‘Zero Parades’ Review: The Opera Never Tires

InnovationGaming‘Zero Parades’ Review: The Opera Never TiresByAlex James Kane,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Alex James Kane is a games writer from Illinois.Follow AuthorMay 22, 2026, 04:02pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Are human beings mere flesh, delicate as the tape in an audiocassette, as the leaves on a tree? Or does each of us possess an everlasting soul, hidden away in some vast fortress of memory? Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, the second game from Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM Studio, gives both possibilities equal weight. It’s a story about emphemerality—of art, of nations, of people, of secrets—but also one about the untapped power of the human psyche.The year is 96, as in double digits, the calendar having been reset to zero with the signing of a treaty that marked the so-called End of History. In his book The Wisdom of Insecurity, philosopher Alan Watts refers to the present as “the great stream, the eternal now.” For Watts, the future is an abstract concept of little use to us here in the material world. The fictional Operant Bureau of Zero Parades would insist otherwise; the future is all that remains, the tyranny of narrative history consigned to a past best left forgotten. This convenient framing probably serves the state well enough, but it rings more and more false as the story progresses.As the player, you take on the role of Hershel Wilk, returning to “in-theater” work under the alias Cascade. You’ve spent the last few years in the Opera’s archival division, stewing in personal shame over your past failures, but now it’s time to get back to what you do best: espionage. The game allows you to choose between three character archetypes—Kinetic, Charismatic, Analytical—or build a custom spy all your own. I opted for the Charismatic class, but frequently found myself botching important conversations or choosi...