Overall Impression
This is an intriguing title. Zero Parades is a narrative based CRPG type experience where dialogue and story take center stage much like in a visual novel. You can clearly see the influences from it’s predecessor, Disco Elysium; however, this time around you enter the world of espionage. The visual design is painterly and stylized making the game feel artistic and cryptic all at the same time. The dialogue is poetic, philosophical and at times even abstract and existential. It may not resonate with everyone due to its heavy dialogue and narrative focus. However, for those that enjoy the new espionage theme and how the narrative is presented this is a gripping and unique experience.
Target Audience
This type of experience is geared towards those that enjoy a heavy narrative focus. There is plenty of text to read and there is no traditional combat, similar to what you may experience in a visual novel or in games like Gamedec. It will not necessarily resonate with everyone. It depends if you connect with the style of writing, the themes, slower pacing and the personality of the characters. Some encounters may feel a bit lengthy. Nevertheless, those that enjoy this type of narrative experience will be drawn in and taken for a ride. It’s compelling, mysterious, clever and deep. It’s critical to understand what type of experience you enjoy especially for a game like this.
For gamers that did try Disco Elysium but didn’t vibe with it, they may want to give this a shot and at least check out the demo. These types of games are dependent on if you connect with the main protagonist, style of narrative and overall themes. There’s just something here that draws me into the game in a different way than other titles. A large part of that is the espionage vibe and the main protagonist. This style of game is worth giving another shot especially if you did not connect with the main cast of other similar games. Finding a connection with the main protagonist is critical in such a heavy narrative game.
Gameplay & Narrative
The core gameplay loop is narrative focused. You are investigating an area or talking to other characters or listening to your own thoughts or the commentary of a narrator. This makes for a very different type of experience than in most games. It’s like a CRPG mixed with a visual novel wrapped into a D&D shell.
The RPG elements allow you to customize traits for your character. These traits allow you to interact or reveal additional dialogue options that may otherwise not be available. To succeed on different dialogue options there are dice rolls with different thresholds for success, similar to what you would see in a traditional tabletop role playing game.
Narrative elements become a core part of the overall gameplay experience. The writing is inventive. You can tell the writers had fun putting this together. Dialogue and commentary ranges from clever and witty to sarcastic, silly, and funny to deeply philosophical. You don’t normally see this type of depth and variety in most games. But in this type of experience it’s necessary as you’ll be spending hours listening and/or reading. Many lines are voice acted but there are also plenty that are not. Furthermore, the voice acting is quite well done and really brings to life the personality and quirky nature of the characters in this world. Altogether, this creates memorable encounters in the world of Zero Parades.
Gear and Systems
The game revolves around a trait system. The higher the value of the trait the easier it is to roll a success during dialogue options or encounters. In this way your experience in the game will alter depending on how you build your traits. Traits can also be increased via items that can be purchased or acquired in the world and through leveling up.
The other major system to manage throughout the game are negative effects. These are categorized into anxiety, fatigue and delirium. As you take actions or work through different scenarios you accumulate points in these areas. Incur too much in any category and there are negative consequences, such as losing a trait point. This makes it so that you have to be careful in your choices (not pushing your character too far) and also finding ways to reduce these effect. The system adds structure to the overall experience.
Art & Design
Zero Parades has a distinct visual identity. It has a hand crafted, sketch like aesthetic that is vibrant but also gritty and messy all at the same it. It’s not afraid to appear imperfect while still projecting an overall well executed design. It’s a refreshing take on art direction that we don’t often see in gaming or media. If you look closely, sections of the environments may appear unfinished or even careless but it all fits into the overall themes of the game where the distinction between truth and the vast open moral grey areas of existence are explored.
Featured visual art assets in the game could be in an art gallery. For example, the art in the journal entries are exquisite. There’s a blend of illustration and painted effects that create imagery that is compelling and thought provoking. It’s clear that special attention has been paid not only to the words and dialogue in this game but as well in the visual design that all come together to create a memorable experience.
Challenges
The main challenge is just recognizing if this is a type of experience that will resonate with you. For those that do it’s a compelling and deep journey into a world full of secrets and profound ideas unlike what you may have experienced in any other game. For others, they may not exactly resonate with the deep narrative focus or the amount of text or slower pacing or the themes that are explored. It really comes down to knowing your preferences as a gamer and understanding how they line up with what the game is offering.
Closing Thoughts
Zero Parades is an intriguing and promising narrative focused game with an espionage focus. The writing encompasses a range of topics and themes that are philosophical, existential, poetic and thought provoking. At times it is witty or even funny and ridiculous. In many ways the writing itself is a character and a core part of the experience. The game itself is a mix of CRPG (non-traditional combat), D&D and visual novel like elements. The biggest challenging is figuring out if this type of game is for you or not. It won’t necessarily connect with everyone. It depends if you are looking for this type of experience, enjoy heavy dialogue and text sequences with a slower pacing. For those who do vibe with the style, characters and narrative there’s a unique journey here that will pull you in just like any great novel.
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GAME DETAILS
PLATFORMS: PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch
RELEASE: TBD (2026)
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: ZA/UM
GENRE/TAGS: Story Driven, RPG, CRPG, Choices Matter
TARGET AUDIENCE: Gamers that enjoy a strong narrative focus (non-combat) and also reading and also vibe with the espionage focus.
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