One of 2026’s Best-Rated Games Is Basically Mass Effect With Spies
EA’s announcement this week that it was shutting down BioWare and canceling the studio’s next Mass Effect project dealt a significant blow to the gaming industry. A leaked trailer for the unreleased Mass Effect: Universe revealed what fans would miss: a James Bond-inspired spy thriller set in the Mass Effect universe. However, one of 2026’s best-rated games already delivers on this exact creative premise.
ZA/UM, the developer behind critically acclaimed Disco Elysium, released Zero Parades: For Dead Spies on May 21 for Windows PC, with console versions arriving in November. The studio’s sophomore title offers the high-stakes espionage and complex narrative design fans hoped to experience in the canceled Mass Effect project. The release has generated significant discussion both for its quality and the controversy surrounding ZA/UM’s decision to exclude several key staff members from their original Disco Elysium team.