How do you improve on an already amazing experience? Seems like adding support for ultrawide resolutions and creating a whole new difficulty mode is the way to go, considering that’s what ZA/UM have just done with the latest Disco Elysium update.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new Hardcore True Detective mode, direct from the developers:

Welcome to Hardcore True Detective mode. The city at the end of the world just got more existential.

So, what’s different about Hardcore Mode?

YOU’RE GONNA FAIL MORE
You’ll fail more. That’s a fact of life in Hardcore Mode. The difficulty of every Check goes up, bringing your chances of success down. Solving this case without being a Total Disaster Cop is even harder than normal. On the bright side, you’ll have more to be proud of if you do solve the case, even if your dignity got left behind with the Union of Moribund Alcoholics. And the Cuno. And Klaasje. And — well, just take your victories where you can.

YOU’RE GONNA BE POORER
The pornographically poor people Martinaise have even less money to drop, meaning there’s less for you to pick up. Lining your pockets with that delicious lucre is going to be nigh on impossible. Better get used to picking up every scrap of tare you can find. At least Roy still gives okay deals in his pawnshop, as you sell off your material wealth for a pittance. You’ve always had to hustle to survive. Now you’ve got to hustle more.

YOU’RE GONNA GET SCREWED BY BIG-PHARMA
What’s more, pharmacutical prices have gone up. That’s right! Failing costs you even more. Not only are your favorite over-the-counter drugs are more expensive — they don’t even heal you as much. Even if you find a forgotten stash in the streets, it won’t be as good. That’s how they get you though, isn’t it? They charge you more for less, and make a killing as you die.

YOU’RE GONNA LEARN TO LOVE DRUGS
If you weren’t a fan of booze and cigarettes before, let alone the hard stuff — well, good luck to you. Life’s a lot more bearable with those pick-me-ups. When all other help abandons you, and your sweet drugs are all that’s left, it’ll be harder to resist the call. Sweet ciggys to clear your head, an extra drink to build up your courage. Hardcore Mode makes it clearer how Martinaise fell into disrepute. No wonder there’s a drug problem when folks have nothing else to turn to.

YOU’RE GONNA TREASURE YOUR CLOTHES
The few posessions you do have become more important. That FRITTTE Plastic Rain Coat never protected you so good. Your Amphibian Sports Visor always helped you find stuff, but that stuff never mattered so much. Those Flare-Cut, though, and those Green Snakeskin Shoes — you might want to lose them before you try to make any jumps.

YOU’RE GONNA THINK MORE CAREFULLY
You’ve got to be cafeful with what goes in your head, too. You’ve got to plan carefully what you start thinking and when. The Thought Cabinet debuffs are more painful when you’re already more liable to fail. Can you really afford to indulge your Superstar fantasies for a few hours when it’s already harder to think straight? On the flip side, the bonuses thoughts offer might push you down paths you wouldn’t take otherwise. Maybe it’s not sexy to be a Boring Cop, but that extra stability might really help you out.

YOU’RE GONNA WISE UP FASTER
There is one saving grace you have in Hardcore Mode. The self-help books, at last, are right: Failure builds character. In this worse world, you’ll gain token amounts of extra XP every time you finish a Task. You’ll lever faster and higher, if only marginally. You’ll be able to become a more well-rounded cop, better than you ever were before. So that’s something, at least!

LOOKING BACK
Again, Hardcore Mode isn’t for everyone. But if you’ve loved this strange story in this forgotten city, it’s a way to experience it from a new perspective — a Martinaise perspective. For those of us here at ZA/UM, who’ve already spent hundreds of hours playing, this new mode been a wonderful chance to revisit the game in a fresh way.

Good luck, detective.

If that’s not enough for you, then you might want to take a peek at the updated soundtrack (now with added FLAC files!), the new wallpapers, or the updated artbook. Don’t own the Soundtrack and Artbook DLC? You are in luck, it’s on sale (just like the base game) and you’ve got 3 days to get it for 20% off.