The Ghosts of Disco Elysium: Can Zero Parades Escape Its Predecessor's Shadow?
There’s something haunting about Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. And I don’t just mean the literal phantoms that plague its protagonist, Cascade. No, what lingers is the specter of Disco Elysium, the 2019 masterpiece that cast such a long shadow over the gaming world. Zero Parades is billed as its spiritual successor, but from my perspective, it’s more like a ghost story—one where the past refuses to stay buried.
A Spy with a Broken Soul
On the surface, Zero Parades ticks all the boxes for fans of Disco Elysium. You’re a spy, not a detective, but the mechanics feel eerily familiar. You build your character by allocating points across 15 skills, each represented by a voice in Cascade’s head. It’s a brilliant conceit, one that made Disco Elysium so unforgettable. But here’s where it gets interesting: Zero Parades isn’t just borrowing mechanics; it’s borrowing the very soul of its predecessor. Cascade’s internal struggle—her fatigue, anxiety, and delirium—feels like a direct response to the fractured psyche of Disco’s protagonist. What makes this particularly fascinating is how the game uses these mechanics to explore themes of redemption and self-destruction. Cascade isn’t just a spy; she’s a woman trying to piece herself back together after a catastrophic failure. The question is: can she?
The Weight of Legacy
Here’s where things get messy. Zero Parades is inescapably tied to Disco Elysium, but not just because of its gameplay. The real-world drama surrounding ZA/UM, the studio behind both games, casts a long shadow over this release. The allegations of IP theft, the toxic workplace accusations, the bitter disputes between founding members—it’s all there, lurking in the background. Personally, I think this is where Zero Parades falters. It’s not just a game; it’s a statement, a rebuttal, a plea for forgiveness. But does it work?
A Tale of Two Studios
What many people don’t realize is that the ZA/UM of today is not the same studio that created Disco Elysium. The key creative minds behind that game—Robert Kurvitz, Aleksander Rostov, Helen Hindpere—are gone. And their absence is felt. Zero Parades is technically impressive; Portofiro is a stunning city, and the gameplay is polished. But the writing? It lacks the elegance, the depth, the sheer audacity of Disco Elysium. Lines like “now kiss” and “big, if true” feel out of place, like memes shoehorned into a world that deserves better. This raises a deeper question: can a studio truly recreate its past success when the people who made it great are no longer there?
The Irony of Anticapitalism
One thing that immediately stands out is the irony of it all. Disco Elysium was a game about the failures of capitalism, a critique of systems that exploit and discard people. Yet, the story of ZA/UM itself feels like a cautionary tale about the very same themes. The studio’s internal struggles, the layoffs, the project cancellations—it’s all antithetical to the anticapitalist spirit of Disco Elysium. If you take a step back and think about it, Zero Parades is a game born out of conflict, trying to reclaim a legacy that may no longer be its own.
The Player’s Dilemma
As Cascade, you’re constantly making choices that feel morally ambiguous. Do you manipulate your former friends to achieve your goals? Do you deceive those who trust you? The game forces you to confront the cost of redemption. A detail that I find especially interesting is how the mechanics reflect this internal struggle. By agitating Cascade’s fatigue, anxiety, or delirium, you can gain an edge—but at what cost? It’s a brilliant metaphor for the lengths people will go to in pursuit of forgiveness. What this really suggests is that redemption isn’t just about making amends; it’s about confronting the parts of yourself you’d rather forget.
The Future of ZA/UM
After finishing Zero Parades, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the game is trapped between two worlds. It’s neither a true successor to Disco Elysium nor a bold new direction. Instead, it feels like a studio trying to prove something—to itself, to its fans, to its detractors. What this really suggests is that ZA/UM is still searching for its identity post-Disco Elysium. Will they find it? Only time will tell.
Final Thoughts
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a game that asks big questions but doesn’t always provide satisfying answers. It’s a worthy effort, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that it’s trying too hard to live up to its predecessor. From my perspective, the game’s greatest strength—and its greatest weakness—is its inability to escape the shadow of Disco Elysium. It’s a ghost story in more ways than one, a reminder that some legacies are too heavy to carry.
Personally, I think Zero Parades is worth playing, if only to see how a studio grapples with its own past. But don’t go in expecting Disco Elysium 2. This is something else entirely—a game haunted by its own ghosts, searching for a future that may never come.
