Published: 2025-04-26

Searching for the End of History: Faith in Politics and Ghosts of the Past in the World of Disco Elysium

Mateusz Krupa
Kultura Media Teologia
Section: Artykuły i rozprawy
https://doi.org/10.21697/kmt.2025.61.06

Abstract

Disco Elysium is a 2019 detective, isometric RPG created by the independent Estonian studio ZA/UM. This article aims to explore how various ideologies and their specters are portrayed within the game’s world. Political ideas in the game are presented in an intensely vivid way. The developers craft the game world to reflect issues prevalent in the society they inhabit—a society of former Soviet republics, of failed revolutions, and one dominated by neoliberalism, in whose shadow fascism lurks. Drawing on Jacques Derrida's concept of hauntology and the works of theorists on the "end of history," this article takes a close look at how the creators of Disco Elysium use the virtual reality they’ve constructed as a medium for leftist critique.

The struggle between liberalism and socialism centers around the debate on the end of history. The one promised by liberals is purportedly realized, yet, fearing its downfall, it recoils at the thought of taking any decisive action. Its collapse seems inevitable. Meanwhile, the unrealized future once promised by socialists is still mourned, though small groups of idealists continue to work toward its reconstruction. The hegemonic order is also being challenged by fascists, who, however, offer no better future, only attempts to revive an imagined past.

Keywords:

Disco Elysium, role-playing game (RPG), ideologies, former Soviet republics, liberalism, socialism

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Citation rules

Krupa, Mateusz. “Searching for the End of History: Faith in Politics and Ghosts of the Past in the World of Disco Elysium”. Kultura Media Teologia, vol. 61, no. 1, Apr. 2025, pp. 80–96, doi:10.21697/kmt.2025.61.06.

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