ZERO PARADES (for dead spies) - a ramble review

I just finished ZA/UM's "ZERO PARADES" today and wanted to write some thoughts, for those interested.

The game came out after some heavy drama in the development company after the intellectual rights to their previous acclaimed title, Disco Elysium, were taken from a selection of the dev team who were fired for not-quite certain reasons. If anyone is a Disco Elysium (DE) fan, you will undoubtedly be aware of this. ZERO PARADES (ZP) is somewhat of an attempt at a fresh start for ZA/UM, with many of the original DE devs working on this title. It also doesnt reference anything from the world or story of DE, despite being set in the same creative universe. To me, this was a good choice and ZA/UM dont seem to hold any spite towards DE, nor do they wish to cling to its popular bones to prop up their popularity. ZP stands on its own, for better and worse.

DE is important to me because of its writing and world-building. It laid out an immersive world and wrote deep, relatable characters to fill it. It felt very real, in an abstract way, and as such I could commit myself to those characters and stories wholly. ZP achieved this result as well, but fell short in some aspects. There is large number of characters, which really makes the world feel like a busy, complicated place. I enjoy that this game leaves many views/opinions unanswered, as this makes characters feel more real (as they don't have all the answers themselves) but also centres the world as a confusing and unfinished place. My main ambitions felt lacking at times, but it ended up working in the sense of a spy-thriller, our main character knowing nothing but the mission - nothing but the orders they are given. It is very political, much like DE, however, you aren't given all the tools to really take a side or question the politics, not as much as you could as Harry in DE. Its main weakness is that, due to such a large cast and the busy world politics, many 'major' discussions just dont happen. Some people talk highly and/or lowly of certain political views, and yet you cant discuss with them the major whys, you cant attempt to follow political views and apply them to your actions. Unlike DE, the politics take a side seat to the personality of the MC and the supporting cast. For some, this will be a positive. For DE fans, I think this is a step down and does mess with the replayability a little.

The gameplay of ZP is one of its strong points imo. There is a puzzle aspect to this spy-thriller, involving knowing who to talk to, what items/tools to use and ultimately which dialogue options to take to reach your desired goal, which could be one of many. The stat system is simple (attributes that give bonuses to dice roll checks and passive checks) but works in a way that you can go for some kind of a 'build' to give you strengths in some areas but weaknesses in others, meaning some routes of gameplay become more difficult or impossible. I chose to focus on more physical attributes, at the cost of my social skills. Although dodging bullets and fighting goons was easy and useful, I was often unable to attain goals situated in the social battlefield. Clothing items can improve some stats at the cost of others, and consumables manage your resource meter, which can be used to boost checks to improve your odds. This meant some thought had to go into encounters - what options might I have? Should I change my gear to give me the best opportunities? Some checks could be re-attempted; for others, you only have 1 chance.

If you've read all this, then thanks! The game was really good and I do recommend. It'll be on my mind for the next couple weeks. The soundtrack is really sweet too - very moody. This was a short ramble review, so if you want more of my opinions or to share your own, leave a comment!