The spiritual successor to Disco Elysium cannot escape its ghosts

Zero Marches: For Dead Spies He wants you to doubt the price of forgiveness. After leading a crew of spies during a botched operation, protagonist Cascade is willing to pay any sum required to reconnect not only with her fellow agents, but also with the friends she has let down. After being “frozen” for five years and forced to do desk work, Cascade is sent to Portovero with a mission and a chance to redeem herself.

Zero marches Very similar Disco Elysiumthe critically acclaimed 2019 RPG, featuring a catastrophic detective dealing with generational heartbreak and the hangover that has divided his psyche into dozens of voices in his head. On paper, this makes sense, as both games were produced by the same studio ZA/UM. But ZA/UM issued Disco Elysium And the studios that exist now are completely different studios.

This is all because for the past seven years, current ZA/UM and some of its founding members, who were dismissed from the studio in 2022, have been in a seemingly endless feud. It included a court ruling and allegations that ZA/UM had stolen Disco Elysium Intellectual property from people who were pivotal to its creation, alleged misconduct by key members of the team, the consequences of what is described as a stressful, overtime-driven development, and community outrage that the people still at ZA/UM regard as scabs, It is said Going as far as receiving death threats.

Because of this, Zero marches Carrying heavy luggage. It is also impossible to divorce her from a shadow Disco Elysium. From a design perspective, it takes almost every notable feature and mechanic from its predecessor as a foundation. Perhaps most importantly, the fictional story, whether intentional or not, seems to reflect the situation in the real world. This baggage weighs Zero marches To the point that it cannot match its predecessor, nor form its own identity.

It all starts with the question of what kind of spy you are. You can either choose from pre-defined archetypes or invest your own points into 15 skills. Much like in Disco Elysiumthese skills not only help inform your dice rolls during conversations and while performing specific actions, but they also inhabit Cascade’s mind as separate entities that intermittently chime in. Depending on your choices, your Cascade could be a tech-savvy spy, someone who thrives on reading a room and noticing the slightest change in attitude or expression, or a metaphysical geek.

Zero marches She balances Cascade’s fatigue, anxiety, and delirium, all of which are exacerbated by what she witnesses and any mistakes she makes. When you reach your breaking point, you will have to lose a skill point you have already invested. Notably, you can also practice certain actions by intentionally triggering one of the three conditions to have better chances of success. It is as if the spy is forcing her body and mind to achieve her goals, even if it means losing parts of herself in the process.

This effort sums up Cascade perfectly, constantly haunted by its ghosts. It’s its defining feature. While the main story revolves around the mission, you need to build a crew for it, which means tracking down your former teammates and dealing with the consequences of your failure years ago. Each character is broken down in a different way, and you’re never exactly welcomed with open arms.

This is where the espionage element comes into play Zero marches Clicked for me. When it comes to successfully pretending to be someone else in stressful situations, I’ve gotten it wrong pretty much every time. But My Cascade has become very efficient at knowing exactly what to say and what buttons to press to get their crew together – even though they know there’s a chance they could get hurt again. As one character says: “You break them over and over again, and yet they stick to you.”

in People make gamesIn the initial report on ZA/UM’s status in 2023, lead writer and designer Robert Kurvitz said that “this company has ruined the lives of four of my closest friends.” Kurwitz, along with art director and designer Alexander Rostov and writer Helen Hindbeer, were fired in 2022. It was one of many dominoes that have continued to tumble ever since, with allegations being made primarily between Kurwitz, Rostov, and what remained of ZA/UM. It’s a long, drawn-out ordeal: People Make Games’ initial report is over two hours long, and there it is Follow-up investigationalong with a separate five-part documentary noclipAnd many other reports and data.

However, the most notable points relate to which studio owns the intellectual property rights Without the founding membersAnd the ongoing disputes regarding the aforementioned studio’s shares and how they have fluctuated over the years External stakeholders I got involved. She was there too Toxicity claims By current and former developers, with employees claiming that Corvitz, in particular, was A challenge to work with. ZA/UM has since dealt with Layoffs and I mentioned CANCELING PROJECTS To make matters more complicated, there are also four companies founded by former team members. Ironically, success Disco Elysiumwhich went on to sell more than 5 million copies, inevitably turned a romantic piece of art into a product. The result is that all these developments have become antithetical to its primitive anti-capitalist spirit.

absence DiscoThe main creative minds are clearly visible. There is a clear technological leap in how the game plays and how Portofiro looks and feels. However, the writing and worldbuilding are less elegant and engaging. The main story largely plays it safe, the city is too condensed, most of the characters lack depth, and some of Cascade’s dialogue choices read like internet memes. It bothered me to see “Kiss Now” and “Great, if it’s true”, while attempts to reclaim anti-capitalist sentiment in… Disco Elysium With passing phrases like “dream is bourgeois” they seem like strange attempts to recapture that original spirit.

After the credits rolled, the ongoing problems in and out of ZA/UM stuck with me. I can’t stop thinking about the developers who joined as fans of Disco Elysium They were forced to meet very high expectations while also being caught in the crossfire of disputes involving creators who were no longer even part of the studio. In distinctive ZA/UM style, Zero marches It expresses the studio’s fears and frustrations, while inevitably reflecting both sides of the overarching story, leaving a lot to interpretation.

As a Cascade, I did what I had to do while seeking forgiveness. I’ve manipulated old friends into joining me on one last job, conned people who put their trust in me out of information, and left multiple quests undone, which will undoubtedly have repercussions for a city I never plan to set foot in again. in Zero marchesYou have the freedom to choose the mask you wear. Roll the right dice, choose the right words, and you may convince yourself that your actions were right all along.

_{Zero Marches: For Dead Spies It will be released on May 21 on PC.}