ZA/UM returns to the shadow of Disco Elysium with ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies, but instead of attempting to recreate its predecessor beat for beat, the studio shifts its attention toward espionage, ideological warfare, and psychological exhaustion. Players step into the role of Hershel Wilk – known in the field as CASCADE – a disgraced operative haunted by the catastrophic failure of a mission that destroyed both her team and her sense of identity. Sent to the coastal city of Portofiro on what initially appears to be a simple assignment, she quickly finds herself caught in a tangled political conflict involving technocratic superpowers, corporate manipulation, cultural imperialism, and her own deteriorating mental state. The setup immediately establishes an oppressive atmosphere of paranoia and regret, and while the comparisons to Disco Elysium are unavoidable, ZERO PARADES carves out a noticeably colder and more melancholic tone for itself.
Portofiro itself becomes one of the game’s greatest strengths. The city feels dense with history, political tension, and cultural identity, balancing retro-futuristic technology with an almost decaying Eastern European aesthetic that gives the world a constant sense of instability. Every district hides conspiracies, strange personalities, and fragments of larger geopolitical struggles between the communist Superbloc, the economically dominant EMMTERR alliance, and the techno-fascist influence of La Luz. ZA/UM’s writing remains remarkably confident when it comes to worldbuilding, and the game constantly rewards curiosity through optional conversations, hidden lore, and bizarre side characters that range from washed-up intellectuals to conspiracy theorists and obsessive pop culture fanatics. At times, however, the narrative becomes so absorbed in its own terminology and ideological detail that it risks alienating players. The game can take too long to properly contextualise its setting, introducing political factions, historical references, and abstract concepts with very little onboarding, making the opening hours occasionally feel more confusing than intriguing.
Like Disco Elysium before it, ZERO PARADES is fundamentally a dialogue-driven RPG where character building directly shapes both storytelling and gameplay. CASCADE’s skills are not fragments of personality in the traditional sense, but specialised operative instincts and abilities that constantly interrupt conversations with observations, advice, and sometimes dangerously misleading interpretations. These fifteen skills are divided across categories tied to action, relationships, and intellect, and they effectively become voices competing for influence inside Hershel’s fractured mind. The system remains one of the game’s most compelling ideas because it turns even simple dialogue exchanges into psychological battlegrounds where instinct, ideology, and self-preservation collide. The new Conditioning system expands on this further by allowing players to internalise ideas and beliefs that can fundamentally alter gameplay systems themselves, rewarding experimentation and encouraging players to embrace failure rather than reload around it. Some Conditionings reward players for refusing to save-scum failed dice rolls, while others introduce entirely new modifiers and consequences that reshape how situations unfold.
Mechanically, ZERO PARADES often feels deliberately hostile toward perfectionism. A “fail forward” kind of philosophy sits at the centre of the experience, with failed skill checks frequently opening entirely new narrative paths instead of simply blocking progression. Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium function as persistent psychological pressures that gradually wear CASCADE down throughout the investigation, while Exertion allows players to temporarily improve their dice odds at the cost of long-term mental or physical strain. It creates a constant tension where every interaction feels risky, particularly during the excellent Dramatic Encounter sequences that pause time and force players to make rapid tactical decisions under pressure. Yet while the systems are ambitious and often brilliantly interconnected, the game occasionally stumbles when it comes to clarity and pacing. The vague quest structure, the lack of sufficient explanations for certain mechanics, and an overreliance on trial-and-error progression can leave players wandering aimlessly while waiting for the correct dialogue trigger or stat check opportunity to appear.
The game’s writing remains its defining feature, even if personal taste will determine if it reaches the same heights as Disco Elysium. ZERO PARADES trades much of that game’s absurdist humour and chaotic energy for a more grounded and sombre approach focused on espionage trauma, emotional isolation, and ideological fatigue. That shift works remarkably well in moments where CASCADE’s fractured psyche clashes against the oppressive systems surrounding her, and the protagonist herself emerges as one of the game’s strongest achievements: deeply flawed, emotionally unstable, but consistently fascinating to inhabit. Not every character lands with equal impact, though, and the supporting cast takes too long to become truly memorable. Likewise, the game’s internal voices – while still engaging – are often less eccentric and immediately distinct than those in Disco Elysium, making some conversations feel slightly less unpredictable than expected.
Artistically, however, ZERO PARADES rarely misses. The painterly isometric presentation gives Portofiro an extraordinary visual identity filled with layered textures, muted neon lighting, fading signage, and environments that constantly invite closer inspection. Character portraits, UI illustrations, and Conditioning artwork all contribute to a world that feels simultaneously beautiful and emotionally decayed. The soundtrack takes a subtler approach than Disco Elysium’s iconic score, leaning more heavily on ambience and melancholic atmosphere than memorable melodies. Voice acting is generally strong, particularly Boo Miller’s narration and the delivery of CASCADE’s internal skill voices, but the launch build we played suffered a few missing lines – something that will no doubt be fixed soon. Technical performance also appears somewhat inconsistent, with minor bugs in addition to those occasional audio issues.
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies ultimately succeeds because it refuses to simply become Disco Elysium with spy terminology pasted over the top. The game absolutely lives in the shadow of ZA/UM’s previous masterpiece, and there are moments where that comparison becomes difficult to survive – particularly when it comes to humour, pacing, and the immediate impact of its supporting cast. Yet the deeper players sink into Portofiro’s conspiracies and Hershel Wilk’s psychological collapse, the clearer it becomes that ZERO PARADES has its own identity: slower, sadder, more politically anxious, and often deliberately uncomfortable. It is messy in places, occasionally overwhelming, and perhaps too committed to opacity for its own good, but it also delivers one of the most ambitious narrative RPGs in recent years. For players willing to embrace its density and imperfections, this is a fascinating espionage CRPG that understands failure, exhaustion, and uncertainty better than most games dare to attempt.
Score: 8.8/10