Just four months after the release of Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, and two months after laying off a significant number of employees, Studio ZA/UM has announced Zero Parades: Director’s Cut, a major update that will add roughly 40,000 words of new content, a new encounter, and other improvements and fixes.
From the announcement on Steam: “Zero Parades: Director’s Cut is the definitive edition of our espionage RPG, bringing more story, scenery and mind-fuckery to discover during your bid to reunite The Whole Sick Crew. And yes, we heard you: that includes more Melita.”
All due respect to Melita, but the real centerpiece of the Director’s Cut appears to be Quisach Roundabout, a new “dramatic encounter” about escaping the titular roundabout. As someone who lives in a country where roundabouts are still relatively new and rare, I’d say that sounds relatable, but apparently this adventure runs a little deeper than just having to figure out which lane you’re supposed to be in.
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“Hershel and her old friend Ramses find themselves stoned out of their minds, behind the wheel of a hijacked tuk-tuk and seemingly unable to escape the Quisach Roundabout late at night. The objective seems simple enough: take the right exit and head home. Fail to do so, and well… things might get existential. And possibly fatal.”
The Director’s Cut also offers a new “backstage mode,” providing a look at technical insights into the game’s development, cut content, and stories from art director Kaspar Tamsalu, new clothing, interactions, death screens, and “atmospheric additions,” various quality of life improvements, “and loads more.”
Zero Parades: Director’s Cut sounds a lot like Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, which brought full voice acting, new characters, a new location, and more to the acclaimed 2019 RPG. But there’s one notable difference: Where The Final Cut arrived a year and a half after Disco Elysium’s release, Zero Parades: Director’s Cut is dropping just four months after the original release. The relatively muted response to Zero Parades compared to Disco Elysium may be a factor in that seeming rush, particularly given that the studio previously cited that shortcoming as the reason for layoff of up to 32 people that was announced in July.
In any event, the response to the Director’s Cut from Zero Parades fans is very positive, and it does represent a second chance of sorts for the game: It’s coming as a free update for current owners on October 1, and will also mark the game’s launch on PlayStation 5, which is set to happen on November 3.
