Breaking Harry DuBois

“The thing about Disco Elysium is that it is a game about flaws. Across all the possible (intended) versions of Harry DuBois that exist, there will be things he’s capable of and things he can’t do; paths opened where others become inaccessible.”

“Except… wouldn’t it be funny if we made Harry a… I don’t know… some kind of super-cop?”

“what would happen if you maxed out all of Harry DuBois’s stats?”

“So much of the early game in Disco Elysium hinges on the fact that Harry is disoriented and pathetic. Failure is the point here.”

“I didn’t vomit when approaching the dead mercenary; I shot the buckle of his industrial-strength noose and watched the body fall before lunchtime. I punched Measurehead and did a flying spin-kick with grace to finish him off. I talked to Cuno and managed to get him to crack in front of Cunoesse almost immediately. I bonded with the smoking lorry driver. I stared Evrart Claire down. I met the reality-bending billionaire and got him to give me 10 reàl. Everywhere I went, doors opened for me. I had over 20 health and 20 morale; I was invincible. And all the while, I was experiencing a new kind of extrasensory hell.”

“I was having a constant rolling argument with myself, with the various skills under intellect, physique, psyche and motorics all chiming in to quip about shit happening around us, getting into little tiffs, and essentially acting as Harry’s own demonic 24/7 twitch stream commentators.”

“All I managed to do was change the way that crisis manifested. I couldn’t beat time, or other people’s impressions of me, or the way the narrative shook out.”

“At its core, Disco Elysium is indifferent to Harry. It is focused more on Martenaise. You can’t optimize your way into shifting that focus.”