Info about ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies:

Official game description:
Gameplay Features
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*   **MAKE IT UP AS YOU GO ALONG.** Develop your espionage toolkit, carve your own path through a tangle of political intrigue with 15 unique skills. There's always another way, if you're willing to take it.
*   **CHANGE YOUR MIND.** Reorder your innermost thoughts to become the operant you want to be. Conditioning effects don't just change your character, they can change the rules of the game itself.
*   **SPLIT-SECOND DECISIONS.** Improvise your way through tense encounters with your enemies and rivals, with lasting consequences for you and your assignment.
*   **OPERANT UNDER PRESSURE.** Push yourself to your physical and mental limits to force the dice in your favour. Push too far, and you may leave lasting damage.
About the Game
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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.

Release date: May 21, 2026

Categories: Narrative Adventure, Choice-based Narrative, Character Customization, Dialogue-based Gameplay, Psychological Gameplay, Espionage, Story-driven Gameplay


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 25.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 4.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides some insights into the playtime metrics for the target game. The first quote mentions 'four hours of play,' which suggests a session length. The second quote explicitly states a game time of '20-30 Hours,' which can be interpreted as the typical total time to finish the game. The third quote mentions 'a few hours in,' which further supports the session length. The fourth quote mentions that the game process is a bit short, which could imply a shorter story completion time but lacks specific hours.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Excellent story and narrative (weight 0.88): The game features an excellently written narrative with a dense narrative journey and fantastically written story elements. The narrative is praised for being unique and engaging, providing a rich content experience.
- Unique and gorgeous art style (weight 0.87): The game is noted for its unique and gorgeous art style, which includes excellent visual work and sumptuous art. The artistic direction and background settings contribute to a visually stunning experience.
- Great voice acting and soundscape (weight 0.76): The voice acting is highly praised, with a well-received narration by an 'old lady' and an impeccable soundscape. The voice cast contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere.
- Character development and customization (weight 0.65): The game offers extensive character customization and development options. Players appreciate the memorable and inventive characters, which add depth to the gameplay experience.
- Well-written and variative dialogues (weight 0.44): The dialogues in the game are noted for being well-written, long, and variative. This adds to the richness of the narrative and character interactions.
- Multiple possibilities and exploration (weight 0.43): The game offers rich content and exploration with multiple possibilities, including an impossibly branched narrative that provides a high level of replayability.
- Positive atmosphere and vibes (weight 0.41): The game is praised for its atmosphere, including a melancholic atmosphere and good vibes with comedy. This contributes to an enjoyable and immersive experience.
- Developer responsiveness and improvements (weight 0.3): The developers are noted for their responsiveness to player feedback and have made improvements over previous impressions, enhancing the overall game experience.

Common complaints:
- Progression-blocking bugs (weight 0.47): Players encounter bugs that prevent progression in the game, causing frustration.
- Translation quality issues (weight 0.46): Players report poor skill translation and overall translation quality, affecting the understanding and enjoyment of the game.
- Permanent loss of skill points (weight 0.33): Players experience a permanent loss of skill points early in the game, which can significantly affect gameplay.
- Mouse interaction bug (weight 0.33): A bug related to mouse interactions that occurs after playing the game for a while, impacting the user experience.
- Unfinished voice lines (weight 0.31): The game has unfinished voice lines, leading to an incomplete audio experience.
- Similarity to Disco Elysium (weight 0.3): Some players feel that the game is too similar to Disco Elysium, lacking originality.
- High skill check failure rates (weight 0.19): Players report high failure rates for skill checks, making the game overly difficult.
- Poorly explained mechanics (weight 0.19): The game mechanics are poorly explained, making it difficult for players to understand and enjoy the game.
- No quick save/load (weight 0.19): The game lacks a quick save/load feature, which can be inconvenient for players.
- Excessive dependence on luck (weight 0.19): The game has an excessive dependence on luck, which can frustrate players who prefer skill-based gameplay.
- Gamepad control issues (weight 0.18): There are issues related to gamepad controls, affecting players who prefer using a controller.
- Vague progression (weight 0.18): Progression in the game is occasionally vague, leading to confusion among players.
- Short gameplay (weight 0.18): The gameplay is reported to be short, leaving players wanting more content.
- Overly literary writing style (weight 0.17): The writing style is perceived as overly literary, which may not appeal to all players.
- No one-click language switching (weight 0.17): The game does not support one-click language switching, making it less accessible for non-native speakers.

Gameplay feedback:
- Narrative-driven gameplay choices (weight 0.34): Players appreciate the narrative choices and the narrative-driven gameplay, which adds depth to the story.
- Engaging writing and comedy (weight 0.33): The writing style is praised for its engagement and humor, making the game more enjoyable.
- Rich exploration and content (weight 0.2): The game offers a rich exploration experience with a lot of content, keeping players engaged.
- Bugs affecting gameplay (weight 0.2): Several bugs have been reported that affect the gameplay experience, needing attention from developers.
- Freedom in problem-solving (weight 0.2): Players enjoy the freedom to solve problems in various ways, enhancing replayability.
- Skill point system (weight 0.19): The skill point system is noted for its impact on gameplay, providing players with various customization options.
- Dialogue system mechanics (weight 0.19): The dialogue system is highlighted for its mechanics, which add depth to interactions.
- Skill check mechanics (weight 0.19): The skill check mechanics are noted for their role in gameplay, providing challenges and rewards.
- Reactive and branched RPG elements (weight 0.19): The game features reactive, dice-heavy, and impossibly branched RPG elements, offering a unique experience.
- Point & click adventure elements (weight 0.18): The inclusion of point & click adventure elements adds variety to the gameplay.
- Translation and localization issues (weight 0.18): There are some issues with translation and localization that affect the game's accessibility.

Performance notes:
- Mouse bug reported (weight 0.2): Players have reported encountering a bug related to the mouse functionality.

Recommendations:
- New high-water mark for narrative RPGs (weight 0.2): This cluster indicates that the game has set a new benchmark for narrative-driven role-playing games and point & click adventures.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.31): Players are frustrated primarily due to technical issues such as mouse interaction bugs, poor gamepad controls, and frequent encounters with bugs. Additionally, the lack of quick save/load features and high skill check failure rates contribute to a sense of progression loss and inconvenience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.12): Disappointment stems from the game feeling like an unfinished product, with notable issues including missing voice lines and poor quality narration. Some players also feel it lacks originality, comparing it unfavorably to Disco Elysium.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.12): Players enjoy the game's art direction, narrative systems, and overall aesthetic vibes. The writing style and skill check mechanics are also highlighted as positive aspects that enhance the gaming experience.
- Admiration (weight 0.08): The artistic work, background setting, and sound design are highly praised. Players admire the game's visual and auditory elements, which contribute significantly to its atmosphere.
- Amusement (weight 0.04): Character customization and the variety of fashion items bring a sense of fun and personalization. Players find amusement in the creative and often humorous options available for their characters.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.04): Players are satisfied with the richness of the game's content and the quality of its narration. The depth and engagement provided by the narrative contribute to a fulfilling experience.
- Minor frustration (weight 0.04): Encountering minor bugs can be a slight annoyance. While not game-breaking, these small issues can still detract from an otherwise smooth experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): The game's innovative mechanics and narrative generate a sense of excitement. Players are eager to explore the unique features and story elements that set this game apart.}