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Community rescues Disco Elysium creator's forgotten literary masterpiece [1]

['Grant St. Clair']

Date: 2025-09-03

It seems like there are more upcoming Disco Elysium spiritual successors out there than there are words in Disco Elysium itself, to say nothing of what the soulless suits now running developer ZA/UM are doing to run the IP into the ground. With the original developer team scattered to the four winds and the sequel idea they left behind tossed out, it's seeming more and more like the dense, razor-sharp detective RPG might just have been lightning in a bottle… but that doesn't mean you have to stop existing in its world.

The world of Elysium that serves as the backdrop for the game's intricate story began long before Disco Elysium or ZA/UM itself existed, beginning as a custom tabletop gaming setting for mastermind Robert Kurvitz and his friends before snowballing its way into the greatest RPG ever written. While those sessions are lost to time, Kurvitz' novel 'Sacred and Terrible Air', the first artistic work set in Elysium, has not been. Although the book was released exclusively in Estonian and plans to translate it officially in the wake of Disco Elysium's success fell through, a community translation has made this chapter in the story accessible to fans the world over for the first time.

The book takes place about twenty years after the events of the game despite being written first, and serves as an introduction to the richly detailed world for people who aren't part of ZA/UM. It's a nonlinear story focused on three school friends investigating a disappearance… and saying any more would spoil it, but if you liked Disco Elysium you already know you'll love this. Plus, it's probably a better use of your time than playing ZA/UM's actual next project.

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/09/03/community-rescues-disco-elysium-creators-forgotten-literary-masterpiece.html

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