Zero Parades: For Dead Spies

Project C4

Upcoming

Release Date: 2026

RPG, Isometric View, Espionage, Adventure Elements, Experimental/artistic, Singleplayer

The second RPG game from ZA/UM studio, known for the best-selling Disco Elysium. Zero Parades (previously known under the code name Project C4) is an espionage themed game focused on having long conversations, experiencing introspections and making choices. The story in the game is concentrated on the topic of the fight for power between rivaling geopolitical organizations.

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In 2019, the Estonian game development studio ZA/UM released the bestselling RPG titled Disco Elysium. The next project of this team, namely the Zero Parades described here (created under the code name Project C4), represents the same genre, but revolves around the theme of espionage.

In Zero Parades we enter a world driven by conflicts of rival powers fighting for cultural and ideological power. The main character of the game is Hershel Wilk, also known as CASCADE. The protagonist is a so-called operant, which is a special type of agent. Five years after leading her team into the abyss, she still struggles with the memories of defeat. When she is assigned a mysterious case, she sees in it a chance for at least partial redemption.

Gameplay

Similar to what was the case in Disco Elysium, the action in Zero Parades is viewed in isometric view, using a stationary camera suspended above a three-dimensional environment.

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Another similarity is the fact that among the gameplay mechanics available in Zero Parades dialogues play a predominant role. Through conversations, we not only learn more about the game world (which has its own "traumas" and secrets), but we also get to know its inhabitants and gain friends (or at least allies).

NPCs

The characters we meet during the game include bankers, techno-fascists, a paranoid television presenter, and even a man with a box instead of a heart. They were differentiated in terms of personality, goals, and secrets that need to be known in order to use them to one's advantage.

Dice throws

The outcome of our actions and choices is largely determined by dice rolls as part of skill tests that describe the character. Randomness forces us to improvise and deal with the consequences. Failure does not mean defeat, but is one of the ways to push the story forward - just like in Disco Elysium.

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