Welcome to Into Indie Games’ Zero Parades: For Dead Spies Walkthrough.
From the creators of Disco Elysium, ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies drops players into a tense, surreal espionage RPG full of political intrigue, broken alliances, and psychological chaos. You step into the shoes of Hershel Wilk, a disgraced operative dragged back for one last assignment in the decaying city of Portofiro, where nearly every conversation can spiral into danger. Like its spiritual predecessor, the game leans heavily into dialogue, skill checks, and player choice, but adds new systems built around mental pressure, dramatic encounters, and spycraft. This walkthrough will guide you through the game’s investigations, choices, puzzles, and branching outcomes while helping you survive its strange and often overwhelming world.
Climb up the ladder down on the right of Marco, before heading into the Doctor’s office. On the roof you can pick up a pack of Sturdy Pony. There is an AC here that you cannot access without a Pry bar.
Gonza’s Clinic
Inside you will find the doctor all bloody and trying to hang himself. He wants you to deal with Marco outside. This will update the task “What’s Wrong Pseudopod?” and unlock the location on the map. Speak to him more about Marco. He wants one of his teeth. This will update the task again. Eventually, he will give you the Prybar. If you tell him about Pseudopod’s condition, you can access an impossible Nerve check.
For the moment, just calm him down and head outside.
Party Alley
Outside pick up the Wisnia Hard Gummies from the supply box on the right of the clinic.
Go back to the roof from earlier and pry open the AC.
Inside you will find a pack of Ouroboros Black. Speak to Marco again. Tell him the doctor thinks he is a spy for the medical board, this will update the task “What’s wrong, Pseudopod?” again. Show him the prybar and he will give you a tooth. Or atleast agree to. You need to pass a Coordination check of 11 to get the teeth. Alternatively, you can try the Cold Read check of 13 to find out more about his mission. If you succeed in the coordination, check you will receive one of his teeth, the item “Adolescent Teeth”. Go back to the clinic.
Gonza’s Clinic
Show him the teeth and the doctor will calm down and grab a seat behind the desk. Explain Pseudopod’s situation. Show him the Ultra Violeta disc. He will explain that Pseudopod’s suffering from LASS.
He will eventually give you the Anti- LASS treatment.
You can also ask him if he is a real doctor and check his desk. The line of questioning for whether or not he is a real doctor will lead to you to visit his former colleague, Hugo Abe, who lives in a houseboat by the backways. This will also get you the Loose End for this task. It also involves stealing a medical device and the Task “Retrieve Dr. Gonza’s Personal Effects.” The task “What’s wrong, Pseudopod?” will update in a little bit, and you need to go give the medicine to Pseudopod. For now head out of the clinic and get to the Backways, south of the roundabout.
Backways
Head down the stairs of the Backways, south of Orphanage Street. Go past the sleeping man and you can shift the perspective to find an altar to Polaris. There is also an Entaglement check.
Check the elegies, offerings and you can even provide an offering (Marco’s tooth). You can pick up a pack of Ouroboros Black and opening it will get you the item, Rite of Passage for Dante Augustino “Dante’s Exit Papers”. From here go back to the central area of the Backways and head south west to Dr. Abe’s Houseboat.
Dr Hugo Abe’s Houseboat
Inside the houseboat, you can check the various items around the room belonging to Hugo. Speak to Dr. Hugo now. If you have checked his documents on the wall behind him you can have a Statehood check to ask him about his papers. Ask him about Dr Gonza and his accusations. You can also ask him about Pseudopod’s condition. Particularly ask him Dr Gonzalo’s personal effects. This will update the task as well tell you what the object in question is.
He stores the medical device is upstairs, it’s a dummy. Hugo is not going to give up the dummy. You can do a Personalism check to get him to give it up but its highly unlikely to pass. Best bet for you is to come back later and break in. You can try to climb the ladder leading upstairs but Hugo will stop you. Leave the houseboat and on to the backways. You will see a young man on the pay phone.
Backways
This is the pay phone for the Duchess’ services and the phone sex addict is on the line.
Eventually you will see that the Miracle Line is putting a strain on him and you can use a Grey Matter check to make an assessment of his situation. Ask him about Pseudopod. You need to move him from the line. So tap him on the shoulder. Keep following this line and eventually you will get an Instincts check where you have a high chance of success.
He will soon leave and its your chance to see what the Miracle Line is about. Exhaust all the options regarding the payphone. Scratch the grime and and you will see the same dolphin you see everywhere and a serial number. This will give you the Loose End, the Renotel Terminal you were at earlier in the Party Alley pylon can be used to connect to the Miracle Line. Speak into the handset and you will reach the Duchess. Speak to her and find out more about the Miracle Line. You can also ask her about Pseudopod. You will reach a Personalism check eventually, which is almost impossible to pass.
You can also play out a fantasy with the Duchess where she role plays as Cascade. Doing this will reduce Anxiety and Delirium. Eventually you will have to finish the call.
More indie games
For more articles on other indie games, please check out the links below:
Videogames.
Gym.
My dog.
Sneakers.
Manga.
In that order.
