ZA/UM Studio has released the public demo for ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies as part of Steam Next Fest, making the opening hours of its new espionage RPG free to play through March 16.

The demo follows a weekend in which more than 4,000 keys were distributed privately. Now, anyone can step into Portofiro and decide whether ZA/UM can recapture the lightning of Disco Elysium.

The Setup

Hershel Wilk wakes in a grimy Portofiro apartment with no clear mission and one immediate problem. Her partner, codename Pseudopod, sits unresponsive in his underwear. In his pockets: a sock invoice and a lipstick-stamped business card that reads, “All you need is miracle.”

Like Disco, it opens on confusion in a rundown room. Unlike Disco, you are a trained spy without your briefing, forced to talk your way through a city alive with factions, propaganda, debt traps and secret police.

The Controversy Still Hangs Over It

“Zero Parades” arrives after years of turmoil at ZA/UM. Key creatives associated with “Disco Elysium,” including Robert Kurvitz, Aleksander Rostov and Helen Hindpere, were cut from the company in disputes that triggered lawsuits and public backlash.

For some fans, this demo is less a preview and more a test: what is ZA/UM without the figures most closely tied to its breakthrough hit?

Demo Review: Promising, Familiar, Slightly Haunted

The Steam Next Fest build opens up a substantial slice of Portofiro, and the city is the clear highlight. It feels active and interconnected, with quests that overlap and reward exploration rather than checklist completion. A hidden jail, for instance, can be uncovered through poetry, stealth or sharp deduction depending on your build, signaling meaningful branching design.

The new mechanics add welcome texture, even if they don’t always bite as hard as they could in this early slice.

What works:

– Portofiro feels alive, with oddball citizens and factional tensions that naturally interlock.
– Branching quest design shows real depth, with multiple viable routes to major discoveries.
– “Dramatic Encounters” turn spy fiction into dice-driven tension without resorting to combat.
– The Anxiety, Fatigue and Delirium system introduces strategic risk through Exertion.

What raises eyebrows:

– The talking skill voices feel less distinct than Disco’s fractured psyche.
– The psychological pressure rarely feels dangerous in this build.
– The structure mirrors its predecessor closely enough that comparisons are unavoidable.

Conclusion: Schrodinger’s Follow-Up

The result is a more recognizably systemic RPG, broader in scope and more mechanically defined. It’s confident and often compelling. Whether it ultimately steps out of Disco’s shadow remains the open question.

You can play the demo here until March 16.

The full game is slated for PC, with a PlayStation 5 version planned later in 2026.