Everything we know about ZERO PARADES (as briefly as possible)

A trailer for the role-playing game ZERO PARADES (formerly known as C4) was presented at gamescom Opening Night Live 2025. The project is being developed by the Estonian studio ZA/UM, which released the non-trivial RPG Disco Elysium in 2019. Since then, ZA/UM has lost key developers and cancelled several projects. Now the fate of the studio directly depends on the success of ZERO PARADES, which has been in development for more than three years. In this article, we have collected everything that we know about the game at the moment.

To give an idea of ​​what the game's universe will be like, ZA/UM talked about the inspirations that helped shape it.

ZERO PARADES is a spy role-playing game. The world in which its events unfold is influenced by the works of famous writers. The novels of John le Carré influenced the implementation of the spy component. While the science fiction side of the game is inspired by the works of Philip K. Dick and Stanisław Lem.

The developers claim that the image of the dark universe they created is radically different from typical representatives of the spy genre, such as James Bond or Mission: Impossible. When creating ZERO PARADES, they paid attention to the style of Korean director Park Chan-wook, the author of the drama Oldboy and the spy thriller The Little Drummer Girl.

The events unfold in a metropolis in which there is a struggle for power between three influential factions. Hershel Wilk is an operative who failed a mission several years ago. During an operation she was leading, several agents were killed. After these events, her activities were suspended. However, the agency suddenly gives her a mission in which Hershel must convince her former colleagues to work with her again.

The developers have not yet talked about the combat system, since it will not be the main gameplay component. The game focuses on interaction with characters through dialogues.

In turn, the dialogue system contains a skill check mechanic. Also in ZERO PARADES there are internal monologues. This system resembles the "cabinet of reflections" from Disco Elysium. The player will form the personality of the heroine, accepting or rejecting the results of her reflections. Which in turn gives bonuses. However, if the player does not follow the decisions made, dissonance will arise, the consequences of which will have a negative impact on Hershel.

Also, its characteristics and behavior depend on fatigue and stress. These factors are influenced by food and sleep.

Another gameplay mechanic is the ability to increase the odds of throws, at the expense of decreasing the luck indicators in subsequent actions.

In most аspects, the role-playing system is similar to Disco Elysium.

The release date of ZERO PARADES is not yet known. The game will appear on PC, but the developers have not yet announced other target platforms.