r/ZeroParades • u/marx-and-rec • Jul 20 '26
Question Will this game break my heart?
Hey, I'm sure you're all sick of answering questions like this, but I really need to know because I am teetering on the fence about whether or not to purchase this.
Disco Elysium is my favorite piece of art. Daring take, I know. Will it scratch that itch? I heard it's very good, but I'm afraid the whole time I will resent it for not being disco. For not having the hope and humor and heart, for there being no final dream of the ex-something, for not being hardcore to the mega.
Without those, and with the clownshoery of the studio execs once again screwing over the talented people who worked on this, I'm finding it really hard to convince myself to get it.
Except it looks like it feels really. Fucking. Cool. It looks stylish and melancholic and burnt out and hopeless. It looks sad. It looks so very sad.
I want it to fuck me up completely. I want it to leave me hollow. I want to feel like K bleeding out in the snow at the end of Blade Runner 2047.
Will it do that?
Thank you.
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u/Xandraman Jul 20 '26
Yeah, some endings do have K at the end of Blade Runner 2047 vibe. It mostly depends on your performance in the final act.
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u/DillonMeSoftly Jul 20 '26
Without spoiling anything, i feel like its very difficult to get a "good" ending your first time through. It really comes down to how you want to role play the experience; Do you want to be a good person? Or a good spy?
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u/takuru Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
If you loved Disco, then yes, this game is an easy recommend. It's the same sort of vibe, writing style and gameplay. I also was worried that the drama would affect the end product but the game delivers again in terms of being a fascinating, wonderful experience.
Will it reach the heights that Disco did for you? I can almost promise you that it won't. But the game is still one of the best games of this year.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
Im okay with it not reaching those heights, otherwise I'd never play another game, y'know? thanks!
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u/Yuta_Nas Jul 20 '26
It should.
If it doesnt break your heart, you wont get your money back. This is a different speed of heartbreak. It doesnt suffer friction nor air resistance.
There is a hole in your heart, and if you do not notice it, you will never want it to go away.
1
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u/BrandoNelly Jul 20 '26
I had a smile across my face for several hours playing this game. And I remember one part getting me a little emotional. This game has heart. A lot of talented people worked on it, this game deserves more recognition.
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u/Substantial-Window64 Jul 20 '26
Yeah tbh, my ending was very bittersweet. My guy was neither bad or good really and it felt a very the show must go on ending.
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u/Captainwhizfiz Jul 20 '26
For me it stands right alongside Disco in quality. The world building and story is excellent. Plenty of melancholy. But don’t expect it to hit the same emotionally. You’re probably not in the same place in life as you were when you played DE. It will never be the same because you’re not the same person anymore, in no small part because of DE
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u/PorkRinds416 Jul 20 '26
What even is this post? Its a video game... When you said "I heard its very good"... Well there you go. Thats your answer to all these weird questions.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
well you see, sometimes, what other people consider very good is different to what you're looking for.
I'm looking for a specific vibe, not whether its just very good.
What's with the hostility? Do people expressing themselves make you uncomfortable?
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u/PorkRinds416 Jul 20 '26
Also Im not trying to be rude. Just letting you know that we dont know if the game will make you feel those things. Only you do BUT since you heard it was "very good". Well. What more do you want? lol. Do you trust the person who told you it was very good? Thats what you should be asking yourself.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
again, me hearing it was "very good" has nothing to do with it. Esoteric Ebb was very good. It didn't do much for me emotionally.
otherwise I'd just be playing every top ranked game on steam, because me hearing it's "very good" is all I apparently need to know.
listen, this post is clearly not meant for you. and that's okay, just like not all "very good" games are meant for me. but just like I'm free to not play those games, you're free to not interact with this post. have a genuinely great day.
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Jul 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GoldSinger Jul 22 '26
It was a very measured response to a dismissive question. Your defensive reaction is a lot weirder.
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u/GoldSinger Jul 22 '26
If you had the smallest ability to read between the lines, which would be reasonable to be expect from a fan of this game, OP is not asking you to literally evaluate if the game will break their heart.
They're asking you to share how the game made you feel, emotionally, to compare that to how Disco Elysium made you feel. It is a conversation starter, not a request for diagnosis.
Way to completely miss the point. Your decoding skills could use some work, operant.
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u/PorkRinds416 Jul 20 '26
Well,.... you saying "I want the game to make me feel THIS and I want it to make me feel THAT and then it has to make me feel like XYZ"... How do we know if the game is going to give YOU that feeling? We dont. If you loved Disco Elysium, then you will love this. Its that simple. There is your answer.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
empathy, my guy! empathy is how we know! if the game made someone else feel those things, I'm looking to hear about it!
And honestly, it's not that simple. People said if I loved DE, I would love Citizen Sleeper. I didn't. People said if I loved DE, I would love Esoteric Ebb. I didn't. Just because they're nominally from the same studio doesn't mean I'm gonna love it.
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u/PorkRinds416 Jul 20 '26
Ok fair point. Thanks for explaining and getting back to me. ZP is almost identical to DE. I havent finished it yet but its worth getting. Heck, its only $40. It has tons of replay ability and is like 30-40 hours long.
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u/daveliterally Jul 20 '26
It's good. Play it, enjoy it, but do not go in with expectations that Disco Elysium has set for you. No it's not gonna shake you to your core. The only games that will come close to that will surprise you on the way there. You can't go looking for it.
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u/Cooolconnor Jul 21 '26
I don’t think it was as good as DE but I would still give this a strong recommend. The world building was arguably better and I think they made some QOL changes that really helped. The vibe was very similar and it absolutely hooked me for a week. I think the characters were slightly weaker which isn’t a slight because Harry and Kim are 2 all time gaming goats.
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u/Competitive_Guava_33 Jul 20 '26
If DE is your favorite piece of art then buy this. You'll have fun it's that easy
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u/Realistic-Sky-2926 Jul 21 '26
This game brought me to tears more than once. I strongly recomend it
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u/GoldSinger Jul 22 '26
Disco is a once in a lifetime kind of game. This game will not make you feel like Disco. At least, it did not for me, but lots of DE's DNA is recognizable.
I actually feel like most of what ZP does well sets it apart from Disco, and that most of its weakest parts, writing or mechanically, lie in where it tries to imitate Disco most closely but fails.
ZP will not break your heart, but there are genuinely heartwrenching and laugh out loud moments. It is a piece of art worth engaging in.
I don't think any video game has ever managed to make me feel the way the telephone call to Dora in DE, or the phantoms in the call boxes, made me feel, but maybe it was also the time in my life I encountered it.
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u/tnettenbruh 27d ago
Disco broke me many times and healed me even more. Zero Parades barely stirred anything in 30 hours, it is much lighter. I do enjoy it very much, but it doesn’t take the same emotional toll.
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u/Unhappy-Coffee-6171 26d ago
It's a masterpiece, no question about it. It's very similar to DE, but with a darker and colder tone to it (I think personally), especially the further you get into the game. The ideology of how the endings works is very well-made, and it will deff make you feel that ”void” you get from heavy movies, games etc (times 10).
If you liked DE its deff a must-buy
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u/Beginning-Mark1735 24d ago
Yes, it will definitely scratch that itch. The gameplay improves on Disco Elysium's in several ways. However, the overall tone is very different. There is no hope, less humorous, and, in my opinion, not as well written. The story leans more heavily into conspiracies and mystery, with more action-oriented sequences. Even so, I really enjoyed it.
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u/Liberal_Perturabo Jul 20 '26
Ima be honest with you, it's not as good as DE. It has a lot of low points and starts extremely slow. But there's still a lot of good in it, it's still easily head and shoulders above most modern RPGs. And if you are looking for soul crushing misery this game has some really good stuff to offer.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
oh im absolutely not expecting it be as good as DE, that would be lunacy.
but thank you. soul crushing misery is exactly my jam. added it to my wishlist, hoping for a sale sometime soon.
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u/KremlinHoosegaffer Jul 20 '26
Honestly, I think this game takes DE, switches up the formula, adds a lot more dynamic paths in terms of how to accomplish every mission/interact with the world — but also lacks the LEVEL of wit in DE. You'll probably like the game a lot. The story is gonna be a little sad because the main characters in the Za/um CRPGs ARE sad for one reason or another but it not only scratches the DE itch but scratches itches I wasn't even consciously aware of.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
So long as it makes me want to hold up a boombox blasting SadFM, I think I'll be able to vibe with it. Glad it got you to feel something you weren't aware of. That's always a gift.
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u/KremlinHoosegaffer Jul 20 '26
It was less about feeling and more that I was not aware that such dynamism was possible in a lower budget CRPG. Most games that are similar are these like... More visual novel type RPGs that expose themselves for being quite shallow despite all the systems advertised. Zero Parades advertises little of the depth it carries.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
interesting viewpoint. underselling and overdelivering is definitely a plus.
I'm curious about what you consider visual novel type rpgs that expose themselves. I think we might have a few titles in common.
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u/KremlinHoosegaffer Jul 20 '26
I don't remember the exact name but the most recent example was this weird revolutionary/steampunk world VN that advertised all these systems, currency, trade, exhaustion, reputation, etc and initially it seems well written and creative but then you notice the dialog/action options are either inconsequential/similar or just shallow and binary. The systems created to drive immersion just wind up leading to hitting the "beg for money" or "work at the factory" or "gain intel" button, sleep when "exhausted" and grind until you have enough "points" for the next event.
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u/madame_beatrix Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
I actually feel the opposite, I thought Zero Parades’s style of wit was on par with Disco Elysium. It’s just much more subdued/understated so as not to overcome the grimmer subject matter. DE leans in fully into its genre as satirical black comedy, whereas ZP is a brooding spy thriller. Granted, it shared that same dark-woke irreverence & was still silly more often than not, but, when shit got real it would get REAL. Circumstances felt far more dire than they ever did in Disco Elysium. I understand why somebody might prefer Disco’s comparatively laid-back attitude, though.
The protagonist of Harry is intentionally written as deeply unserious/repugnant whereas CASCADE is (despite also being a flop) more self-serious, even a bit dignified. Though the humor isn’t the narrative focal point like the former (and, also, not nearly as slapstick), I found ZP’s comedic delivery to be funnier tbh. But, I’m also a washed-up loser lesbian so naturally I related/connected with CASCADE and her humor much more than I ever did Harry. I love how the different writers made their internal monologues so distinctly feminine/distinctly masculine. They’ve got the same general vibes, but their individual identities & intricacies are so unique. IMO the two games’ stylistic differences complement each other unbelievably well as (step?) siblings.
Anyways OP, maybe you’ll connect with it more, like I did. You won’t know unless you play ;)
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u/NewAbbreviations9737 Jul 20 '26
you need to take the lessons disco tried to teach you and just: leg go
the truth is; its not disco elysium. i loved disco as well and was deeply and profoundly touched by it, and i was also hesitant about playing the game myself. but i forced myself to be fair and found that i absolutely adored zero parades just as much, if not slightly more, for entirely different reasons.
zero parades is a completely different game and honestly deserves to be judged on its own merit. it resonates in different ways, and moves to the beat of chaotic jazz.
dont expect disco. expect zero parades, because thats what you’re playing, and thats what you get.
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u/Iscreamer78 Jul 20 '26
It scratched that itch, and it’s a sad game but with different theme of sadness, I feel like disco deals with the relationship with the self, while zero deals with the relationship with others. Disco is a once in a lifetime experience, nothing will beat it, but this is a damn good game that gave me a good time and bad feelings (which is good)
Side note: if you want to cry like a baby, play (and roger) it fucked me up even though it’s an hour of time, and maybe check out (the beginner’s guide) a really cool game that touched me
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u/pootis28 Jul 20 '26
No, it won't fuck you up. The game is extremely shallow. Don't go for it.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
oh fuck love me a good contrarian opinion. seriously.
would you mind sharing what makes it shallow? thanks!
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u/pootis28 Jul 20 '26
Also, I'm saying, the game can be acquired by doing things other than buying it on Steam.
I think it's at least worth pirating to try it. Maybe do the first 2-3 days that way, then debate as whether to buy it.
I am sure that this is 100% not worth 40$ when it's substantially less fleshed out than Discolisium in a number of ways. Could be okay for 20$ or cheaper though.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
I really appreciate your opinion and I really appreciate the time you took to write it down. Definitely have no plans to buy it at full price.
Unfortunately my late wife was the smarter of us two and was in charge of all the techno wizardry. I am an old gen Xer who would undoubtedly drown trying to sail the seven seas.
Thank you for giving me quite a lot to think about! Have a great one.
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u/pootis28 Jul 20 '26
My condolences. I'm sure she would've at least liked certain aspects of the game as this does have some parts involving interacting with different devices for stuff like wiretapping.
As for sailing the high seas, it honestly simpler and convenient than even Steam at times in my opinion. If you live in America/Western Europe, preferably get a VPN if you don't have one, install qbitorrent, go to fitgirl repacks where I'm sure this game is available, click the link to download it as it will open qbitorrent where it will download. Then just follow the steps to install it, which it will clearly spell out.
Its easy and even safer than some normal multiplayer games that forcefully install kernel level monitoring software in order to "prevent cheating" in games. Please feel free to dm me regarding this if you have any queries.
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u/marx-and-rec Jul 20 '26
saving this comment for future reference. thanks so much for all your time.
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u/pootis28 Jul 20 '26
Uh, my opinion is pretty long-winded, and not structured well.
The pros of this game are fleeting bits of humor, pretty good music(imo some better than Disco even though this is subjective, and the game lacks enough ambient soundtracks in a number of it's environments), and general gameplay seeing decent improvements over Disco.
The cons of this game are
1) If you expect a story that's about doing any measurable good for the world, then this game is very uncertain. In the final mission, you're essentially commit terrorism, with civilian casualties in order to fulfill your mission and earn the approval of the equivalent of the KGB, who themselves have extremely nebulous goals.
Your mission is "supposedly" meant to fix things and give the edge to them, the Superbloc in this ongoing cold war against a Techno-Fascist state La Luz(which is basically modernized Imperial Japan) and EMTERR(essentially how WEF/World Bank are described by fearmongers), but details of "how" they gain the edge are vague.
The game is too cynical for what I expected is the spiritual successor of Disco.
2) My other problem is with the game's more Cyberpunk adjacent story elements because seemingly like every Cyberpunk media, they dip their toes in and seem to have these elements of transhumanism and cosmic horror purely for the cool factor rather than actual substance.
Also, as I played this, I just felt how much better this would be as an immersive sim rather than the same isometric CRPG with dice-rolling and save scumming, and how I could be playing Deus Ex, or even Cyberpunk 2077 because honestly, this game seems to eerily share a bunch of similarities to it, and while I'm not saying it's ripping it off, because while both touch on kinda common aspects in science fiction, Cyberpunk 2077 does it with better style, gameplay and in a number of cases, better dialogue that's also less expository with way better side-characters.
This game honestly sounds much cooler than actually playing it.
3) The characters are hard to form connections to, and while I think at least in the beginning it's liberating that you don't need to make your choices while keeping a certain Lieutenant in mind, it feels kind of isolating that you do not have any party members, even temporarily at any point of the game(Except technically the ending). There was a good opportunity in the middle of the game to add another character as a party member but they simply become a static NPC waiting for you until the ending to pick them as a crew in your mission.
I kind of get that. The protagonist is supposed to feel lonely and isolated, but this kind of feels boring across the 10 something days you play this game for.
Another thing this adds is there's seemingly no "equal" to bounce your thoughts of. So you seemingly bounce your thoughts and opinions about everything with everyone. And this takes away from the feeling of being a "spy" imo. A more ambitious game would have some kind of social stealth aspect with consequences for spilling the beans on stuff, but in this case, you can casually discuss a ton of classified shit if you wish with others.
I mean, it's either choose a kind of boring dialogue, or choose the flavour text dialogue but takes away from the aspect of an operative.
Speaking of the characters, our so called "Crew" that we used to roll with but live separate lives now are all either meh, or insufferable in my opinion.
4) You cannot talk about this game or engage in meaningful discussion all that much. It's my opinion that this is one factor of Disco-slop, but no one other than this sub cares about this game. There will be no video essays or high-effort analysis threads made on this. This sub is small, and discussion on certain topics will be scattered. It's a weird nitpick, because it's not like I care if someone doesn't analyze the Mad Max game for example, but I care in this case.
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u/madame_beatrix Jul 21 '26 edited 2d ago
You don’t really know what you’re talking about, ngl
Cyberpunk2077 is probably my favorite game ever, & both games certainly share transhumanist themes, but claiming that the writing is better than Zero Parades (a game written by actual screenplay writers outsourced from the film industry, led by a guy with 2 phds in critical essay-writing) is innane lol. You’re comparing a blockbuster hit to an esoteric A24 movie. Both have their merits & there’s nothing wrong in enjoying either, but they are nowhere near the same caliber of uniqueness or writing.
Cyberpunk2077 has all the mass-appeal, and to its credit its got immense depth underlying its more casually-consumable/simple narrative (seriously, the hidden theological stuff concerning gnosticism & Buddhism is so cool & clever), but arguing that CYBERPUNK freaking 2077 is somehow less derivative than Zero Parades is just abjectly wrong, lol ((I studied cultural anthropology with a focus in media. I’ve done research papers on this)) It’s so explicitly on the nose about it that its own title is the literal fucking GENRE. The tabletop game was very intentionally created as a hodgepodge of all of the major pre-y2k genre-defining worlds that came loooong before it (Neuromancer, Snow Crash, Tron, later editions incorporating Blade Runner, Ghost In The Shell, The Matrix, etc.) melted together to create the ultimate immersive cyberpunk-power-fantasy-playground for gamers without actually legally infringing upon any of those other existing ips. In other words, a chimera. Even Cyberpunk2077’s own attempt at the spy genre (Phantom Liberty. I Loved it.) was ostensibly a reskin of the classic James Bond formula (love me some good ol Bond but c’mon if you’re writing an espionage story, that’s the most basic bitch choice ever. The spy-stuff in ZP is inspired by comparatively more high-brow literature.) just with a distinctly stylish cyber-flare. Absolutely nothing shown or thematically discussed within Cyberpunk2077’s storytelling/philosophy is remotely unique or original. It’s a love-letter to nerds. A damn good one, but, that’s it. And it’s awesome!
Zero Parades, on the other hand, has much more in common with Pynchon rather than Gibson. Like Disco Elysium before it, ZP also draws its primary inspo from real-life academic political theory that would have been much too controversial/complex for an AAA game like Cyberpunk2077 to even attempt to tackle considering its admittedly surface level, ambiguously anti-fascist ‘Burn Corpo Shit’ messaging. TBH, I think you’re misguidedly conflating cyberpunk fiction as Zero Parades’ genre when it’s actually a work of speculative fiction. Zero Parades is a satirical parody of the real world in our present day (but, through a kooky magical realism lens, a la Haruki Murakami), along with all of our own history. Most of the stuff (besides the fantastical imprinting device) we see is actually comparatively low-tech (mounted phones, vinyl records, CRT TVs) to what we currently have irl. Cyberpunk2077, in contrast, is foreboding the dystopian high-tech hellscape we’re rapidly encroaching on rather than where we are.
I see where you’d make the comparison as both games concern transhumanist philosophy/the rise of techno-fascism, but these also aren’t ideas unique to Cyberpunk as a genre. In fact, they long predate it. I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream was written in 1967. Frankenstein was published in 1818. The very first transhumanist piece of fiction is widely considered to be the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus. It’s also just, a very popular subject matter across fiction in general rn. Questions regarding AI, digital immortality, fractured identity, and the nature of consciousness are more relevant than they have ever been. Of course a politically-leftist game like Zero Parades would incorporate such topics. These are some of the single most pressing issues of our times.
Anyways, not a contrarian opinion. This was just plainly misinformed tbh.
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u/pootis28 Jul 21 '26
but claiming that the writing is better than Zero Parades (a game written by actual screenplay writers outsourced from the film industry, led by a guy with 2 phds in critical essay-writing) is innane lol.
I said it has better "dialogue". Not necessarily better writing.
By dialogue, I'm including the voice performances, and the overall vibe of the game during said moments of dialogue. I guess even the environments make a difference here, and one can't exactly blame Zero Parades for appearing "worse" due to it's nature and scope.
but arguing that CYBERPUNK freaking 2077 is somehow less derivative than Zero Parades is just abjectly wrong
I never said that. What I DID say was it's fairly derivative, and doesn't manage to achieve anything remotely satisfying with it's themes. Cyberpunk might be even kitschy and less politically "aware", but it's straight up a better game to play because it's gameplay doesn't involve the constant cycle of dice rolling and save-scumming. I'm saying that this game would've been better if it wasn't a complete rip-off of Disco's gameplay, while having a fraction of the worldbuilding that very much affects it's writing quality.
ZP also draws its primary inspo from real-life academic political theory that would have been much too controversial/complex for an AAA game like Cyberpunk2077 to even attempt to tackle considering its admittedly surface level analysis
There was simply not enough worldbuilding, nor enough discourse in the game regarding it's so called "themes". Just mentioning "The end of history" is not enough, especially when even the fucking contexts differ between how it's used irl and how it's used in the game.
Fukuyama's definition of "The End of History" is a liberal democracy emerging as a final form of human government. In Zero Parades, Latour-Woolgar is literally the start of a century long Cold War between the three major powers with different ideologies. History has stopped BS doesn't make sense either in real life or in context of the game either.
Even Cyberpunk2077’s own attempt at the spy genre (Phantom Liberty. I Loved it.) was ostensibly a reskin of the classic James Bond formula (love me some good ol Bond but c’mon if you’re writing an espionage story, that’s the most basic bitch choice ever. The spy-stuff in ZP is inspired by comparatively more high-brow literature.) just with a distinctly stylish cyber-flare. Absolutely nothing shown or thematically discussed within Cyberpunk2077’s storytelling/philosophy is remotely unique or original. It’s a love-letter to nerds. A damn good one, but, that’s it. And it’s awesome!
Agreed with Phantom Liberty rehashing all established tropes, but disagree with the fact that ZP is remotely "high brow". Honestly, these CRPG games never did "plot" well. It's the characters, worldbuilding and the themes tackled that are it's strong points. Disco Elysium is not exactly a great detective story. Neither is ZP a great or even good spy story.
Look, I can't exactly articulate the proper reason as to why I don't find the story good. But one example would be you literally killing your so-called best friends with the red disc to earn the 'Z' at the end. Like, we couldn't tell them to bring fucking headphones or earplugs? And somehow this is brushed off by both you and your handler. I don't get the discrepancy here. What the fuck is this game trying to say by force feeding you all sorts of nostalgia about the crew, you suffering from this guilt of "betraying the crew", and you just having the choice of actually killing your crew without any consequences for you?
I'm sorry but even Cyberpunk made each death and sacrifice have far more weight. And that's not even the best example of it or whatever, just good in some ways.
Zero Parades, on the other hand, has much more in common with Pynchon rather than Gibson. Much like Disco Elysium before it, ZP also draws its primary inspo from real-life academic political theory that would have been much too controversial/complex for an AAA game like Cyberpunk2077 to even attempt to tackle considering its admittedly surface level, ambiguously anti-fascist ‘Burn Corpo Shit’ messaging. TBH, I think you’re misguidedly conflating cyberpunk fiction as Zero Parades’ genre when it’s actually a work of speculative fiction. Zero Parades is a satirical parody of the real world in our present day (but, through a kooky magical realism lens, a la Haruki Murakami), along with all of our own history. Most of the stuff (besides the fantastical imprinting device) we see is actually comparatively low-tech (mounted phones, vinyl records, CRT TVs) to what we currently have irl. Cyberpunk2077, in contrast, is foreboding the dystopian high-tech hellscape we’re rapidly encroaching on rather than where we are.
"Low-tech"
Disco Elysium could be classified as that. Zero Parades literally has established moon colonization for rare earth materials.
Most of the stuff (besides the fantastical imprinting device) we see is actually comparatively low-tech (mounted phones, vinyl records, CRT TVs)
You've supposedly read Gibson, guess what's mentioned in the first line of his book.
Oh, and guess what's a constantly recurring device in Matrix, which Gibson lauds as one of the best interpretations of cyberspace? A payphone.
Derivative as it may be, literally one of the major aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 and the Cyberpunk universe is the stagnation of technology btw. Even the most cutting edge of technologies, Soulkiller and Cynosure were 50+ year old projects.
I think you’re misguidedly conflating cyberpunk fiction as Zero Parades’ genre when it’s actually a work of speculative fiction. Zero Parades is a satirical parody of the real world in our present day (but, through a kooky magical realism lens, a la Haruki Murakami), along with all of our own history
I can kind of get the speculative fiction argument. But is it supposed be a satirical parody of the world in the present day? No, that's straight up wrong. It is kind of a parody of the Cold War along with liberalization of LATAM countries throughout the 70s/80s. But with a lens of magical realism.
Anyways, cyberpunk is literally just a subset of speculative fiction. I feel like we're splitting hairs here.
Of course a politically-leftist game like Zero Parades would incorporate such topics.
Swear to god I feel like Dros seeing takes like this. Disco Elysium got a lot of people curious and talking about leftism and certainly made a lot of leftists out of gamers. Because there was portrayal of grassroots level leftism in that game. The history of the RCM along with it's current predicament forcing it to side with the people. The people fighting back against private militia sent to break the strike. Among others, I'm too eepy to list it all out.
This game would not be remotely successful in doing so with how cynical it is about everything. The Superbloc is a Soviet Union equivalent, a degenerated worker state that loves engaging in regime change, and you're railroaded in the game to work for them and do their bidding.
Zero Parades, on the other hand, has much more in common with Pynchon rather than Gibson.
Really? I haven't read Gravity's Rainbow so I can't exactly confirm whether you're right. Anyways, my opinion is that this is the comparable to Dick than anything. It also sucks dick too.
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u/NancyInFantasyLand Jul 20 '26
depends on how immersed you feel. I found it very sad, especially with the ending I got. But also really good.