I’ve played close to 150 new video games in 2026, but few of them have stuck in my mind quite like Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. What I thought might land with me as a pale follow-up to the sensational Disco Elysium has only cut deeper as I’ve spent time with a story of personal failure in a world built on betrayal. Every day, I feel more like Hershel Wilk, a disgraced spy who can’t seem to do right by anyone.

If you’re as much of a glutton for self-loathing as me, you’re in luck: Zero Parades is finally available on more platforms today. A new Director’s Cut brings the formerly PC-only RPG to Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X with new content in tow. Despite carrying the baggage of a turbulent development cycle that ended in post-launch layoffs, Zero Parades is still very much worth playing to discover a sharply-written espionage RPG that has a way of getting under your fingernails.

Zero Parades very much follows Disco Elysium ’s playbook to the letter. It’s a narrative-driven RPG built on tabletop rules, complete with dice rolls and skill checks. There’s a narrator who gives voice to the clashing personality traits in your head, a cast of eccentric townies, and painterly art that makes it clear that’s consistent with developer ZA/UM’s breakthrough success. Those elements were almost a burden when the game first released earlier this year, as some worried that Zero Parades would be a desperate imitation of Disco Elysium made without many of the key creatives behind that game.

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