Zero Parades: For Dead Spies (Steam)

Several years ago the developer ZA/UM releassed the lauded Disco Elysium - a narrative RPG that follows a disgraced detective. After some controversy, that same developer delivers a similar but distinct experience in Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. I very much enjoyed Disco Elysium so I was excited to give this title a try, and it definitely held up to the lofty expectations. Your story begins with the awakening of agent CASCADE, only to find that you have no recollection of your mission. From there you set off in the town of Portofiro in search of clues and evidence as to your identity. The gameplay is very similar to other CRPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and the afforementioned Disco Elysium, meaning your progress is mostly obtained through skills checks inside and outside of dialogue. There is a high degree of flexibility in terms of how you roleplay CASCADE, and this flexibility is reflected by the different "thoughts" and skills that you can choose to enhance. Depending on how you pick your skills you'll unlock new dialog options, as well as new areas throughout Portofiro. The narrative mystery is very well done, and is littered with information and revelations about the characters and world at large. At times I found the UI to be a bit clunky and tedious, but otherwise the experience is smooth and pleasant with a good balance of exploration and heavier dialogue segments. As the story progressed and some of my decisions started to matriculate into their consequences, I was impressed by how comprehensive the choices were. Sometimes in RPGs it feels like some decisions are superfluous - in Zero Parades even the smallest decisions seem to have gravity. The soundtrack is primarily ambient music that complements the solemn setting, along with some in-universe pop music that exists to provide some narrative threads. The themes are diverse and interesting, ranging from "technofascism" to cultural erasure and much in between. Zero Parades is an excellent CRPG that presents a fun and insightful journey through a number of unique characters, locations and ideas - don't miss this if you enjoyed Disco Elysium, and definitely give it a try even if you haven't.

Play it for the:

Narrative espionage experience
Thoughtful dialog and character interactions
Twists, turns and revelations

Reviewed on 2026-06-15

Portofiro tells a story of it's own through the environment.