elysium is not made up of one large landmass separated by ocean – like our Earth – but is made up of secluded land masses separated by vast stretches of literal nothingness called the Pale.
The Pale is a mind-boggling revelation that will be discussed later, but so far humanity has discovered around seven Isola – or isolated landmasses. While humanity does not fully and succinctly know the layout of Elysium, it is mentioned during the game that it probably was never a sphere, or if it was it fractured a very long time ago.
Isolas
Isolas are the main landmasses of Disco Elysium and humanity is still discovering them up to recent history. In fact, of the seven known isolas in the world one of them was discovered in the last four centuries in the game’s lore. In the lore, the name isola comes from the Mundi word – another major isola – for isolation. They are isolated because every isola is surrounded on all sides by the Pale.
There are seven known isolas in Elysium: Mundi, the oldest; Seol, an isolationist state; Samara, a communist state; Graad, the origin of scientific communism and the game’s revolution; and Katle, Iilmaraa, and Insulinde, which is the isola where Disco Elysium takes place. Though some isolas are given more background then others – like Mundi, Graad, Samaara and Seol – each contribute at least some amount to Disco Elysium’s lore.
Of the seven isola, it is important to mention a select few. Mundi is thought to be the original or ‘first’ isola, with Mundi meaning ‘The World’ in the isola’s native language. It is the largest landmass and houses many powerful nations and cities. Graad is north-east to the Insulinde and housed the leader of the Revolution of Graad, Kras Mazov. He would go on to father scientific communism in the game’s lore. Seol is west of the Insulinde and is a protectionist and isolationist state. A handful of Disco Elysium’s NPCs are racist to those of Seolite descent, like the main character Harry’s partner Kim Kitsuragi who is actually a native to Revachol.
Insulinde
Finally, the isola that Disco Elysium takes place on is called the Insulinde. The Insulinde is an oceanic isola that houses the largest body of water on all of Elysium. There are many archipelagos and islands scattered around the Insulinde, but at its heart sits an archipelago that faces the sea, being Le Caillou. Le Caillou is the greater of the two main islands, which contains Revachol, and is the fourth largest land mass on all of Elysium. The islands surrounding it are called the Semenese Islands.
Revachol
Revachol is the disgraced former capital of the world that sits on Le Caillou. Revachol itself is currently divided into different zones of governmental control after the failed revolution that took place half a century before the events of the game. Revachol is a city of contrast. To the east of the main river monetarily successful organizations uphold stability, while to the west the population lives in absolute squalor – stricken with poverty and drugs.
Revachol itself was founded about 380 years before the events of the game, during the early colonization of the Insulinde isola in what is called the Dolorian Century. The Dolorian Century was a golden age of Elysium, named after one of the most famous religious figures, or Innossences, Dolores Dei. The Insulinde is the most recent isola to be discovered. Again, it can't be understated how in-depth this indie game's cultural lore is.
One of the most prominent districts of Revachol is called Jamrock, which is brought up constantly throughout the game’s narrative. Jamrock is comprised of six quarters: Pox, Villalobos, Central Jamrock, Grand-Couron, Old South, and the Valley of the Dogs. It is south of Martinaise, the main setting of Disco Elysium, and houses Precinct 41 which Harry is from. Precinct 41 and Precinct 57 – which Kim Kitsuragi is from – are the most famous precincts of the Revachol Citizens Militia and have a strong rivalry. Unfortunately, while Harry is touted as one of the most capable detectives of Precinct 41, he is also known as the alcoholic cop in his Precinct.
Martinaise
Finally, there is Martinaise – the main city that Disco Elysium takes place in. Martinaise is a very small district tucked away near the Industrial Harbour. There is no real law or system of order in Martinaise, after the failed Revolution swept through and decimated the city. The only real order in the town comes from the Workers Union, run by two corrupt brothers.
Martinaise features a failing commercial district with various buildings, like the Whirling-in-Rags Inn, the bookstore, and a few apartment complexes. Notably, Martinaise is where some of the best music of the game’s incredible soundtrack shows up. Then, there’s the Dock Workers Union, which houses some of the game’s prime suspects and NPCs. The middle of Martinaise features a roundabout filled with vehicles, as a worker’s strike has broken out and blocked the main exit out of the city. In the center of the roundabout sits a statue of one of Revachol’s corrupt leaders, Filippe III.
To the west of Martinaise sits a run down fishing village, where much of the game’s second half takes place. The fishing village is in a much, much worse state than Martinaise. A majority of the male population of the village is either dead or vagrant while the remaining population lives in shacks and squalor. To the north of the fishing village sits a small island shrouded in mystery for most of the game.
The Pale
Lastly, there is the Pale. Undoubtedly the most mysterious aspect of Disco Elysium and one of its most shocking reveals. The Pale is separative tissue of absolute nothingness that covers Elysium and is by far the largest aspect of the world’s geography. The Pale outnumbers the isolas coverage of Elysium 2-to-1. To be more precise, the Pale covers a terrifying 72 percent of Elysium.
The Pale is near indescribable, as it is a colorless, odorless, mist of sorts. A veil that covers much of the world. The Pale swallows the matter it borders. In fact, the Pale is believed to suspend the laws of physics, including the physical and intangible. Meaning numbers, language, and thought all cease normal function when one enters the pale. In the game’s lore, scientists who study the Pale – which is called Entroponetics – once thought the Pale to be impenetrable but eventually developed methods – albeit very dangerous – to traverse the Pale.
If that wasn’t terrifying enough, it has been discovered that the Pale is expanding at unknown rate. Meaning eventually, the Pale will swallow all of Elysium. While the Pale has always been thought to border the Isolas, a bone-chilling revelation in one of the game’s side quests reveals that there is actually a small fraction of the Pale originating and slowly expanding inside Martinaise. It is not an exaggeration to say that Elysium is quite literally a doomed world.
It can be a lot to try and take in, the reality of Disco Elysium’s world, as it definitively complex. While Disco Elysium is admittedly a difficult game to break into and internalize not only in its world and culture, but in its actual gameplay systems too, it is well worth the effort it takes. Should readers have missed this game in 2019, now is the perfect time to jump into Disco Elysium.
Disco Elysium is out now for PC, and will be released for Xbox One and PS4 in 2020.