In "Disco Elysium," side quests are not just elements that fill the game world; they are key to understanding the social fabric of Revachol. The game integrates philosophy, dark humor, and explorations of humanity through dozens of meticulously designed side quests, allowing players to delve into every corner of this dilapidated city while investigating the main murder case. This issue will comprehensively analyze the side quests in the game, helping players, as they play the role of an alcoholic detective, not to miss any intriguing side story.
The side quests in Disco Elysium each have their unique characteristics. Some can be completed with simple dialogue, while others require days of investigation and complex decision-making. Below, we will deeply analyze a few representative side quests, revealing their triggering conditions, key points, and how different resolution paths affect the narrative, helping players find their investigative direction in the intricate society of Revachol.
Church Mural Restoration Side Quest
The most artistic quest chain in the game. The task begins on the second morning when the player first enters the church and talks to the girl in charge of mural restoration. To complete the restoration, three types of paint are needed: red (obtained from a union member), blue (persuade the surveyor to hand over his paint), and yellow (collected from rocks by the seaside with a high difficulty manual dexterity check). The method of obtaining the different colors directly affects the final metaphor presented in the mural. Choosing the red paint from the union will strengthen the theme of the mural, while using the surveyor's blue will make the picture more conservative in style. The climax of the task is the "Wall of Light" phenomenon on the third night, where the player must make a moral choice about whether to let the girl continue the dangerous restoration work, which will impact the fate of the church in the ending.
Basement Skeleton Side Quest
This side quest showcases the game's profound exploration of historical trauma. It is triggered during the investigation of the fishing village, requiring a high-difficulty physical fitness check to move the rubble in the basement. The discovered skeleton turns out to be a militiaman executed during the revolution. The player can choose several ways to handle it: notify the police (Kim will request a formal burial), inform the union (trigger a debate about revolutionary memory), or conduct a secret investigation (unlock additional dialogue options). A particularly unique way to resolve this is to use the psychometry skill to talk directly to the skeleton, which reveals tragic details from the perspective of civilians during the revolution. The key to the task lies in the subsequent conversation with René Arnoux, whose memories provide crucial clues to the skeleton's identity.
Phrenology Task
This is a side quest full of dark humor. By choosing to support Cuno's "scientific investigation" in the conversation with him on the second day, you can start this satirical quest line mocking racist pseudoscience. The player needs to measure the skulls of three NPCs (Cindy, Garte, and Lilienne), each measurement sparking absurd discussions about the relationship between intelligence and skull size. The climax of the task is discovering the real phrenology equipment in the library on the third day, where you can choose to expose the fallacy of Cuno's theory (requires a high-difficulty erudition check) or continue playing along with this pseudoscientific game. Although this side quest appears comical on the surface, it profoundly reveals how racial prejudice in Revachol society is packaged as so-called "science."
Carla's Dress Side Quest
What starts as a clothing dispute evolves into a discussion on the value of art. The task begins on the first night when the player notices Carla complaining about her torn dress. You can choose to intervene in the investigation. A high-difficulty empathy check reveals that the dress was actually snagged on a nail in the church, but a deeper solution is to find the legendary weaver in the fishing village on the third day. This reclusive artist proposes to repair the dress using "invisible weaving," a choice that not only resolves the dispute but also results in a true work of art being displayed at the end of the game. It's worth noting that if the player chooses to hastily settle the matter with compensation, they will miss out on fascinating dialogues about the traditional folk crafts of Revachol.
Missing Car Side Quest
The task can be triggered after talking to Kim on the first day. The protagonist's supposedly "flying" police car is actually hidden in the bushes near the fishing village. To retrieve the car, you first need to get the car keys (which can be obtained from the psychic woman with a high-difficulty obfuscation check or by asking Kim for a spare key), then use a series of skill checks (such as manual dexterity to spot tire tracks and logic to deduce the hiding place) to gradually uncover the truth. The most interesting way to resolve this is to persuade local children to form a "search team," a choice that, although time-consuming, triggers a heartwarming plot about children's imagination.
The above is all the content of the Disco Elysium side quest guide. The common feature of these side quests is that they all have multiple layers of resolution paths. Whether or not they are simply completed is not important; what matters is how the player chooses to engage in these side stories and how these choices, in turn, shape the protagonist's understanding of Revachol society.
