Zero Parades: For Dead Spies – captivating world, meagre main character
With Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, development studio ZA/UM is attempting to build on the success of the brilliant Disco Elysium. And it’s worked out – partially. My main point of criticism? The lacklustre protagonist.
My heart’s pounding. I stare at the red CD lying on the nightstand. Something’s off here – at least, that’s what the voices in my head are telling me. And so, I play it. +2 Delirium, one of my conditions worsens. I play it again. Once more: +2 Delirium. I’m convinced this CD will reveal the secret of this room to me. Spoiler: it won’t.
Welcome to Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. A game that captivated me from its very first moment, but one that lacks a protagonist I can identify with.
A spy with no memory, a room without answers
Before you actually start, you can choose an archetype or put together your own set of stats. The game begins in a room. A small slice of normality that fades with every passing minute. I’m stepping into the shoes of Hershel Wilk, also known as Agent Cascade. The spy’s mission has already failed before it even began. The person I was supposed to meet is lying catatonic in the room – not dead, but not really present either. And there’s a mysterious red CD nearby that clearly doesn’t bode well.
I search the room, clicking everything I can – a pair of trousers in the bathroom might hide a clue. Some actions involve rolling dice. This decides whether you succeed or fail at something. What’s special is that Cascade can earn a third die by making a so-called Exertion roll, after which the worst result of the three is discarded. This significantly increases the chances of success – but at the same time causes one of your three status values to spike. Risk and reward, perfectly balanced.
Several novels’ worth of text
After getting my bearings in the room and clicking through countless monologues – which takes about half an hour – I’m let loose into the world of Zero Parades. At least, that’s what I think. Because the next adventure awaits at the photo shop – the starting location’s on the upper floor – in the form of a broken fax machine. My first successful dice roll. Ever since then, I’ve called myself the fax machine whisperer. But before I can continue, I find myself chatting with the shop owner. We cover my job, as well as more general topics. This is a characteristic feature of narrative role-playing games, and it’s also a hallmark of Zero Parades. Every seemingly trivial conversation reveals something about the world or your mission – or it might be complete nonsense. I always have to read actively.
There’s no shortage of lively characters, and they truly make the world work. Take the cardio grandpa who runs up and down the stairs of an abandoned missile silo day in and day out. Simply because it’s healthy. Or the up-and-coming musicians Un and Deux, who hear the voices of dilapidated buildings and want to immortalise them through their music. Or Bagman, who proclaims his nihilistic views on TV with a bag over his head. The game is a cornucopia of ridiculousness. Wonderful! Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to the main character.
A protagonist with no distinct character
Hershel, or Cascade, is a failure. Years before the events of Zero Parades, she was allegedly responsible for a failed mission. In doing so, she also dragged her colleagues down with her. Whether she takes the blame for it or brushes it off nonchalantly is something you can influence through your own decisions.
This is cool on the one hand, allowing me to shape her character. Yet, on the other, it’s also problematic since she doesn’t actually get one – at least not in my case. That’s because I don’t stick to one consistently; instead, I act differently depending on the situation and who I’m talking to. As a result, Cascade lacks a distinct identity. This is a common problem in open-ended, narrative role-playing games. Disco Elysium got around this by having Kim stand by Harry’s side. He shaped Harry, despite all the freedom players had. Zero Parades lacks such a counterpart. Hershel remains vague throughout my entire run. Still, at least the world’s truly special.
A cool, vibrant city
The city of Portofiro offers plenty of space to explore, with its various neighbourhoods including docks, markets, residential areas and back alleys. The city’s full of NPCs, but you just can’t interact with all of them. Still, it feels refreshing and I like the presentation. I feel like I’m in a real city.
Source: ZA/UM
The many NPCs and locations allow for multiple ways to complete the same quests. A secret underground prison can be accessed, for example, using skills related to the Faculty of Relation or Intellect. Either you manipulate the supervisor or you tamper with the drainage system to gain access. Finding my own path is fun.
Skills: straightforward and focused
Cascade has 15 skills, divided into three faculties: Action, Relation and Intellect. The system’s streamlined, a perfect choice. In my opinion, any more skills would be too much. Just like in Disco Elysium, they chime in during dialogue and offer their opinions – sometimes helpful, sometimes completely nonsensical.
Three status indicators are displayed on the HUD: Fatigue, Anxiety and Delirium. Overly risky dialogue choices or failed dice rolls drive them up. If one of them reaches the maximum, you have to lower a skill value, making dice rolls harder to pass. Various substances can help counteract this: cigarettes, for example, reduce anxiety. This creates an interesting resource management loop running throughout all interactions.
You can increase your skill values to their maximum through what’s known as Conditioning – with an interesting twist: if you ignore them, there will be consequences. For example, when you think of the Apology World Tour ’96, I temporarily lose my heightened senses whenever I physically hurt someone. However, there are no actual battles in Zero Parades.
Dramatic encounters instead of traditional fights
One exciting feature is the so-called dramatic encounters – turn-based high-stakes moments that replace traditional battles. For example, I tried to escape from an enemy agent in a marketplace. Every round offers options: lie low, flee or assess the situation. The path to your goal changes depending on your individual skill set. It feels less like a fight and more like a tactical showdown – fitting for a spy story where brains count more than fists.
Source: ZA/UM
Not quite there yet from a technical standpoint
Even though the game looks great, it doesn’t run quite smoothly yet. I’ve noticed some clipping errors in various places, the voice-over isn’t finalised yet, and I experienced several crashes. The latter is a minor issue, since the game saves automatically all the time. The controller setup is annoying too. The controls don’t work reliably, and you can’t select a lot of the things that work fine with a mouse. The development studio has promised to fix most of these issues with a zero-day patch.
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies will be available for PC starting 21 May. The game was provided to me by ZA/UM for review purposes.
In a nutshell
Cool game, dull protagonist
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a cool narrative-driven role-playing game with a unique style. It’s very reminiscent of Disco Elysium, but differs in key ways.
The absurd dialogue, the weight of your decisions and the way you can coax information out of people through seemingly mundane conversations – it’s all loads of fun! The city of Portofiro invites you to explore, the dramatic encounters bring a breath of fresh air and the streamlined skill system makes it easy to get started.
Yet my main point of criticism concerns the protagonist Hershel, also known as Cascade. Compared to all the other great characters, she pales in comparison. On top of that, there are several technical glitches that the studio will hopefully iron out by the time the game is released.
If you enjoy narrative role-playing games that immerse you deep into a world, I recommend Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. But if you aren’t keen on endless reading, you’d better steer clear of the game.
Pro
- Gripping atmosphere and story
- Well-written NPCs
- Living, breathing world
- Focused skill system
- Wide range of solutions to problems
Contra
- Weak main character
- Bugs
- A lot of reading
From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
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