danganronpa but better
This review contains spoilers
A very cool and stylish game with entertaining writing, but I feel that the true killer's identity is a bit esoteric and well-explained to find it a truly perfect game.
Shinji is my comrade.
Shinji is my comrade.
Paradise killer is a very creative spin on the detective genre with its open worldness and focus on exploration. Great aesthetics, music and simply the presentation in general, definetely the strongest point in the game alongside its worldbuilding and characters.
As far as the mistery or detectivness goes, it's not mindblowing, there are definetely better games out there for it, still worth playing for everything else it offers and its uniqueness.
As far as the mistery or detectivness goes, it's not mindblowing, there are definetely better games out there for it, still worth playing for everything else it offers and its uniqueness.
Very fun vibes, love the Sudapilled UI choices, but two major issues:
1: this needs a compass. I get that part of the point of its UI design and collectible placement is to disincentivize reliance on fast travel and encourage exploration and hint finding, but I would like to at least have a decent way to tell where North is when I'm trying to make my way around a very confusingly plotted island.
2: I really wish the audio tags on dialogue were less frequent or that you could have a. Bubsy esque verbosity slider so that every new text box didn't come with a canned line you've heard five times already.
Otherwise, fun little murder mystery.
1: this needs a compass. I get that part of the point of its UI design and collectible placement is to disincentivize reliance on fast travel and encourage exploration and hint finding, but I would like to at least have a decent way to tell where North is when I'm trying to make my way around a very confusingly plotted island.
2: I really wish the audio tags on dialogue were less frequent or that you could have a. Bubsy esque verbosity slider so that every new text box didn't come with a canned line you've heard five times already.
Otherwise, fun little murder mystery.
Runner up for GAME OF THE YEAR -- 2020
i don't think anything in any game feels as good as jumping around in paradise killer.
this game's dripping with wacky, campy style in every capacity, and every bit of it is so fun. it's kind of liberating playing a game where you're clearly one of the bad guys, but the story isn't at all about criticizing that, it's just about having fun with your weird, evil tasks. fully recommend.
this game's dripping with wacky, campy style in every capacity, and every bit of it is so fun. it's kind of liberating playing a game where you're clearly one of the bad guys, but the story isn't at all about criticizing that, it's just about having fun with your weird, evil tasks. fully recommend.
Fun and pretty engaging the whole way through, mostly. I feel like the actual trial at the end was anti climatic and kind of soured an otherwise unique and fun game, has interesting themes to keep you thinking about it well after being finished with it though.
That aside, its definitely worth playing, potentially my favorite indie game of 2020.
That aside, its definitely worth playing, potentially my favorite indie game of 2020.
Interesting blend of detective/visual novel in an open world that doesn't quite hit the mark on anything it sets out to do. Unique setting and world building. The detective gameplay was nothing to write home about, and I didn't feel like I personally had to deduce anything, as evidenced by the open-ended "trial" at the end where you can make any choice you want with no wrong answer. Music bangs.
I recommend this game to everyone I know and so far no one has played it. Tbh probably for the best cause even though this is exactly my jam, it might not be for most people.
STAY FOREVER
KILLER PARADISE
KILLER PARADISE
why is this game a platformer, and why does it cost in game currency to fast travel??
Paradise killer is a first-person open world investigation game that revolves around solving a murder mystery. The game has a lot of character and style and it's undoubtedly influenced by the works of Suda 51/Grasshoper Manufacture in several aspects such as character designs, visual art direction, quirky stories/dialogues, and even audio effects. The world/island is very fun to explore and features collectibles and different places to explore and gather clues for your investigation.
Interestingly enough, you can go to the final trial as soon/late as you want.
The idea is to gather as many clues as possible to hone down on what characters are suspects and finally guilty but ultimately there is no right or wrong ending in terms on who's at fault; it all depends on your personal judgment and interpretation of how the case went based on the testimonials and clues you gathered.
Overall, I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of Suda 51 works and are looking for a unique investigation/detective game thanks to its setting and characters.
Interestingly enough, you can go to the final trial as soon/late as you want.
The idea is to gather as many clues as possible to hone down on what characters are suspects and finally guilty but ultimately there is no right or wrong ending in terms on who's at fault; it all depends on your personal judgment and interpretation of how the case went based on the testimonials and clues you gathered.
Overall, I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of Suda 51 works and are looking for a unique investigation/detective game thanks to its setting and characters.
Fun exploration-mystery in an interesting world.
A less restrained, free approach has both unique upsides for the personal narrative of untangling of the mystery, and downsides for struggling to find key clues because of the relatively big game areas.
A less restrained, free approach has both unique upsides for the personal narrative of untangling of the mystery, and downsides for struggling to find key clues because of the relatively big game areas.
Favorite Part: Just the overall vibe of the world. Been a while since I've played a game where I just find myself fantasizing about the setting.
Least Favorite: The sheer amount of useless bullshit in the overworld. There are items hidden all over the place and probably 95% of them are completely useless.
Least Favorite: The sheer amount of useless bullshit in the overworld. There are items hidden all over the place and probably 95% of them are completely useless.
This game has a really solid aesthetic, but I didn't like the actual investigating very much. It didn't really engage my brain in the way I was hoping for.
This review contains spoilers
The designs are over the top, just like the personalities of the characters
Sadly it falls flat at the very end, but the rest is memorable enough to stick with you despite the obvious lazy stock graphics
Great music
Sadly it falls flat at the very end, but the rest is memorable enough to stick with you despite the obvious lazy stock graphics
Great music
An adventure game in the vein of Ace Attorney/Danganronpa with a really cool setting and a surprisingly open-ended story. I wish that the trial had less of a definitive answer, but the fact that you can attempt it at any point and accuse anyone is very interesting for this type of game.
My only problems are that traversing the open world can be very tedious at times, especially early on when you don't have the mobility upgrades, and also it runs at like 144p on Switch. Neither of these things are a total deal breaker since I find the main appeal of the game is the dialogue segments, but keep them in mind, and play the game on PC if you can.
Also the soundtrack is a fuckin VIBE, and this is maybe the most vaporwave game out there if you're into that aesthetic.
My only problems are that traversing the open world can be very tedious at times, especially early on when you don't have the mobility upgrades, and also it runs at like 144p on Switch. Neither of these things are a total deal breaker since I find the main appeal of the game is the dialogue segments, but keep them in mind, and play the game on PC if you can.
Also the soundtrack is a fuckin VIBE, and this is maybe the most vaporwave game out there if you're into that aesthetic.
actually does something meaningful with the vaporwave A E S T H E T I C, but it is secretly a collectathon disguised as a murder mystery. (Then again, it's at least a fair mystery.) It tastes great and leaves an unpleasant aftertaste; maybe you won't be bothered quite so much by its faults.
Our GOTY for 2020.
It's oozing with style from nearly every corner and is very inspired in its goals to get the player to think critically on both investigating crimes and coming up with their verdicts. The game is at its best when it commits to this, and there's clear attention to complications in morality and truth in the narrative. This sets it apart from other recent games that similarly test your ability to unravel truth from incomplete facts (i.e. Return of the Obra Dinn, Heaven's Vault).
However, it's got a slog of a rising action. Part of this is due to an overreliance on overly simple collectathon-esque gameplay. It's also an open world game that never gives you very fun upgrades. There's a lot of redundancy as you're basically supposed to travel back and forth the island over and over with diminishing returns that can make things far less exciting. At the end of the day, I can see a good argument for why it's just not worth it to go through all of this.
Would love to see where this goes next (both the genre and the developer).
However, it's got a slog of a rising action. Part of this is due to an overreliance on overly simple collectathon-esque gameplay. It's also an open world game that never gives you very fun upgrades. There's a lot of redundancy as you're basically supposed to travel back and forth the island over and over with diminishing returns that can make things far less exciting. At the end of the day, I can see a good argument for why it's just not worth it to go through all of this.
Would love to see where this goes next (both the genre and the developer).
Aesthetic is obviously top-notch and rightfully the thing that's going to draw people in. The traversal system is actually pretty satisfying for what it is, but I really wish the game didn't rely so heavily on blood crystals to get around. I get that the idea is to get players to explore and seek out anything that might seem unusual, but it gets to be a nuisance sometimes.
This review contains spoilers
This was an amazing experience overall that had me (and my partner) hooked shortly after starting. Aesthetically and 'vibe'-wise it's very impressive and it communicates it all to you very well up front.
The open world investigation style is refreshing and interesting compared to other games like this where investigations tend to lead you by the nose in specific ways. Being let loose into the world to just form theories as you uncover new mysteries is exciting.
The characters are generally well-designed and interesting, -- Crimson Acid in particular was a favorite -- and getting to know them is itself intriguing. Some are sympathetic enough to make you want to ignore whatever part they may or may not have played in a grand conspiracy, even.
The game has a few weaknesses:
First, there are some minor grammar issues like the use of apostrophes in possessive pronouns that stand out in a game that's generally well-written. Sometimes, the dialogue itself feels a little choppy -- the characters are likable and fun, but the setting-building writing is better than the dialogue writing itself.
Second, while the open world nature of the game is really fun, there are some clues that make themselves a pain to hunt for -- by the end of the game, we had exactly two major clues to find, and they were both hidden in out-of-the-way locations and felt relatively "pixel hunt"-y, especially when compared to the rest of the game having pretty tight design.
Lastly, the game culminates in a trial that you can start at any time, to accuse individuals of the many crimes involved in a grand conspiracy that makes up the overarching plot -- the setup is great, and the presentation of the trial is rather nice. It feels like you're going into a brand new section of the game.
However, the trial is at the same time a bit underwhelming -- gameplay-wise, you're simply presenting whatever evidence already exists in your inventory through dialogue. At no point are you asked to point to a specific piece of evidence -- the game drags them out and displays them as your character does all the talking for you. Aside from picking who you want to finger for each crime, the endgame is surprisingly uninteractive.
And that leads into a final complaint, which is that the ending feels... in some sense, underwhelming. We've hit up a few endings, but very little changes about the dialogue or the expected outcome from the game's end. As an example, we went through one ending where several characters, about 6~ or so characters are left alive, unaccused of being involved in conspiracy. You can have your brief dialogue with each of them, and then leave the island to see the credits roll.
In another ending where we involved almost everybody in the conspiracy accusations, we had two characters left to do dialogue with -- they said the same things, and we had the same options. There was no change to the outcome except for how many characters you get to execute at the end of the trial, and getting less dialogue for accusing more folks.
I really liked the game overall, and I don't think the complaints I have with it scuff it enough to make it a bad experience -- it's still overall fun and enjoyable, though I do have complaints I'd like to see ironed out.
The open world investigation style is refreshing and interesting compared to other games like this where investigations tend to lead you by the nose in specific ways. Being let loose into the world to just form theories as you uncover new mysteries is exciting.
The characters are generally well-designed and interesting, -- Crimson Acid in particular was a favorite -- and getting to know them is itself intriguing. Some are sympathetic enough to make you want to ignore whatever part they may or may not have played in a grand conspiracy, even.
The game has a few weaknesses:
First, there are some minor grammar issues like the use of apostrophes in possessive pronouns that stand out in a game that's generally well-written. Sometimes, the dialogue itself feels a little choppy -- the characters are likable and fun, but the setting-building writing is better than the dialogue writing itself.
Second, while the open world nature of the game is really fun, there are some clues that make themselves a pain to hunt for -- by the end of the game, we had exactly two major clues to find, and they were both hidden in out-of-the-way locations and felt relatively "pixel hunt"-y, especially when compared to the rest of the game having pretty tight design.
Lastly, the game culminates in a trial that you can start at any time, to accuse individuals of the many crimes involved in a grand conspiracy that makes up the overarching plot -- the setup is great, and the presentation of the trial is rather nice. It feels like you're going into a brand new section of the game.
However, the trial is at the same time a bit underwhelming -- gameplay-wise, you're simply presenting whatever evidence already exists in your inventory through dialogue. At no point are you asked to point to a specific piece of evidence -- the game drags them out and displays them as your character does all the talking for you. Aside from picking who you want to finger for each crime, the endgame is surprisingly uninteractive.
And that leads into a final complaint, which is that the ending feels... in some sense, underwhelming. We've hit up a few endings, but very little changes about the dialogue or the expected outcome from the game's end. As an example, we went through one ending where several characters, about 6~ or so characters are left alive, unaccused of being involved in conspiracy. You can have your brief dialogue with each of them, and then leave the island to see the credits roll.
In another ending where we involved almost everybody in the conspiracy accusations, we had two characters left to do dialogue with -- they said the same things, and we had the same options. There was no change to the outcome except for how many characters you get to execute at the end of the trial, and getting less dialogue for accusing more folks.
I really liked the game overall, and I don't think the complaints I have with it scuff it enough to make it a bad experience -- it's still overall fun and enjoyable, though I do have complaints I'd like to see ironed out.
Great soundtrack/visuals and an amazing journey with a sadly kinda lackluster conclusion.
The prospect of an open-world detective game is so interesting that I'm surprised I haven't seen this sub-genre blow up. Paradise Killer combines elements of radical vaporwave aesthetics with a sprawling, lore-filled island to craft a world that is a joy to explore from top to bottom. Every minute clue is shrouded in secrecy and intrigue, and the game achieves its primary goal of defining your own truth with glorious colors. Backing up the experience is a bumping soundtrack which is oddly upbeat for the dark and brutal undercurrent of the world of Paradise Island 24. The game's writing also manages to string along the player in an intricately balanced path, not ensuring a true solution even until the end. The structure of the case is monitored by Starlight, the game's case file computer, which compiles all the evidence and motives, allowing players to follow every piece of evidence. I highly recommend turning on the evidence mode, that shows the evidence being logged. The game falters a little in a few areas. The game is not fully voice acted, so repetition of a few lines can be grating right from the beginning of the game, especially for the lead Lady Love Dies. Also, traversal to and through certain areas feels more cumbersome than necessary. Even with fast travel, the game's map and navigation takes longer than desired to feel solid. Finally, I didn't feel the need to explore absolutely everything once most of the primary evidence was found. Much of the game's currency and collectibles feel underused, and they are very plentiful. The endgame trial and mystery is entirely dictated by your actions and I loved every moment leading up to it. Paradise Killer presents a great framework for an odd mashup of genres I never knew I needed. Hopefully, the developer takes another swing at Paradise sometime soon.
This review contains spoilers
Paradise Killer was such a big surprise for me. I went in expecting a solid indie game with decent writing and got so much more than that. The worldbuilding is definitely the thing that stands out more than anything else in this experience. It's obvious that everything was so well thought out and that they had a strong internal source book to keep everything consistent. Because of this, it was so easy for me to stay engaged and become invested in the underlying mystery. Having two avenues of knowledge (the murder mystery and the larger world) kept me super engaged. In addition, the characters were simple yet fantastic, each and every one of them were engaging in their own way, and I found myself caring for Akiko more than I care to admit by the end. The ending also hit me way harder than I expected it to. Having to execute those who I ended up calling my friends for the sake of 'justice' was as heartbreaking as it was shocking. The other thing that stuck out to me about the ending was that nothing actually ended up changing about the system by the end. The system is still being upheld, and the slave labor that Paradise is built on will still be perpetuated and continued. Although simple, this game does have a lot to say, which I really appreciated. It was cool that the so-called V A P O R W A V E A E S T H E T I C (despite it not really feeling very vaporwave, just vaporwave adjacent) fed into the anti-authority narrative as well. The only complaint I really have with the game is the janky collection gameplay. A large portion of this game is about exploration, which I apprecate, the only issue is that a lot of exploration is thrust upon you via collectibles. Although it was fun for a while, This fell apart in two ways for me. There was one point where I felt stuck, I had to explore the island, essentially tidying up the entire map to the point where there were no collectibles in my viscinity. This took about an hour and a half, and I found it to be quite tedious. Also, it's hard to find all of the evidence on your own due to meditation not showing any of the important stuff to you. Despite that, Paradise Killer remains one of my favorites I've played in a while.
This game gets a "sorta" recommend from me.
I have 100% this game (all evidence and collectibles) in about 9.8 hours when it first released.
I have not played the most recent content update.
TLDR: Great mystery with some tedious gameplay
Story:
+Great mystery and fun to unravel
-Very little world-building and character development
In terms of the story, the mystery itself was very fun. There is a lot of good intrigue and the game is good at throwing you off and making you doubt who did it until you assemble most of the evidence. There were fun twists and was a pretty satisfying in that way.
The world they've built for this story is interesting, but very little about it is revealed. There is some flavor text that gives slightly more detail, but if its not important to the mystery, it is not expanded on. Similarly, the characters have distinct personalities and unique histories, but their characters remain very static throughout the story making them unengaging clue-dispensers after a while.
Gameplay:
+Assembling clues is fun and interesting
-Map is not fun to navigate
-Collectibles are bad and pad the game out
The actual act of gathering clues and talking to witnesses is pretty fun. The clues are distributed carefully, letting the intrigue draw you in. There are also very few sequence breaks despite being able to get clues in almost any order. The trial sequence at the end where you present your evidence and accuse the killer was very hype and very satisfying. Unfortunately everything else kinda sucks.
Some clues are hidden way out of sight and can be very annoying to find. Most clue locations are signaled in some way, but a few are not. There is at least one clue hidden in a corner of a high area and a corner of a low area. I would've never found them if I wasn't searching for some of the optional collectibles.
The optional collectibles are atrocious and serve only to pad out the game time. The first collectible is money, which is limited and scattered everywhere. They are used for 2 characters' dialogue, payment to fast travel, and for unlocking more collectibles. Although there are an excess amount, having a limited currency used for fast traveling makes me not want to fast travel, especially since I will have to hunt for the money to pay for them. The money as a whole feels pretty unnecessary.
There are whiskey bottles that allow you to listen to a conversation elsewhere in the world. These conversations have very little connection to the mystery, very little world-building, and feel kinda unnecessary.
Relics are optional collectibles with some flavor text. Unfortunately, half of them have duplicate flavor text that can be found in the environment. There are also a set of collectibles with basically no flavor text like a pepper that says: "Somebody was growing peppers here." Because of that, they are not worth picking up except for...
The collectible marker you can unlock will mark all collectibles in front of you. Some of the clues also count as collectibles and will be marked. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell what kind of collectible they are until you're close enough to pick them up and there are so many collectibles that your entire screen is filled with markers. Also some clues (despite picking them up like some other clues) are not marked.
The whole civilian areas are completely devoid of anything but collectibles. They are difficult to navigate as there are a lot of turns, and is disproportionately large compared to their importance, this combined with the fast travel system needing payment makes going from suspect to suspect annoying. Also the mountains suck.
Slightly spoilerish complaints:
There is a small section after you solve the mystery that gives you a chance to do a few things before the epilogue. It is possible for fast travel to be disabled, making doing anything feel extremely tedious. This section also kind feels a little cop-out narrative wise. Also, while the mystery ends in a very satisfying way (if you got all the necessary clues and accuse the right people), the epilogue does not change depending on your success and is just some generic "The story goes on" text that feels boring.
Conclusion:
While I have been very harsh on the gameplay, I still enjoyed Paradise Killer. The story was engaging and I was very invested in solving the mystery. I still feel like I can recommend this game despite tedious gameplay elements. Give it a try if you enjoy interesting mysteries.
I have 100% this game (all evidence and collectibles) in about 9.8 hours when it first released.
I have not played the most recent content update.
TLDR: Great mystery with some tedious gameplay
Story:
+Great mystery and fun to unravel
-Very little world-building and character development
In terms of the story, the mystery itself was very fun. There is a lot of good intrigue and the game is good at throwing you off and making you doubt who did it until you assemble most of the evidence. There were fun twists and was a pretty satisfying in that way.
The world they've built for this story is interesting, but very little about it is revealed. There is some flavor text that gives slightly more detail, but if its not important to the mystery, it is not expanded on. Similarly, the characters have distinct personalities and unique histories, but their characters remain very static throughout the story making them unengaging clue-dispensers after a while.
Gameplay:
+Assembling clues is fun and interesting
-Map is not fun to navigate
-Collectibles are bad and pad the game out
The actual act of gathering clues and talking to witnesses is pretty fun. The clues are distributed carefully, letting the intrigue draw you in. There are also very few sequence breaks despite being able to get clues in almost any order. The trial sequence at the end where you present your evidence and accuse the killer was very hype and very satisfying. Unfortunately everything else kinda sucks.
Some clues are hidden way out of sight and can be very annoying to find. Most clue locations are signaled in some way, but a few are not. There is at least one clue hidden in a corner of a high area and a corner of a low area. I would've never found them if I wasn't searching for some of the optional collectibles.
The optional collectibles are atrocious and serve only to pad out the game time. The first collectible is money, which is limited and scattered everywhere. They are used for 2 characters' dialogue, payment to fast travel, and for unlocking more collectibles. Although there are an excess amount, having a limited currency used for fast traveling makes me not want to fast travel, especially since I will have to hunt for the money to pay for them. The money as a whole feels pretty unnecessary.
There are whiskey bottles that allow you to listen to a conversation elsewhere in the world. These conversations have very little connection to the mystery, very little world-building, and feel kinda unnecessary.
Relics are optional collectibles with some flavor text. Unfortunately, half of them have duplicate flavor text that can be found in the environment. There are also a set of collectibles with basically no flavor text like a pepper that says: "Somebody was growing peppers here." Because of that, they are not worth picking up except for...
The collectible marker you can unlock will mark all collectibles in front of you. Some of the clues also count as collectibles and will be marked. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell what kind of collectible they are until you're close enough to pick them up and there are so many collectibles that your entire screen is filled with markers. Also some clues (despite picking them up like some other clues) are not marked.
The whole civilian areas are completely devoid of anything but collectibles. They are difficult to navigate as there are a lot of turns, and is disproportionately large compared to their importance, this combined with the fast travel system needing payment makes going from suspect to suspect annoying. Also the mountains suck.
Slightly spoilerish complaints:
There is a small section after you solve the mystery that gives you a chance to do a few things before the epilogue. It is possible for fast travel to be disabled, making doing anything feel extremely tedious. This section also kind feels a little cop-out narrative wise. Also, while the mystery ends in a very satisfying way (if you got all the necessary clues and accuse the right people), the epilogue does not change depending on your success and is just some generic "The story goes on" text that feels boring.
Conclusion:
While I have been very harsh on the gameplay, I still enjoyed Paradise Killer. The story was engaging and I was very invested in solving the mystery. I still feel like I can recommend this game despite tedious gameplay elements. Give it a try if you enjoy interesting mysteries.
Although the game is almost completely linear, it made me feel like it wasn't all the time. It made me feel like I was actually solving a case by looking around for clues and talking to people about them. And everything about its looks and sounds seems kinda simple at first but it all just comes together so well, I loved it!
In Paradise Killer, you play as a detective who has just come out of exile (prison) and is tasked with solving a large crime. Explore the weird and wonderful world of Paradise Killer to see if you can KILL JUSTICE.
DLC?
There is no playable DLC, the rest of the DLC is just OST, B-Sides and Artwork.
Game's Story - 9/10
The game's story is wonderful. It's very unique and has a lot of interesting premises. I enjoyed solving the mystery but felt there were still several things that just weren't commented on, which felt important to the case.
Visuals - 4/5
The visuals are also very unique and serve the game well, my favourite part about the visuals were the crime scenes which I felt gave a nice and shocking contrast to the rather cartoony feel of the game.
Audio - 6/10
SFX - 3/5
I got nothing to say here, nothing to complain about. Nothing stands out but nothing exactly shocking. They tried to put some voice acting in the game, however it felt unnecessary since each character could only say about 10 things.
Music - 3/5
The music is fine, it isn't bad but I just don't feel anything from it.
Gameplay - 6/10
A lot of people call this a walking simulator, but they fail to acknowledge that the detective side of things is a part of the gameplay. Yes, there is a lot of walking and a few uninteresting puzzles and collectibles. However, the investigation makes the game intriguing and interesting and that is a part of the gameplay, if it wasn't though the gameplay score would be much lower.
Value For Money - 7/10
If you can you might as well try to pick it up on a sale but it isn't too bad at full price either.
Other - 4/5
Performance - 2/2
The game runs extremely well.
Bugs - 2/2
I found a bug, which softlocked me when I was going for the Speedrun Achievement. However, it was very obscure and I probably only activated it via my auto-clicker. Other than that, I didn't find any game bugs at all. Little tip: You can hold "R" to respawn.
Community - 0/1
There is basically no community for this game, at all. Which is expected for single player story games.
Overall - 74/100
This is a great and unusual murder mystery game that you will definitely enjoy if you can get into a story. There are a lot of accessibility options which is nice. Also, remember to turn on Adult Content because all it does is censor swear words and you might as well have them uncensored.
DLC?
There is no playable DLC, the rest of the DLC is just OST, B-Sides and Artwork.
Game's Story - 9/10
The game's story is wonderful. It's very unique and has a lot of interesting premises. I enjoyed solving the mystery but felt there were still several things that just weren't commented on, which felt important to the case.
Visuals - 4/5
The visuals are also very unique and serve the game well, my favourite part about the visuals were the crime scenes which I felt gave a nice and shocking contrast to the rather cartoony feel of the game.
Audio - 6/10
SFX - 3/5
I got nothing to say here, nothing to complain about. Nothing stands out but nothing exactly shocking. They tried to put some voice acting in the game, however it felt unnecessary since each character could only say about 10 things.
Music - 3/5
The music is fine, it isn't bad but I just don't feel anything from it.
Gameplay - 6/10
A lot of people call this a walking simulator, but they fail to acknowledge that the detective side of things is a part of the gameplay. Yes, there is a lot of walking and a few uninteresting puzzles and collectibles. However, the investigation makes the game intriguing and interesting and that is a part of the gameplay, if it wasn't though the gameplay score would be much lower.
Value For Money - 7/10
If you can you might as well try to pick it up on a sale but it isn't too bad at full price either.
Other - 4/5
Performance - 2/2
The game runs extremely well.
Bugs - 2/2
I found a bug, which softlocked me when I was going for the Speedrun Achievement. However, it was very obscure and I probably only activated it via my auto-clicker. Other than that, I didn't find any game bugs at all. Little tip: You can hold "R" to respawn.
Community - 0/1
There is basically no community for this game, at all. Which is expected for single player story games.
Overall - 74/100
This is a great and unusual murder mystery game that you will definitely enjoy if you can get into a story. There are a lot of accessibility options which is nice. Also, remember to turn on Adult Content because all it does is censor swear words and you might as well have them uncensored.
This review contains spoilers
Very good and compelling. The jankiness and roughness around the edges is very narratively effective, it makes a lot out of little imperfections and that really sells it. I also like how it resists you trying to systematically solve everything, the obtuseness of the world design forces you to be a bit chaotic and scramble around, haphazardly stumbling onto things.
The character writing unfortunately left some things to be desired. I liked the character designs, but the only characters with interesting push/pull are Lydia and Sam. They're complicit but very likeable and your friends so there's some moral dilemma about killing them or not. The other characters though miss the mark. The characters I liked were Crimson, One Last Kiss and Doom Jazz, but they end up being completely innocent so there's no tension there. The other characters who were guilty - Carmelina, Witness, Yuri and Akiko, are so abrasive towards Lady Love Dies that I didn't get very attached to them. To be honest, out of these I thought Yuri was the best written because even though he is such an asshole that it was exciting and satisfying to pin him down at the trial. Carmellina and Akiko are such missed opportunities for me. They come off as so sycophantic towards the syndicate and the council that there's not much room to get to know them, but we know they were plotting against the council the whole time so it's really disappointing there wasn't anything more interesting to dig into during the investigation. Especially Carmellina could have been so much of a more interesting mastermind.
The game is ultimately about the investigation first and foremost. If played properly, that is where the vast majority of the 'story' happens, with only a few minor details filled in at the trial. Which is cool! Not every game needs to be Ace Attorney and have a big dramatic twist or reframing of the facts at trial. But the fact that the characters personality-wise hold their cards so close to their chest in the investigation then have no send-off or dramatic reveal or reflection on the trial when their conspiracy unravels left me very unfulfilled at the end. The idea that you can make your own right ending is very compelling and interesting; I love it on paper. But it feels like a bit of a cop out at the end rather than something fleshed out or explored.
Still though. An absolutely fabulous journey. Excellent world and worldbuilding throughout, it's a joy to take this gigantic web of mysteries and slowly peel back one layer after another and have a complete view of what happened before you know it.
The character writing unfortunately left some things to be desired. I liked the character designs, but the only characters with interesting push/pull are Lydia and Sam. They're complicit but very likeable and your friends so there's some moral dilemma about killing them or not. The other characters though miss the mark. The characters I liked were Crimson, One Last Kiss and Doom Jazz, but they end up being completely innocent so there's no tension there. The other characters who were guilty - Carmelina, Witness, Yuri and Akiko, are so abrasive towards Lady Love Dies that I didn't get very attached to them. To be honest, out of these I thought Yuri was the best written because even though he is such an asshole that it was exciting and satisfying to pin him down at the trial. Carmellina and Akiko are such missed opportunities for me. They come off as so sycophantic towards the syndicate and the council that there's not much room to get to know them, but we know they were plotting against the council the whole time so it's really disappointing there wasn't anything more interesting to dig into during the investigation. Especially Carmellina could have been so much of a more interesting mastermind.
The game is ultimately about the investigation first and foremost. If played properly, that is where the vast majority of the 'story' happens, with only a few minor details filled in at the trial. Which is cool! Not every game needs to be Ace Attorney and have a big dramatic twist or reframing of the facts at trial. But the fact that the characters personality-wise hold their cards so close to their chest in the investigation then have no send-off or dramatic reveal or reflection on the trial when their conspiracy unravels left me very unfulfilled at the end. The idea that you can make your own right ending is very compelling and interesting; I love it on paper. But it feels like a bit of a cop out at the end rather than something fleshed out or explored.
Still though. An absolutely fabulous journey. Excellent world and worldbuilding throughout, it's a joy to take this gigantic web of mysteries and slowly peel back one layer after another and have a complete view of what happened before you know it.
My brother doesn't like this one :(