ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies Reviews
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a spectacular sophomore effort that takes the subgenre and grafts new and interesting mechanics onto it. Minor bugs do little to impact the consistent delight of narrative twists, beautiful prose, fully realised characters, and top-tier voice acting. Thematically deep and tonally diverse, CASCADE’s return to Portofiro and the fate of the Whole Sick Crew will be a story we’ll be dissecting for a long time.
Disco Elysium may be impossible to replicate, but Zero Parades: For Dead Spies successfully carries over some of its most compelling qualities and turns them into a genuinely strong experience of its own. At times, it can feel a little too trapped within the framework established by Disco Elysium, yet the sheer amount of high quality writing and a fairly engaging story are more than enough to make fans of this genre feel like they have finally been given something they have been starving for.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a pretty good and gripping experience, but there is no doubt that it fails to escape the long shadow of Disco Elysium. It’s not as funny or deep and comes across as a bit lightweight.
ZA/UM is back in style, and Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is here to show for it.
A stylish and gripping spy thriller in the form of an RPG, but suffocated under the pressure of great predecessor.
Review in Russian | Read full review
While not for everyone, those that carefully plan things out will enjoy their time as CASCADE in ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies - just be mindful of that anxiety.
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies lives in the shadow of something bigger, and it never quite manages to escape it. Its biggest flaws come from a lack of confidence in itself, and when it speaks with its own voice, Zero Parades is truly special and memorable.
A game that obsessively attempts to emulate the glories of *Disco Elysium*, yet ultimately loses itself in an exhausting textual mannerism and unbalanced role-playing mechanics.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a great, character-driven narrative RPG. The city-state of Portofiro is a well-fleshed-out place offering deep characters and a plethora of interesting quest lines. The systems at play might seem complex, but if you play this game like a tabletop RPG, letting the dice and the story guide you, you’ll get lost in the story and become Cascade yourself. You will need to set aside plenty of time because there are so many people to talk to and places to explore, but if you can put aside hours for long gaming sessions, this might be the game for you.
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is ultimately an engrossing and engaging experience, even if it might not move the needle as much as players might be hoping. How long it remains in the memory in the future remains to be seen, but its strong world-building and interactive mysteries keep players engaged in an ultimately very satisfying experience.
The feeling is that of being faced with a project that, had it been released by any other software house on the planet and under any other circumstances, would have easily become an instant cult.
Review in Italian | Read full review
ZERO PARADES is a truly memorable experience for people who are okay with slower stories and darker topics. There are some games that stick with you long after the credits roll. It's not because of big story twists or big spectacle, but because they make you think about tough issues.
There are therefore only two ways to look at Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. Either I view it as a kind of successor to Disco Elysium, in which case Hershel's adventure is a far weaker and more superficial version of the “original.” A version that lacks the essence, the “it,” the “special something” — which serves as an indication of what ZA/UM really lost when fame and success arrived and eventually descended into chaos. Or I look at Zero Parades for what it ultimately is. The second project of a highly ambitious studio that may not have been able to repeat its success. But one that, despite its narrative weaknesses, can establish itself as a serious player within its niche with a solid second title.
Review in German | Read full review
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies, while not always reaching the same level as its spiritual predecessor, remains a narrative RPG experience of the highest level and quality.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies feels deeply human at times, with a more anchored and centralised narrative than ZA/UM’s previous title.
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is a dense, bizarre, and visceral espionage adventure featuring fantastic writing, memorable missions, and a slightly more manageable pace than Disco Elysium. It’s not all perfect: there are bugs, the start can feel chaotic, and the true impact of some decisions takes too long to become apparent. That said, it’s one of the most interesting narrative RPGs of the year.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
ZA/UM’s Zero Parades shows the studio is not just relying on Disco Elysium’s legacy but building on it.. It launches as a complete experience, reflecting a more ambitious and polished release from day one.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Much like the game that came before it, Zero Parades is dense and only works if you’re willing to sit with its long conversations and rather slow buildup. It does a lot of what its predecessor does, but it still manages to be its own thing once you get past the comparison. It doesn’t always feel smooth or easy to follow, but it often rewards your patience with truly glorious moments.
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies faced a Herculean task. Not only did it have to withstand the pressure of being constantly compared to Disco Elysium, but it also had to prove that ZA/UM was still capable of creating something special following all the internal problems the studio had faced
Review in Spanish | Read full review