One talented artist has recreated the detective RPG adventure Disco Elysium as an '80s point and click adventure game, demaking its main characters with pixelated graphics and referencing a comical moment from the game. Demake projects and retro-inspired games have become exceedingly popular over the years, in part thanks to advances in indie game development tech. From games like FromSoftware's Bloodborne being remade as a PS1 title to the comeback of first-person shooters from the 1990s, the nostalgia of older game styles appears to have created a new gaming trend that continues to garner both players and developers.
Although it launched in Early Access, Disco Elysium quickly became a cult classic and universally favored as one of the best RPGs in the past decade. Featuring TTRPG elements and no combat in the traditional sense, the game relies on dialogue-heavy gameplay mechanics and exploration, relying on players to make use of skill checks, dialogue trees, and an open world with numerous choices as players control a detective who is put in charge of solving a murder case but suffers a severe case of amnesia. Following its release, Disco Elysium received numerous awards, including four awards at The Game Awards 2019, and currently stands as one of the highest-rated games of 2021.
As seen on Twitter, artist Ben Chandler recreated Disco Elysium as an '80s point and click adventure game, giving fans a glimpse at the title's atmosphere and main characters Harrier Du Bois and Kim Kitsuragi in pixelated graphics. The fascinating artwork captures a comical scene in the game where players can interact with a mailbox using the Rhetoric skill. After prompting the interaction, players can either pet or kick the mailbox, with the game comically notifying players based on their decision. While appearing to look straight from the 80s, the demake's style and atmosphere perfectly suits the title, as Disco Elysium can easily be compared to point and click games, which were highly popular during the fourth generation of video game consoles and made a breakthrough during the same era.
Despite leaving Early Access and fully releasing in 2021 with The Final Cut edition, Disco Elysium continues to receive support from its developers. A recent new update called Jamais Vu brought new content to the game. The update features a new mysterious case that players are tasked to solve by dissecting cryptic clues left on a social media post to completely resolve its mystery. More updates are expected, as the studio continues to release patches to fix the title's numerous issues and more content could be on the way in the future.
Becoming a nostalgic trend amongst the indie community, demakes continue to help reimagine popular titles as classics for gamers who are itching for the return of retro graphics. Disco Elysium is but one of many modern titles that have received a reimagining like this, and more are expected in the future, as the wistfulness for retro titles continues.
Disco Elysium is available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and PC.
Source: Ben Chandler/Twitter