When the trailer for a Disco Elysium sequel called Locust City leaked yesterday April 1 and I thought it was a prank. Amid the constant flood of fake dating sims, I thought Disco Elysium YouTuber Jamrock Hobo was playing an elaborate April Fools prank by releasing an internal presentation of Locust City - An Elysium Story.
Locust City: An Elysium Tale Unfolds
The video has now been removed, which further solidifies the leak. And it has made me very upset. Disco Elysium is one of my favorite games and I would love to go back to its universe again. Also, I got a lot of positive comments on my last Disco Elysium article asking me to write more about the game, so let's get started.
In that same article, I wrote a lot about Kuno, a scruffy young man you meet in the early stages of the game. Yes he's a bit of a meek, but as you play, you get to know more about his situation his relationship with Kunosee, and how he is trying to survive in the messed up city of Revachol. It's a heartwarming story that re-contextualizes your last encounter and being nice to him is a decision I could never change, no matter how many times I play.
Locust City focuses on Kuno and Kunosee. He keeps his own box of locusts and projects an entire universe inside it so that it acts as Harry's thought cabinet. This isn't what I expected from a Disco Elysium sequel, but since when can ZA/UM expect anything?
The art looks great - everything from the paintings to the trains reflect Disco Elysium's retrofantasy aesthetic - and the opening build feels familiar. There's very little dialogue in the presentation but I believe ZA/UM would have perfected the writing as it was a highlight of the original game. The little snippets we hear in the audio section of the presentation are just as thought-provoking and cryptic as Harry's inner monologue in Disco.
But we'll never see it.
The Shattered Studio
The story of Disco Elysium is a sad one. The studio nearly shut down after Disco Elysium's release. Founder Robert Kurvitz was accused of creating a hostile work environment and was fired from the company he created. Others followed him. There are countless lawsuits, and at least four studios vying for the title of spiritual successor.
In the midst of all this chaos, ZA/UM canceled Project X7 which we now know as Locust City. We also don't know who has the rights to make games set in Elysium anymore. Maybe it's Kurvitz's NetEase-backed studio Red Info. Maybe ZA/UM still has the rights. Whatever the case, the fallout from the last few years means we're unlikely to see a Disco Elysium sequel anytime soon.
It was a very interesting look inside ZA/UM's pitch for the Disco Elysium sequel. It was more exciting to see thats it focuses on one of my favorite characters in the original game. It is so sad to know that this game was canceled due to office politics and ownership arguments. It is devastating to know that all of this work went to waste.
This leak is bittersweet. It's very rare that we get a chance to take such an in-depth look at the development process of a cult classic game. But it's heartbreaking to know that we'll never get to play this game.
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