ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies Preview
Calling the ZA/UM situation messy would be an understatement, but putting that aside, I wanted to know for myself how ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies would feel. With the majority of the studio no longer around and monumental changes taking place inside the walls of ZA/UM, would ZERO PARADES, the espionage spy thriller that takes place in the closing years of the Cold War feel like Disco Elysium? The short answer is yes, after about an hour, it feels like a spiritual successor.
Allen Murray, head of studio said in an interview to IGN. “Based on the success and the remainer of the studio, the logical decision and direction for the follow up was to not fully reinvent the wheel. The goal was to expand on what we know how to do, and make a bigger game, both mechanically and in terms of production scope”
Zero Parades attempts the same mechanic to shock the player into the characters shoes as confusion is the only word to describe the situation. Where am I and what happened? Within five minutes my character, who goes by the alias Cascade had a nervous breakdown, as my anxiety became overwhelmed forcing me to permanently lower one of my skills, which is one of the new systems of ZERO PARADES where you need to manage your fatigue, anxiety and delirium.
Oh and my partner Psuedopod had been zeroed as he lay motionless on the armchair next to me. Whether he had been comprised and terminated or found a demise of his own accord remained to be seen. The other thing that remains to be seen is whether ZERO PARADES will feel bigger since the game isn’t about a detective solving a local problem, but a spy solving a global issue.
What was certain was that I only planned to play about 15 minutes of ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies to get a very brief feel of the brand new game from ZA/UM, but when I looked at the clock, nearly an hour had vanished as I pulled at strings, tried to understand the world, figure out my place in it and follow leads trying to piece together what had happened to my partner. It’s very early, but ZERO PARADES feels similar with strong writing, undertones of human failure, and iconic visuals, but it also feels unique enough to potentially stand on its own.
ZERO PARADES is far from faultless as there is something missing in the vocal performance of Cascade, which could change as the experience goes on and the narrative is lacking strong intrigue to keep the player compelled to keep chasing loose ends as would be wanted in a global espionage thriller. Instead, it’s a relatively slow burn talking to a lot of people in the local flea market.
Obviously, you will have to search within yourself to see how you feel about the entire ZA/UM situation and whether you want to give ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies a chance as well as the 90 artists at the studio, but if you’re wondering if it feels like the new game from the studio behind Disco Elysium, the short answer is yes. The demo of ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies has piqued my interest enough to see how this experience can blossom when giving much more time than a demo allows for.
