Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is out this week on PC, and so critic reviews are starting to trickle in.
It was always going to be interesting to see how this one’s received, since it’s technically the successor to Disco Elysium — one of the most highly regarded RPGs of the last decade or so.
However, Zero Parades has long had an uphill battle on its hands, stemming from the fact that several key creatives behind Disco Elysium were allegedly thrust from developer ZA/UM following the game’s success.
Since then, the studio has been framing Zero Parades as a true follow-up — a marketing angle that many Disco Elysium fans deemed manipulative, given that the title’s most important leads had left the company.
But as it turns out, Zero Parades is supposed to be pretty damn good. At least, according to these initial reviews.
The game’s currently sitting at an overall score of 83 on Metacritic, based on 19 reviews. Now, obviously, that’s not an outstanding rating, but several outlets are seriously singing its praises.
Basically, these reviewers are saying that Zero Parades, despite everything, is still a really strong role-playing experience, packed with interesting characters and meaningful player choice. In that sense, it’s supposed to be a worthy successor to Disco Elysium.
That being said, several reviews do state that, as a whole, the title can struggle to live up to the lofty expectations that were set by its predecessor. They still give it a high score, but it’s not quite on par with what’s come before.
We’ve gathered a handful of said reviews below:
Eurogamer – 5/5
“It is a narrative distillation of the familiar into a messy, painful journey that feels, at turns, cinematic and mundane, sharp and silly – a fine-tuned caricature of humanity’s petty, poisoned psyche, a game made with care, for only the finest sickos.”
TechRadar – 4.5/5
“Zero Parades: For Dead Spies establishes a strong identity for itself with its deep understanding of human nature and political philosophy, plus plenty of twists on the standard CRPG formula. The story is slow, and some elements don’t quite live up to their potential, but it’s still one of 2026’s essential games.”
PCGamesN – 8/10
“Thankfully, both the dramatic encounters and Exert systems make up for some of the game’s less interesting moments, breaking up the text’s monotony while raising the stakes. Zero Parades, in many ways, feels even more TTRPG than Disco Elysium, and in my book, that’s a win.”
GameSpot – 8/10
“It struggles in other areas, often feeling like a pale imitation of the studio’s predecessor — dangerous territory when the likelihood of reaching the same heights is marginal at best. But even with these hiccups, this is still an excellent RPG.”
GamesRadar – 3.5/5
“As a successor to Disco Elysium, ZA/UM’s spy-fi RPG is a little too fearful to roll the dice on something new. But if the systems and themes are a little too familiar in Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, that does mean some of the old charm persists.”
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is still aiming to release on PS5 this year — but how do you feel about it? Carefully select the ideal dialogue option in the comments section below.
