Key Takeaway
There are three possible endings in Disco Elysium.
- Good Ending: Harry successfully warns Kim of incoming fire during the Mercenary Tribunal. Kim remains Harry’s partner for the rest of the investigation and can potentially join Precinct 41.
- Alternate Good Ending: Harry fails to warn Kim of the incoming attack during the Mercenary Tribunal. While Kim is recovering in the infirmary, Harry chooses Cuno as his new partner, and the two complete the investigation together. Cuno can potentially be recruited as a junior officer at the precinct.
- Bad Ending: Harry fails to warn Kim of the incoming attack during the Mercenary Tribunal and does not take Cuno as his new partner, instead choosing to finish the investigation alone. If Harry drank alcohol during the investigation, he is fired from the RCM and lives the rest of his days in the Coastal Shack. This can be avoided by internalizing the Waste Land of Reality thought in the Thought Cabinet.
There are also 12 unique Game Overs. These will trigger if Harry either dies or resigns from his job, or if he fails to survive specific story events.
Disco Elysium is unrivaled in its masterful storytelling—including its entertaining endings. As players come closer to solving the title’s core mystery, events can play out in a few ways. Regardless of how your playthrough ends, this game proves to be much more about the journey than the destination.
Table Of Contents
How Many Endings Are in Disco Elysium?
Disco Elysium has a total of three unique endings: a Good ending, an Alternate Good ending, and a Bad ending. The game splits into one of these three paths during the violent Mercenary Tribunal, which is triggered automatically upon returning to the Whirling-in-Rags after confronting Ruby below the Feld Building on the coast.
Achieving the Good ending or Alternate Good ending largely depends on Harry’s actions during the Mercenary Tribunal. Although the Bad ending is also influenced by this major quest, your character’s behavior during the course of the game serves as the final determining factor.
The game also has twelve different Game Overs, which are triggered if Harry dies, resigns from his job, or fails to survive specific story events.
Good Ending
The Good ending results in Kim remaining Harry’s steadfast partner, accompanying him to the Sea Fortress to apprehend the perpetrator of the murder behind the hostel. Once back on the mainland, Kim can be recruited to Precinct 41 or can return to his own precinct in the GRIH.
During the climactic Mercenary Tribunal in front of the Whirling-in-Rags, you’ll need to pass two Reaction Speed checks to avoid being shot. If your Reaction Speed isn’t great, you can also opt to wear the Fairweather T-500 Cuirass to protect yourself.
NoteRegardless of the method you choose, the second gunshot will incapacitate you. Kim will come to your aid, putting pressure on the wound. At this point, you’ll need to successfully pass a medium Authority check to warn Kim of incoming fire. If Harry has befriended Kim throughout the course of the game, you’ll get a bonus modifier added to your score. However, if he doesn’t trust you, you’ll receive a penalty.
If successful, Kim will survive the encounter unscathed and the two of you will continue the investigation. With that said, if Kim’s approval of you is high enough at the end of the game, he can be recruited to Precinct 41.
Alternate Good Ending
The Alternate Good Ending triggers if Harry fails to successfully warn Kim about the incoming attack during the Mercenary Tribunal. As Kim is taken to the infirmary to recover from his wounds, Harry has the option to bring Cuno along for the rest of the investigation.
During the somewhat unexpected Alternate Good ending, Cuno can act as Harry’s new partner if your relationship with him is stable. The redheaded loudmouth will accompany you to the Sea Fortress to apprehend the suspect. Following this, Cuno can either be left in Martinaise or can be recruited as a junior officer at the precinct.
Bad Ending
The Bad ending can only trigger if Harry fails to warn Kim about the incoming attack and refuses to bring Cuno along for the rest of the murder investigation. However, this is possible to avoid if Harry has remained completely sober during the course of the game, or has internalized the Waste Land of Reality thought in the Thought Cabinet.
However, if Harry drank alcohol during the course of your Disco Elysium playthrough and did not internalize the Waste Land of Reality thought, he is fired from the precinct and left to live in the Coastal Shack for the rest of his lonely days.
Game Overs
When the game ends prematurely, players will earn one of twelve unique Game Over screens. These are stylized as newspaper headlines explaining the fate of Disco Elysium‘s troubled detective.
Below, we’ve listed the complete details of every possible Game Over, including how to get them.
| Headline | Text | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| COP SUFFERS FINAL HEART ATTACK | A detective lieutenant of the RCM passed away yesterday. His death, though abrupt, did not come as a surprise to those who knew him. "He was the heaviest drinker I'd ever met," Captain Ptolemy Pryce, the deceased's superior officer, commented. "That ain't easy on the ticker." "He loved his liquor, sure," said Detective Chester McLaine, friend and colleague. "But I think before he ever had a heart attack, his heart was broken." According to an official statement given by the RCM, the officer was on the brink of solving a murder case. | Run out of health. |
| COP GIVES UP THE DETECTIVE GENRE FOR SOCIAL REALISM | Another police officer resigned from the RCM following a nervous breakdown. He now lives under a bridge, drinking and occasionally throwing excrement at passers-by, shouting, "I never loved that woman!" When asked to comment, former colleagues objected to the theory that his psychological disintegration was precipitated by his wife leaving him. "It's because The Furrows lost that match," said Captain Ptolemy Pryce, once the man's superior officer. "It's because he couldn't get a big gun from acquisitions, and, anyway, police work really burns you out after a while," Satellite-Officer Jean Vicquemare, the deranged former cop's partner, commented. Sergeant Mack Torson, another former colleague, did not propose any theories, merely saying, "Whatever happened to him wasn't about birds. He got f****d, that's all." | Run out of Morale. |
| MORE DEAD COPS | (Without Kim) Sad news from the district of Martinaise, where the body of a police officer was found floating in a canal. It is believed the officer was pursuing a murder investigation but got caught up in the dockworkers' strike, and was subsequently gunned down under unclear circumstances. "Such needless loss of life is truly tragic," local union leader Evrart Claire commented, adding that although the event is 'truly horrid,' similar incidents will follow if right-wing vigilantes are allowed to run around unchecked, attempting to 'wiggle their way' into well-organized neighborhoods. (With Kim) Sad news from the district of Martinaise as the bodies of two police officers are found floating in the canal. It is believed the officers were pursuing a murder investigation but got caught in the dockworkers strike and were gunned down under unclear circumstances. "Such needless loss of life is truly tragic," a local union leader Evrart Claire commented and added that although the event is truly horrid, we can expect similar incidents to follow if right-wing vigilantes are allowed to run around uncontrolled and try to wiggle their way into well-organized neighborhoods. | Tell the Hardie Boys you want to arrest them and don't back down. If Kim is with you, he will also die and the ending will be slightly altered. |
| DERANGED COP ELECTROCUTES SELF | Citizens left in shock as a police officer, reportedly from the 41st precinct, electrocuted himself with a high-grade industrial current at the Martinaise Canal water lock. "I don't know what the hell he was thinking," a technician sent to repair the water lock commented. | Attempt (and fail) to fix the waterlock yourself. |
| DISGRACED COP SLEEPS IN TRASH | A deranged "law official" was found sleeping in a trash container behind the Whirling-in-Rags, a hostel-cafeteria in Martinaise. Garte, manager of the establishment, had this to say: "He did ask for a free room. And I said no. I don't make the rules of the game, I just play my part." | Don't pay Garte for your room at the Whirling-in-Rags and choose to sleep in the trash container instead. |
| DISTRICT IN MOURNING: BURNED-OUT COP SHOOTS CHILD | Yesterday in the District of Martinaise, a deranged "law official" from the paramilitary outfit that calls itself the Revachol Citizens Militia shot and killed ten-year-old Cunoesse Vittulainen. Locals are in shock. "He was out of control," said Lawrence Garte, local hostel and cafeteria manager. "I hope they put him away for good." | While attempting to shoot the Hanged Man's body down with Kim's gun, shoot Cunoesse instead. |
| DERANGED COP KILLS HIMSELF | Citizens in shock as a deranged law official, reportedly from the 41st precinct, shot himself in the head last night in the middle of a crowded cafeteria in downtown Martinaise. The exact details of the incident have not been revealed, but first-hand witnesses claim that the officer was *making a point*. "Can't say I'm surprised," Lawrence Garte, manager of the Whirling-in-Rags cafeteria, where the incident took place, commented. "He was extremely unstable and had threatened to kill himself before." | Shoot yourself in the head after a failed Authority check while talking to Titus Hardie. |
| 11 DEAD IN A BLOODY SHOOT-OUT IN MARTINAISE | Streets run red with blood in the Martinaise district of Revachol where several people belonging to the Débardeurs' Union of Martinaise and two members of the Revachol Citizens Militia are gunned down by three unidentified assailants. Witnesses report heavy machine gun fire and note that the incident was over very quickly. The heavily armoured attackers vanished immediately after the bloodbath. "Savage barbarians," Garte a manager of the cafeteria, *Whirling-in-Rags*, commented. "They had no respect for the architecture nor the well-being of bystanders. Bullets were flying in the mess-hall. It's a wonder that no one else was killed." | Harry gets shot during the Mercenary Tribunal with low health and doesn't heal himself. |
| COP DIES UNDER THE BOARDWALK | An officer of the RCM hot on the track of a suspect died yesterday of causes yet to be determined. "I told him not to go after the suspect without me," said Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, the deceased's partner on the case. "But it seems that he wanted to play the hero." "It's just like him to run straight into the lion's den, fly unzipped and arms flailing," said Satellite-Officer Jean Vicquemare, friend and colleague of the officer. "If ever I saw a man with a death wish..." | Attempt to confront Ruby alone. |
| COP DIES IN HEROIC ATTEMPT TO APPREHEND SUSPECT IN MURDER INVESTIGATION | The RCM is in mourning after a detective lieutenant lost his life while attempting to arrest a suspect in an ongoing murder investigation in Martinaise. Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, the deceased's partner on the case who survived the encounter, said the suspect used a weapon the likes of which he had never seen before to temporarily incapacitate both of them. "I don't think she meant to kill him -- she apologized when she saw what had happened..." he added. "It's just like, to go out like a real cop in the end," said Captain Ptolemy Pryce, the deceased's superior officer." | Die while confronting Ruby. |
| POLICE OFFICER, RESPONSIBLE FOR SUICIDE OF SUSPECT, RENOUNCES THE RCM | Today, officer Harrier du Bois, formerly a lieutenant of the Citizen's Milition of Revachol, gives a candid interview -- in which he renounces the Militia, his years of service -- most of which he 'doesn't remember' -- and his own actions on the force. "I'm no longer a cop. I wish I never was. No one should be," says du Bois, who has fallen on hard times after resigning. "Fuck the RCM. Fuck duty," he adds. Continues on page 4... | Tell Kim you're done being a cop after Ruby commits suicide. |
| WEEKS LATER, NO ANSWERS ABOUT EXTRACTED COP | The condition and whereabouts of an RCM lieutenant extracted by a Coalition aerostatic two weeks ago remain unknown. The dramatic manoeuvre, witnessed by dozens near the north roundabout, has reportedly increased tensions between the citizens of Martinaise, the RCM, and Coalition authorities. Early reports that the lieutenant was investigating entroponetic phenomena along the coast have not been confirmed. According to an official statement given by the RCM, the lieutenant was in Martinaise as part of a murder investigation. A Coalition representative declined repeated requests for comment. | As part of the Moralist political vision quest, contact the Moralintern and tell them about the traces of Pale in the church. Agree to come with them. |
While some players found Disco Elysium‘s conclusion to be underwhelming regardless of the ending achieved, others see the potential for a possible sequel in the distant future. Whether or not that’s the case given the creator’s ongoing legal issues with ZA/UM, plenty of stranger things have happened—like stumbling upon the Insulindian Phasmid or arguing with your own necktie.
