Be open-eyed . I be intimate you .
I have never been a bull . I have never experienced the nuisance of a divorce . I have not lost my memory . I am not Harry DuBois .
I , Britlee Kuhn , have almost nothing in common with Disco Elysium ’s protagonist , Harry DuBois . And yet , I hurt when he wound . When the apricot - scented spook of his x - something haunts him in his dream , my heart wrenches . At the thwarted glance of his detective partner , I , too , wince . Despite our disparate lives , there is one affair that connects us , one point that justify the pain I find on his behalf : we are both human .
Disco Elysium learn me a floor of empathy that is punishing to explain . Nobody is blindly demonize in the game ’s narrative , even those who have done horrible thing . Unlike many traditional games , there are no villains in Disco Elysium . There are only broken the great unwashed . hurt people . People who are running for their lives from a past tense that seek to swallow them whole . Nobody is beyond redemption in Disco Elysium , which is good news for Harry , because if repurchase was attain by good deeds , Harry would be the first in Hell .
It ’s hard to amplify Harry ’s brokenness . He is an alcoholic man plagued by drug addiction , who wakes up in the beat - end town of Martinaise . He is ill-famed in the region of Revachol for waving around a load up throttle and gesturing about taking his own life-time . He is not doing well .
And yet , Disco Elysium does n’t spell Harry off as a lost cause . It does n’t go out him to rot in his hotel room of ego - destruction , souse in intoxicant and risky decisions . It does n’t empty him , claim that he ' made his choice ' and deserves his condemnation . As the participant , neither do you . or else , you attach to Harry in the depths of his desperation , pulling him out of his pool of self - hate .
This extended hand of empathy is not only offered to Harry ; it is universal . The vulgar group of vigilantes that threaten Harry are give the hazard to speak , to explain their motif with an agreement of reciprocal respect . The womanhood who vandalize Martinaise property is allowed to state her reason for creating illegal art . Everyone is worth listening to , even if they have different ideologies .
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This philosophy changed the agency I mean about people . While there may be a luck of barriers that prevent me from understanding others , such as bringing up , belief , and stereotypes I erroneously range on them , every person I meet is human . Before they are an historic period , a work position , or a member of a community of interests , they are human . Even if we ca n’t agree on anything else , we can connect via the in the buff emotions that we all feel .
Since Disco Elysium relates to Harry on a basis of who he is , instead of what he has done , he can change into a good soul . Throughout the game , Harry improves his relationship with others and becomes someone who is not delimitate by his mistakes . He forges a friendship with his detective pardner Kim Kitsuragi , who once felt like a baby-sitter , but now feels like an actual supporter . By the end of the secret plan , you know Kim has your back . you may rely on him .
The friendship between Kim and Harry is so hopeful . It is concrete proof that Harry is grow and mature , as he ’s able to sustain a peer family relationship . There are little second that show this friendship , like a subtle grinning that only Harry can see , or how Kim nurses him back to health when he ’s been wounded . It ’s a pure friendly relationship , one that does n’t have to exist , but does .
In all honesty , I believe it ’s one of the rationality why Harry stays sane . After nail Disco Elysium and achieving the " good ending , " I ’ve call up about doing a playthrough where I do the exact opposite . In that playthrough , I would create chaos and destruction wherever I go , claiming that " ferocity is a question , and the result is yes ! " The collocation is tempting .
And yet , I do n’t think I could do it . I authentically do n’t think I could betray the part I ’ve carefully devise a bond with . I ’ve take the time to get to know the case , learning that Kim hates pinball but is eerily good at it , Cuno is a merchandise of his home life , and Garte is just afraid of drop off the establishment he know . They are more than one - dimensional pawn used to progress the story ; they are mass . I do n’t desire to offend these multitude . They ’ve suffered enough .
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I do n’t acknowledge which member of ZA / UM I need to personally thank , but the characters are so well - written I would consider you if you told me they were real . I ’ve never get word this type of writing before , the kind that commute you . That makes you kind . I feel more assailable to approaching conflicts with empathy , attempt to read why people do the thing they do . Disco Elysium helped me gain that people are perplexing , but they are actual . Even the regretful people believe they are correct .
After a game like Disco Elysium , I feel slightly empty . It feels like the intact game was a personal , thoughtful lesson and now it ’s over . But , I believe that ’s all right . I ’ve been aid Harry endure his own struggles , and make friends , and resolve conflict with mutual regard . I ’ve aid him hold out .
Now , it ’s my turn .
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