This game is rated ESRB: Rating Pending.
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a point-and-click espionage RPG developed by ZA/UM, releasing in 2026 for PC and PlayStation 5. Players control Hershel Wilk, a psychologically scarred intelligence operant codenamed CASCADE, who is recalled from obscurity five years after a catastrophic mission to undertake a new assignment in a city dense with hidden agendas and ideological conflict. Gameplay centers on skill checks resolved through dice rolls, with approaches ranging from subterfuge and deduction to violence. A Conditioning system lets players shape Wilk's identity into specialized abilities that open distinct paths through encounters. Physical and psychological strain are tracked via Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium meters, while Exertion can tip dice outcomes at the cost of long-term consequences. Failure is treated as a structural feature rather than an exception — improvisation in the face of bad rolls drives much of the narrative forward. The cast includes international bankers, techno-fascist operatives, psychic doppelgängers, and other figures, each carrying their own concealed motivations within a three-way struggle for cultural and ideological dominance.
Brilliant, burnt-out, possibly cursed – you play as operant Hershel Wilk, alias CASCADE. Five years ago you led your team into the abyss and have been haunted by your failures ever since. Now you've been recalled for a mysterious assignment that may give you a chance to prove yourself again. Fulfil the demands of your assignment by hunting down secrets hidden within the architecture of both the city and the human mind. Collaborate and clash with informants, loyalists, and agitators. Pass skill checks to get them to open up and improve your abilities with the experience you receive. The choices you make affect everything: the loyalty of your friends, the paths you can take, and the fragility of your mind. Find yourself thrown into a three-way struggle for cultural and ideological power, played out across an unforgettable city. You'll go up against international bankers, foreign techno-fascists, psychic doppelgängers, a paranoid TV presenter, a man with a box for a heart, and dozens more. Everyone you meet has their own agendas, beliefs, and secrets for you to uncover and turn to your own ends. In ZERO PARADES, even the world itself is a character with its own secrets, traumas, and miracles for you to discover. Operants go through years of training to learn how to hone their minds into a weapon. Do you favor heightened reflexes, an analytical approach, or perhaps a charismatic angle? Conditioning lets you reinforce Hershel’s thoughts to construct her identity and unlock new ways forward. It’s our snappier successor to Disco Elysium’s Thought Cabinet, you are not only investigating the past, you are shaping the future. Employ a variety of different skills to gain the upper hand in unexpected confrontations with your antagonists. Tactical View pauses time so you can assess your moves and analyse moments ahead of time, as you clash across the urban stage. Will you play it safe or risk it all? The dice decide your fate but a bad roll isn’t always the end – though it will definitely hurt. Pressures simulate the physical and psychological toll of being an operant. Exertion pushes skill checks with dice rolls in your favour – just remember that you’re gambling with your life. Keep your Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium in check or face the deadly consequences. In this line of work you're going to fail way more often than you succeed. That much is expected of you. What matters is how you pick yourself back up. If the dice don't go your way (and they won't) you'll have to improvise and hope the consequences are ones you can live with.
Brilliant, burnt-out, possibly cursed – you play as operant Hershel Wilk, alias CASCADE. Five years ago you led your team into the abyss and have been haunted by your failures ever since. Now you've been recalled for a mysterious assignment that may give you a chance to prove yourself again.
Uncover secrets hidden in the lost corners of the city and within your own mind. Navigate a murky world of potential informants and adversaries. Pass skill checks to uncover their true motivations through subterfuge, violence, or deduction. As an operant, there are multiple ways to approach every problem - your choices and methods will be your own, and so will the consequences.
Find yourself thrown into a three-way struggle for cultural and ideological power, played out across an unforgettable city. You'll go up against international bankers, foreign techno-fascists, psychic doppelgängers, a paranoid TV presenter, a man with a box for a heart, and dozens more. Everyone you meet has their own agendas, beliefs, and secrets for you to uncover and turn to your own ends. In ZERO PARADES, even the world itself is a character with its own secrets, traumas, and miracles for you to discover.
Operants subject themselves to years of psychological training to hone their minds into their greatest weapons. Do you favor animal-like reflexes, a philosophical approach, or a different cover story for every occasion? Through Conditioning, you'll turn the deepest aspects of Hershel's identity into potent abilities and unlock new paths forward. You can even change the rules of the game itself.
Pressures simulate the physical and psychological toll of being in-theatre. Exertion pushes dice rolls in your favour – just remember that you’re gambling with your life. Keep your Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium in check or deal with the long-term repercussions.
In this line of work you're going to fail way more often than you succeed. That much is expected of you. What matters is how you pick yourself back up. If the dice don't go your way (and they won't) you'll have to improvise and hope the consequences are ones you can live with.
