Loading critic reviews...
Deals
Finding deals...
Live Streams
Finding live streams...
About Zero Parades: For Dead Spies
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a role-playing game developed by ZA/UM, released on December 31, 2026. Set in a fractured near-future world, you play as a disillusioned spy tasked with salvaging a collapsing intelligence network while navigating political conspiracies. The game prioritizes narrative over combat, letting you shape outcomes through dialogue choices and stealth. It runs on PC and PlayStation 5, with a single-player focus. Think of it as a cerebral spy thriller where your decisions carry weight. Best for players who enjoy moral ambiguity and branching stories.
Gameplay
The core loop revolves around investigating leads, hacking terminals, and negotiating alliances. Missions often begin with surveillance, requiring you to tail targets or decrypt files. Combat is minimal but tense, think quick-time stealth takedowns. The UI overlays mission objectives and environmental clues, which you piece together to progress. Each choice impacts faction relationships and your character’s mental state. Sessions typically last 2-3 hours, balancing dialogue-heavy scenes with action set pieces. The lack of traditional RPG leveling keeps the focus on story, though resource management (like limited disguises or data storage) adds strategic depth.
What Players Think
Zero Parades holds an 84% rating on PlayPile, with 8.7/10 on Metacritic. Average playtime is 12 hours, but 32% of players finish 80%+ of the story, and 15% hit 100%. Community moods skew curious and confused, with mixed praise for its ambition versus underwhelming polish. One user wrote, “The worldbuilding is killer but the pacing drags,” while another praised “how every choice feels like a real moral dilemma.” Achievements (12 total) are mostly story-related, with the hardest being a 10-hour completion milestone.
PlayPile's Take
Zero Parades is a niche pick for narrative-driven RPG fans who don’t mind a slow burn. At $49.99, it’s reasonably priced but not a must-buy for most. The lack of combat and grind makes it divisive, some will love the cerebral approach, others will find it frustratingly obtuse. If you value branching dialogue and moral complexity over action, it’s worth a shot. But don’t expect a polished or fast-paced experience.
Game Modes
Single player
Achievements
Loading achievements...
Similar Games
Finding similar games...
Buzzing on Bluesky
Checking Bluesky...