Disco Elysium’s opening is Harry Du Bois face-down in a destroyed hostel room, amnesiac, hungover, and communicated to by his own necktie. The necktie — a skill voice, representing some part of Harry’s psyche — is the first character the player interacts with, and it is aggressively, absurdly encouraging.
The necktie’s enthusiasm is diagnosed by other skill voices over the course of the game: it is Drama, a high performance register, and it is compensating for something. Players who maximised Drama found that the necktie’s voice became progressively more sincere, its jokes giving way to genuine support.
In the Final Cut, the necktie’s voiced performance — delivered by an actor whose casting was deliberate for a specific emotional register — is the most consistent warm presence in a game full of judgement, failure, and self-recrimination. The necktie likes Harry. It has always liked Harry. It just expresses it through the only emotional tool Harry has left: theatrical enthusiasm.
ZA/UM built a therapeutic object into their protagonist’s outfit slot. The necktie is the part of Harry that has not given up on Harry.
Didn’t realise how much was hidden under the surface. Makes me want to replay it.
This is why I always check every corner. Never know what’s been left for the observant player.