It’s impossible to discuss or critique ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies without acknowledging the layers of still-unfolding drama that loom over this game and its predecessor Disco Elysium. If you’re a fan of that game, you’re likely already aware of and influenced by the fallout that occurred between rights holder ZA/UM and the numerous individual creatives who left that company amid messy legal conflicts. If you’re not a fan of Disco Elysium or just not very online then you might not be aware of any of that, but mentioning ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spaces will immediately conjure someone up to explain it all to you, just like I’m doing now. This is a game with an inky and overwhelming shadow hanging over it. It’s tragic because, separated from all of that, this is one of the best-written and most engaging RPG adventures I’ve ever played and, if it weren’t for these messy real-life events, would be so easy to identify as my dream follow-up to Disco Elysium.
ZERO PARADES opens with our protagonist Hershel Wilk waking up in a dilapidated room with no memory of why she’s there, how she got there, or what she is even doing. After piecing together some initial clues it’s clear that she is some sort of spy on some sort of mission, and the culturally rich yet labyrinthine streets of Portofiro hold all the answers she’ll need… hopefully. It’s an opening and setup that is almost winking at the viewer in how familiar it is to Disco Elysium. It’s rewarding to see the follow-up to such an iconic game kick things off in a way that feels like a nudge to familiar fans, but it pays off because within just a couple hours ZERO PARADES makes it incredibly clear that this is an entirely different beast of a game despite those initially familiar circumstances.
Hershel Wilk, alias CASCADE, is not a goofy drunk bumbling cop. She’s hard to pin down in an elevator pitch, and that lack of an immediately understandable identity and goal does make it hard to connect with her at the start of the game. Her layers unravel slowly, but in a satisfying fashion. What becomes clear, as you dig deeper, is that her presence and personality drives so much more of the gameplay than I first realised.
ZERO PARADES mirrors the Skill system of Disco Elysium, this time with just fifteen unique abilities across three categories which often manifest as their own voices in dialogue, portraying scrambled inner voices threatening to help or distract CASCADE in every conversation. I noticed, through the first chunk of the game, that these various voices all felt a bit similar to one another, and sometimes didn’t contrast with each other quite as much as I would have expected. In time, I loved clinging to the feeling that these voices were fittingly consistent with Wilk’s mindset. She’s struggling, but she’s driven and she understands her core values so much more than Harry DuBois ever did.
I’m using these Disco Elysium comparisons to paint ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies in a good light, but I promise that this game doesn’t require any previous knowledge to hop into or appreciate. The zero combat, zero party, conversation-focused nature of this RPG is engrossing whether you’re experiencing it for the first time or not.
I love a spy thriller, and espionage-tinged stories. Games like Absolute Protocol or Deus Ex: Human Revolution have tapped into some of that in the past, but more so to emulate the bombast and action of a Hollywood blockbuster. This game, instead, feels like you’re being submerged into those kinds of worlds without all the frills, and focuses so tightly on small conversations that steadily build up to the grand espionage-laden revelations and twists I love so much. Along the way, the narrative journey makes profound stops to touch on geopolitical topics, class culture, global culture diffusion, and so much more with a healthy balance of dense informativeness and only the smallest pinch of pretentiousness.
Right now, there are several different teams made up of various current or ex-ZA/UM employees creating their best vision for a follow-up to the insurmountable classic that is Disco Elysium. Despite the company itself being one of the biggest instigators of the legal issues that split all of these creatives apart to begin with, there are still several Disco Elysium veterans at ZA/UM. With ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies, they’ve proven that they are capable of crafting a creative vision, a living world, and a timeless game that absolutely lives up to the legacy of its predecessor.
