ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies Review

A thoughtful espionage RPG that steps out of Disco Elysium's shadow.

An RPG like Disco Elysium hasn’t made as much of an impact in the present day. It was released in 2019 by Studio ZA/UM and is one of the top role-playing games of all time. Its clever writing, political commentary, dark humor, and novel skill-based dialogue systems set it apart from other games in the category. ZA/UM moved from a little-known company to one of the most talked-about in the business, thanks to the game’s success.

But the years after Disco Elysium’s enormous success were not easy. The studio faced conflicts, legal battles, and the departure of a few key creative people, leaving many fans wondering whether it would ever recapture the magic that made Disco Elysium so fantastic. When people heard about ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies, they were suspicious. Could a studio that had seen so many massive changes develop a worthy follow-up to one of the most acclaimed narrative RPGs in gaming history?

The answer is not a simple yes or no. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is not that, nor does it aspire to be. Instead, it draws on many of the characteristics that made the previous movie wonderful to tell a very different story about espionage, geopolitics, and personal sorrow. While it doesn’t quite touch the same story highs or philosophical depths as Disco Elysium, it does a great job of carving out its own reputation as an interesting and compelling RPG.

In Zero Parades, players assume the role of Hershel Welk, a spy operating under the code name Cascade.

Five years before the game, Hershel was leading an operation that went very wrong, killing or injuring several of her team members. Since then, intelligence agencies have put her in a place nicknamed “the freezer.” This is a professional limbo for agents who can’t be trusted with active ops but are too valuable to put away entirely.

She's gone. Until she's abruptly recalled to the independent city of Portoro for one more task, she arrives to find her companion has suddenly been incapacitated while investigating an unknown threat. She has little to go on and just a few individuals who can help her, and Hershel must work out what happened to her companion, why she was specifically invited back to Portoro, and how a scheme involving various political powers works.

The environment is one of the game's best aspects. Portoro is at the center of a worldwide fight among three factions opposed to one another. The Opera depicts a large communist super-bloc of numerous countries linked only by decreasing political ties. Lou is the enemy. It is a high-tech kingdom, attempting to regain its lost lands by military and cultural influence. MT is the third big player. It is a powerful financial entity that exerts influence through trade, debt, and economic leverage rather than direct control.

The political landscape makes the globe feel complex and genuine. The tensions highlighted are not only described but also evident in everyday life. Trade is constrained; therefore, smuggling methods increase. Imported goods are sold on the black market. Economic realities, not ideological purity, shape people's allegiances. The result is a scenario that feels real, even when it is not.

The plot is delivered through extended dialogue trees, investigations, and character interaction. Much like Disco Elysium, the tale often involves players piecing together fragmented information. It can be difficult to keep track of all the names of groups, past events, and political groups being referred to. A couple of reviews mentioned that a glossary would have been a great help for gamers trying to keep up with the game’s massive story.

The story, albeit convoluted, slowly gathers momentum. The game's world-building can make the first hours feel plodding and thick, but later chapters reward patience with major reveals, political intrigue, and thrilling turns. The game also offers several endings and variations based on the player's choices, ensuring that decisions have meaningful effects on the adventure.

Everyone feels differently about the work itself. Some gamers feel like ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies lacks the deep spiritual concepts and dark humor that made Disco Elysium so memorable.

Others believe the writing is superb, citing memorable characters, incisive interaction, and rich world-building. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is incredibly well-written by most RPG standards, but the game that preceded it set the bar quite high. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies remains a role-playing game in the story-driven vein.

There is little fighting. The game, instead, is largely about using your talents to explore, investigate, communicate, and connect with other people. When players generate characters, they can alter Hershel’s skills in three key areas: Action, Relationship & Intellect. In each location, five separate skills affect different areas of the game. Hershel needs these talents to get along with others, understand what’s happening, solve issues, and be safe.

Skills “talk” to the player, similar to Disco Elysium. Voices commenting on talks and happenings consist of inner ideas, intuition, and perceptions. But Hershel isn’t like Harry Du Bois in Disco Elysium. Harry was dumb, self-destructive, and often mad. Hershel, on the other hand, is more serious and systematic. There are troubles inside her, but they are quieter, less evident.

It’s a major step forward in the risk management system. Instead of the traditional Health and Morale lines, players need to watch Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium. They depict the effects of spy labor on people's bodies, minds, and emotions.

It is constantly a balancing act to regulate these resources. Coffee makes you less sleepy, but more anxious. Smoking may lessen disorientation, but it has severe consequences for other aspects. Alcohol can be useful in the short term, but it also has harmful effects. There’s a price for every answer, which ties into the themes of the game about stress and sacrificing things you want.

The system makes meaningful judgments because players are always comparing risk and reward.

 But other opponents believe the penalties for failure aren't as strong as those of the health system in Disco Elysium. And when a meter is filled up all the way, players don’t die in weird ways or have bizarre game-over scenarios; they just lose skill points. It doesn't burn as much, yet it feels less remembered. Another fantastic feature is Conditioning, ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies' version of Disco Elysium's Thought Cabinet.

Players can absorb different emotional states, which modify the game's rules in different ways. Some grant benefits to certain talents, while others have weird restrictions or even new ways to play. There is one case in which players feel virtually invisible and may resort to covert tactics they would not ordinarily use. Another caps how often you can save, totally altering how you cope with dangers. Other weird story outcomes: A really amusing case of a call scam.

These systems add to the game's individuality and variety, shifting the focus to psychology and character. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies doesn’t feature a traditional fighting system, but it examines similar themes. Most tasks involve finding clues, solving puzzles, convincing characters, and passing skill checks.

Still, a big element of growth is skill checks. Conversations can go in many different directions depending on how the character is designed. If the dice result in a success. Skills, equipment, consumables, and situational benefits can modify your dice rolls. The game features an “Exertion” mechanic that allows players to roll extra dice to boost their odds. And it makes Fatigue, Anxiety, or Delirium worse.

This puts strain on things because gaining the advantage costs something. And the Tactical View system adds yet another layer. When things are really serious, time slows down so players can consider what might happen before they move. This is not a turn-based fighting system, but a real-time calculation of risks and opportunities by a skilled spy.

The way the game handles failure is one of its best features.

Nonfunctioning checks seldom hold up progress. Instead, they often produce different results, new opportunities, or even distinct tales. Sometimes failure can be even more fun than triumph. Exploring, conversing with other people, investigating, and completing objectives all earn you experience points. When you level up, you gain skill points to spend to buy new skills or make conditioning places bigger.

The character development feels meaningful throughout the game because developing skills directly affects what you can say and how you can investigate. The tools are hugely crucial too. “Clothes and gear can modify your skills, and they tend to do both good and bad things at once. NPCs can react differently depending on what Hershel wears, showing that fashion is more than just a question of style.

The game retains the impressionistic, isometric style that made Disco Elysium renowned, but it emphasizes color and environmental detail more. Portoro is not at the same location as the predecessor. It’s a combination of fading industrial zones, lively markets, waterways, neon signs, and overgrown structures. Each area has its own individuality, so it is enjoyable to explore. Landmarks are easy to recall, so players typically navigate without relying too much on the map.

Some of the best are character portraits, environmental images, and pictures of thought. Many of them are in a weird, unusual style that fits the game's themes: anxiety, spying, and mental stress. Lighting effects create a more realistic experience. Of course, night replaces day, making the passage of time more apparent. Weather effects and environmental stories animate the metropolis throughout the entire encounter.

Technical competence is less evenly distributed. Some reviews cited issues with crashes, soft locks, missing audio, and flaws in the pre-release builds. Many of these issues could probably be patched, but they were significant enough to alter the feeling during review times.

ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies also succeeds well with sound, even if there are some issues. Great voice acting when it's there. The narrator is quite good, delivering phrases in a scary, hypnotic style that nicely matches the game's tone. The main characters’ acts are also quite good, which helps bring the world to life.

But voice coverage isn't always great.

Every character has a voice, yet some are absolutely quiet or don't have words. This uneven implementation occasionally detracts from the atmosphere, making the game feel a little incomplete. The music has a moodier vibe rather than catchy tunes. The music doesn’t call attention to itself; instead, it contributes to the stress, mystery, and tragedy. The background noise, sound effects, and minor musical cues add substantially to the game's mood.

The aural elements, together with the graphic display, evoke a strong sense of place. Zero Parades: Dead Spies was handed an impossible task the moment it was made public. A sequel to Disco Elysium was always going to be under a lot of scrutiny, especially with news of Studio ZA/UM’s troubles and the exit of key creative talent.

Despite such problems, ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies succeeds far more often than it fails. The narrative is still fantastic, the world-building is complex and political, and the espionage-focused gameplay brings fresh, exciting twists to classic ideas. The risk management and conditioning features do open up new possibilities, and the investigatory gameplay still keeps players engaged and trying things.

This enchantment does not quite have the same lightning-in-a-bottle power as Disco Elysium. The humor isn't as sharp, the philosophical discussions aren't as profound, and some of the supporting characters aren't as memorable as the greatest characters in the first movie, by virtue of their weirdness.

But it would be incorrect to judge it by Disco Elysium alone. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is a superb, story-driven role-playing game (RPG) that stands on its own. It has some of the most compelling political turmoil and worlds in recent gaming history.

If you’re a fan of story-based RPGs, mystery stories, and complex political conspiracies, then ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is for you. This indicates that this game style is still very much alive.