I barely have a clue what Zero Parades is about, yet I'm already sat. ZAUM's latest was undoubtedly one of my highlights of Gamescom Opening Night Live, and if it wasn't for the awesome new look at Resident Evil Requiem blowing my socks off at the show's tail end, it would be my number one takeaway from the whole thing.
Zero Parades' one-minute trailer had me entranced almost instantly. It's drenched in moody noir vibes, starring a mysterious spy named Hershel skulking through a dark city painted in flashes of red, black, and icy deep blues. Between the cryptic voiceover and on-screen text – "your friends are you, each a separate limb of the whole" – I'm thoroughly confused as to what I'm actually seeing.
I'm also thoroughly delighted all the same. I finished my first playthrough of Disco Elysium earlier this year, and seeing flashes of the studio's tell-tale isometric exploration in this very short teaser has me hoping beyond hope that ZAUM is about to revolutionize the modern CRPG once again.
Ego / Id
One key reason I'm so hyped for Zero Parades is how fundamentally different it is from any other upcoming RPG set to launch in 2025.
In truth, it's been an incredible time for fans of roleplaying games. Avowed brought me to a stunning new world of ancient gods and magic, Assassin's Creed Shadows is a sci-fi historical epic across 16th century Japan, and I can't wait to explore Seattle's supernatural underbelly in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 this October. All of those games have one key thing in common, though: they operate at different levels of fantasy.
There's nothing wrong with fantasy RPGs at all. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is my frontline contender for game of the year right now, and Sandfall Interactive's beautiful JRPG is nothing if not a deeply human story wrapped in fantastical packaging. But when put next to the likes of Disco Elysium in all its text-heavy, philosophically probing glory, they couldn't be more dissimilar.
Harrier Du Bois' journey is both a mental and physical one. I knew that it would be a gruelling, far more cerebrally demanding game compared to many of the best RPGs out there, and that's exactly the experience I had.
Disco Elysium does not go easy on the player. At various stages, I found myself feeling interrogated by it not unlike Harry's own (often failed) attempts at grilling his suspects. Delving into the depths of the human psyche is not something many games take the time to do, certainly not with such bold articulation.
Connect the dots
We need a little variety in the RPG scene right now, and ZAUM is in a great position to deliver the goods.
Playing Disco Elysium quite literally rewrote the book on what RPGs could be in my eyes, the perfect antithesis to pretty much anything else on the market.
Enter: Zero Parades. Even without a release date – or even a release window for that matter – I'm certain there's more to these 60 seconds than meets the eye. It might be leaning into themes of espionage rather than alcoholic law enforcement officers, but in true ZAUM style, Zero Parades looks similarly dark and twisted.
I played the trailer back numerous times, poring over each and every frame and marvelling at the flashes of cryptic clues. There's neither a wisp of magic nor vampire fang in sightsight, and given the dark and brooding color palette, Zero Parades looks set to follow in Disco Elysium's mysterious footprints as the RPG to stand out against all others.
As you can probably tell, I already can't wait to play it. The fact that some of Disco's best ideas are sticking around for it has me all about the hype train further still. Maybe I'm jumping the gun (it's only just been announced, after all), but I have a sneaking suspicion that Zero Parades is going to be my next melancholic thrill ride in the hopefully not-too distant future. We need a little variety in the RPG scene right now, and ZAUM is in a great position to deliver the goods in spades.
Check out all the new games on the horizon as 2025 keeps rolling out!
