Paradise Killer is a vibes game. The mystery is great, the exploration is fun (especially with platformer powerups you can find), and the characters are all fun to interact with, but the main reason you play it is just to be in its world. The Vaprowave aesthetic is something I thoroughly enjoy and this game oozes it from every pixel

It's not a perfect game. My main complaint is while you interact with the cast of colorful characters they, never interact with each other which hinders some of the story telling. Nevertheless, I throughly enjoyed scouring this world, both to solve its central mystery and to just be there

100% completion

Paradise Killer is part visual novel murder mystery, part first person platformer, and part collectathon. The vaporwave aesthetic is well-earned by the game's critical tension with the titular paradise. That tension permeates the entire narrative, as characters both luxuriate and suffer in their self-imposed immortality.

The mystery is enjoyable to uncover, with lots of dramatic moments if the player chooses to chase down every line of inquiry. The characters are memorable and nuanced, with complicated overlapping motives and skillsets. Unlike similar titles, there isn't a specific hard truth to uncover; rather, the player can present evidence that they feel is more incriminating in order to weave a compelling narrative of the crimes. This did make the ending slightly unsatisfying, as all the crimes have multiple plausible culprits.

I also found island navigation to be a bit irritating at times. The map is useless, and the overall design is a bit mazelike. That said, it is a small enough space that this issue fades into the background as you progress. First person platforming certainly adds a retro vibe, but this implementation is not a significant improvement over its very dated predecessors. With all the upgrades unlocked I did end up enjoying jumping around the island, but there were quite a few moments of frustration mixed in there as well.

Overall the imaginative world, consistent vibe, and exemplary writing made this a unique and compelling experience. I can forgive a few shortcomings when they come from a place of artistic experimentation, and the result is a game with a tremendous amount of heart and personality.

Don't expect much direct puzzles on this one. You're mostly exploring, unlocking new dialogue options as you find new key items and information within the world (which can easily be found using a power up).
Once you have the needed information, going into the ending sequence and solving the case isn't very hard, but trying to figure it out on my own beforehand gave me a real headache (an enjoyable one)!

The world they made here is a dark and fascinating one, and seeing the plot unfold as you slowly figure out each character's part in it was gripping.

SPOILER:
The ending left me with a bitter taste that I believe was completely intended, certainly one that doesn't want to leave you completely satisfied with the situation the world is left in. I appreciate that they gave us an ending that emotionally resonates with various aspects of the story rather than just giving us a happy one.

This game was amazing from start to finish. I wasn't super interested in the story at first (I was probably just very confused), but what kept me playing is the atmosphere, and boy am I glad I kept playing. I could listen to the soundtrack of this game for hours (and I did), and the world is colorful and interesting to explore. You really get to know the world and the characters by the time you finish the game, even if you don't try to.

Although the atmosphere is what kept me playing at the start, the story and characters are what had me hooked from the mid-game to the end. The feeling of all your questions being answered and all the loose ends being tied up at the end was extremely satisfying. The story was well thought-out and intriguing. I really liked and cared for all of the characters (especially Shinji).

One thing to note is that this isn't detective game. A good way to describe it which I've seen in another review is "a game with a story that's about a detective". There is some detective stuff that you have to do at the end and it is possible to just get everything completely "wrong" at the end if you don't have enough evidence, but as long as you get all the evidence the answer is pretty clear. Nonetheless it was fun to take notes and theorize along the way and have those theories being either confirmed or denied as I played (this isn't required tho, just for fun).

This game isn't for everyone (no game is), but I definitely recommend giving it a try if you're interested because it has the potential to be a 10/10 experience if you end up getting into it.

Killer Vibe Murder Mystery. Never seen the vaporware astetic done better in a game than in this one. It's astetic also serves the story of it all well. Everything feels just off enough to get entangled into the world of this story. From the start you can tell something is wrong. Although the gameplay might be slow for some and the vibe might not be for everyone, for me it was enough to get me hooked on this game while playing l. Unraveling this conspiracy was a joy to figure out and do and I can't wait to play more murder mystery games after this one. (9/10)

SO CALLED "FREE THINKERS" WHEN LOVE DIES: ALL THAT REMAINS ARE THE FACTS

okay so the aesthetic of this game is out of this world. first of all. loved going through the world and collecting all the collectibles (there are a TON which is amazing for ME in specific i love collecting things) and doing funny parkour without taking fall damage. related to this the soundtrack is also a jam and a half especially the title theme
the word "diverse" has been tainted but there's something very nice about the varied backgrounds of the characters (especially witness who is iranian probably kurdish? i am not kurdish but i am iranian and he HAS AN IRANIAN ACCENT it makes me sooo happy) and the queerness of it wrt love dies and her optional flings. i love the whole cast and how messy they are even if they suck shit the world they're in sucks shit so it's influenced them. except for yuri because he's a dick but that's the point i guess?

as a mystery... it's great. i love it. i like how starlight groups all your evidence together so that i don't have to do the heavy lifting and thinking. the final act with the trial was also a delight and i like how different characters can be convicted based on the evidence you have at the time (whether you start the trial prematurely or not) and how co-conspirators can drag each other down with them it's like watching dominoes topple. though unfortunately for all the free will love dies gets as detective and executioner (especially once the trial is over) it feels kind of empty. like the only consequences come if u mess with the based married couple and even then it's not much

but don't let this stop you from playing!! Please play this game im so normal about it

Killer Vibes; I loved being an "Investigation Freak", sprinting around with wild abandon to pick up every last treat. Never managed to get atop the ziggurat, so I didnt actually get them all. Loved accosting all the other outrageous freaks they shoved into the game, some more than others. I think the mystery was well constructed, having multiple avenues to tease out what happened, the competing conspiracies. I think the character/dialogue writing is probably the weakest part of the game, the way of the blood bar segments were particularly intolerable.

3 stars; perfect for a weekend getaway.

This is one of those masterpieces that left a burning hole in my heart because I never wanted it to end. I finished Paradise Killer several months ago and I still can't stop thinking about it.

Truly an iconic, unique gem that has somehow never garnered the respect it deserves. Paradise Killer is fluid in terms of genre, it's execution unprecedented in how it doesn't rigidly fall into any single genre or category: It's not a visual novel, but is text-heavy as a murder mystery. The writing isn't anything spectacular, but the story has the perfect amount of complexity and depth at a comfortable pace. The game has platforming elements, but isn't your traditional platformer. It has a large open world for investigating, yet isn't an RPG, horror, or action/adventure game. Imo the best part is that there's zero combat. If there were combat it would ruin the game and detract too much from the exploration aspect. I could explore this gorgeous world for hours, and the music is banger after banger gold. Top tier atmosphere with vibes you could get lost in forever. The only cons are that the game was way too short. My run was 25 hrs and that me really stretching the game out as much as I could, exploring every last crevice and piece of lore. There is also, unfortunately, no replayability, though it has tempted me more than once.

This is a very unique game that's somewhat a mix of Ace Attorney's investigation part (the trials not so much) and a walking simulator instead of point and clicking on a fixed screen. PK is set in an extremely alien world that is very confusing at first but very interesting to discover about. The game's lore is fairly extensive and there is quite an amount of info to discover, both on characters and the universe.

Despite its simplicity, the game's map is quite beautiful and interesting. There's a charm to all of the vaporwave visuals, the music, the empty town you're free to explore with no one to stop you. It might sound like a cheap walking simulator but the game did manage to stay fun to explore. You really have fun climbing all over the place, looking for random loot or shortcuts, discovering new things in town. However I also think that part of the game is the weakest. First, the game becomes too reliant on an ability to see where points of interest are, because without it you're never going to 100% the game. I think the only thing you can do about this is to remove the ability and any sort of counter to not induce FOMO in players. Second, a lot of the things you find, more than half, is useless. Most of it is just the in-game currency, so that's okay but it still doesn't really feel rewarding because this is the sort of game where you want info, lore, stories, not money and collectibles. As for the collectibles, they really just give you a random message that has nothing to do with the game, like a description of a soda can's flavour. I found that very boring and disappointing, as few are the items to actually extend lore. Think of Fromsoftware's games, where every item has a little story instead of a cheap nothing description.

The characters and story of the game were very interesting. Slowly exploring the mystery builds up into big discoveries and greatly extend the plot. I think the trials at the end could have been a bit more (like giving final lines to people you execute and making it harder to come to the true conclusion, the game basically serves you the solution even though you can figure it out by thinking) but it's alright, it wasn't bad.

There must be some people out there trying to keep vaporwave alive, but this feels like a relic, even at only a couple years old. The subtractive colours, the city-pop inspired ost, the statues, the beach aesthetic, the general Japaneseness of the environments---it never added up to much outside of this game, and having to amble through large, vacant, and cumbersome to traverse environments of it didn't exactly endear me to the trend.

The gameplay influence seems to be drawing from the Tex Murphy and Ace Attorney, games that on top of being more original, insightful satires of their respective genres (film noir and courtroom drama), generally feature more engaging central mysteries as well. Paradise Killer has a couple of interesting qualities in that respect, though. Formulating the case around proving a scapegoat's innocence maintains intrigue without losing narrative focus, and the malleability of the trial sequence allows for multiple outcomes. While I don't like the aesthetic all that much, there's also something to navigating a mystery in a world where the physical and judicial laws feel alien. One must make sense of what the world is in and of itself before one can discern what violates it.

While I like the festive, sexualized character portraits, the dialogue and flavour text are largely verbose and overbaked. Visiting the many characters began to felt like busywork, and again, the sprawl of it all is tiring. And on that note, holy moly are there a lot of collectibles. They add very little to the game, and it's weird to have so many objects littered around haphazardly in proximity to clues that are of real importance.

What's interesting about to me about it feels like it's trying to hard, and the parts I don't care for feel like they're trying too little.

"Style has a substance all of its own" - Joseph Stalin

I remember a few weeks ago speaking to a friend who was bemoaning the impossibility of replaying detective mystery games because, already knowing their mysteries the experience falls flat as there is nothing to solve.
"Lol, Skill Issue" I responded and here I am on a second playthrough of Paradise Killer

Its kind of insane how much Paradise Killer works, because in theory all of its ideas sound like they should fall utterly flat on their faces. An Open World investigative detective game? Taking a genre that's traditionally strictly linear so as to control the pacing of the story and parcel out small bits of information as it builds towards a meticulously planned reveal of the truth behind it all ; and just letting the player piece it (relatively) unguided? A whole ass 3D open world made by, going by the credits, essentially 2 people? Platforming mechanics in first person added on top of what is essentially an adventure game visual novel? To steal a joke from a certain someone - "That's not a recipe for disaster, that's the fucking Anarchist's Cookbook!"

Paradise Killer sort of does the impossible by turning these seemingly contradictory design decisions to work in its favour. Its to its credits that even on a second playthrough I was utterly enthralled, going from brutalist skyscrapers built to rule over masses of kidnapped innocents to drop down and airdash into one of their living quarters finding things like a set of dominoes or a love letter, evidence of their humanity that the syndicate tried so hard to deny them. There was always something out there to spot through the corner of my eye, a blood vial, a conversation with the ever entertaining Shinji or a new music track to earworm its way into my brain. Incidentally both the idea of having music unlock with finding it in the open world and the in-universe customizable music playlist are kind of amazing and I hope someone else does something similar at some point.

Another possible weakness would of course be that a 3D world made by two people on a low budget is going to be hard to get fancy with shaders and complex geometry etc but Paradise Killer embraces these limitations. The sort of brutalist architecture of the syndicate as these big Imposing rectangular buildings of concrete tower over the player contrast against the more obviously japanese inspired residential areas, the looming, harsh structures of the power of the Syndicate almost looking down at the housing of the citizenry they opress. The garish at times mix of purples and gold of the Opulent Ziggurat, a sort of marriage of city pop album cover and horrifying lovecraftian death cult adds to me a sense of a sort of banality of evil. These people just dont really reflect on the morality of their insane plan all that much as they do their intrigues, their high fashion and luxury lifestyles. A couple of days ago I read a piece on this game comparing Paradise Killer to Those Who Walk Away from Omelas, a famous story about a society built on the suffering of a single child and in that sense PK becomes a whole lot closer to home, for all its musings on Eldritch Gods and transdimensional demons and pocket dimension islands.

Because ultimately whilst I don't sacrifice people to appease a race of genocidal space aliens my existence and prosperity is partly also built on the suffering of others, namely animals and the exploited, imperialized world.

Paradise Killer even did the impossible for me, it made me care about its lore and worldbuilding told mainly through the medium of item descriptions. Dark Souls couldn't make me care but PK did with about a fraction of the budget. Its just very good at drawing you in, and I think a detective game is more condusive to making me interested in the approach when all you are doing at the end of the day IS learning about the world, the architecture, the character designs everything else is feeding into your brain as you explore every nook and cranny hunting for clues in this world. As much as the open world can fool you into believing you're in total control, there is a deliberate parceling out of information based on the order you find things but it never becomes a railroad of forced linearity, there are always threads to pull even if those threads themselves are interlinked and may require steps in a certain order.

There is a lot of Paradise Killer that will turn people off, as I said before its kind of a miracle it works (for me) and there is definitely stuff to criticise. The collectible currency is easy to find and use but other than the footbath upgrades (and incidentally I sincerely hope people realized that the investment in blood crystals was worth it because the game doesnt really signal that these unlock movement powers until youve already spent the sum) starlight upgrades and various minor things you get way more than you'll ever need. I was achievement hunting for this game on a second playthrough and I was suprised at how little I had to go out of my way to get for the achievements. At first it looks like the collectibles are haphazardly spread around but I can definitely say now that there is a method to the madness. There is a cost to unlock the fast travel spots (sure) but also to use them (boo), though again this is the BOTW thing where there are way more blood crystals than you could ever need and I ended up with a surplus of 30, so really I think the fast travel cost is just to make a use for it, which seems a bit like breaking a bone so you can use your new set of crutches but its not that big of a deal, the island is small and most out of the way places you probably wont need to go more than once or twice.

If there was one word to describe Paradise Killer it might be indulgent, and there is definitely a case to be made that the game could have been improved if at certain design meetings someone had told the creators NO but I think indulging is good once in a while. Even if it alienates a substantial portion of the audience I like the boldness of the vaporwave aesthetic, even if Im not the biggest fan of the genre if ther was ever one album to convert me it might be the OST to this game which is a certified banger.

I'm certainly not the person who could or even should make this point well, especially cause I might make it wrong and step over what others who are more directly affected by this but given the diversity in character designs which is both a credit to the overall aesthetic of the game and to better inclusivity in the industry, its kind of unfortunate given the obvious japanese inspiration of the setting (the city pop, the combinis, the japanese whisky, dead nebula's zaibatsu, etc etc) that there are no on-screen Japanese Characters. Similarly, again its not a point I feel confident in making but I think there is something to be said about the wave of fascination with certain superficial aspects of japanese popculture that this game belongs to that could be said to come from a place of the "othering" of Japan as a sort of mythical special place for westerners to endlessly gawk at in the naïve belief that its a place to escape to, either physically or mentally from the banality of the places we live in.

Not maliciously of course and Im not suggesting any conscious prejudice or anything of the sort on the part of the developers, but I think its a phenomenon worth examining and reflecting on. In the art book for the game there is an account from one of the designers which I'll paraphrase here but essentially it was something like During the pandemic it was depressing to live in boring, grey, dull England, I wanted to go to somewhere cool, Like Japan! I love Japan! This is on the one hand understandable, lord knows I have thrown myself in escapism when I have been unsatisfied with my current life situation but I think its a remnant of a particular european/western attitude towards Japan. I think its great to show appreciation for other cultures and learn more about them, even celebrate aspects or (respectfully and appropriately) incoporate them into your own, but its important to remember that Japan or any other country, is a country, its not Disney Land.

All that aside, Paradise Killer remains a tremendously absorbing mystery game which I have played through a second time I think I have enjoyed even more than the first. Even the relatively rushed and not super involving trial sequence didnt really feel all that out of place : Paradise Killer is a game about investigation more than Justice, both mechanically and thematically. I enjoy how it all fits into the story as Lady Love Dies is essentially a lib, critical of the excesses of the syndicate and their worse crimes and corruption but never for a second doubting their overall goal. She's evil but doesn't think she's evil, which is refreshing to me. See you in Perfect 25.

i really loves this in a kind of indescribable way.

slow to start but became infinitely more playable with each unlock, further cementing my belief that movement in every video game is too slow by default.

i dont have time to meander i have to go to work

Do I recommend: Yes if, and only if:

You like your games weird, 'different', strange, trippy, etc.
You can enjoy slower gameplay with almost zero action.
You enjoy exploring and finding (very) hidden secrets.
You want to talk to a bunch of different NPCs a bunch of different times to get to know them.
You can handle adult themes.

That said, I really enjoyed the game. What really drew me in is the highly original vaporewave inspired setting. Right from the get go I knew I was playing something unique when the main character is being release from their 3,000,000 day exile. There is a hidden lore here that involves gods, immortality, suffering citizens, alternate realities, power trips, betrayal, and what seems to be an extremely complicated process of reaching a religious goal.

You piece this lore together mostly through exploring, talking to NPCs, and finding "items" in the form of low-res images that explain bits and pieces of what transpired in the past. I found the map exciting to explore, as it is quite large and filled with interesting things. There are different districts and each one has it's own vibe and art style. There really are some neat corners of this world to discover and exploration felt fun.

I loved the characters and found all of the main NPCs to be memorable. They all have hipster names and a cool aesthetic and over time you will learn about their backstory as you try to squeeze or seduce more information out of them.

The music is an amazing mix between vaporwave synth and jazz saxaphones, making a strange contrast to the mystical and exotic setting.

Finally there is the mystery that you are trying to solve. Strangely enough this was what I was least interested in. But what I was very glad to find out is that the game keeps track of all of the MANY clues you will uncover and auto prompts the dialogue to incorporate what you have found. What this means is you really don't have to memorize, or even analyze the clues you are finding to finish the game. Just keep talking and exploring and the game does most of the heavy lifting.

Some players might not like that they don't have to figure it out themselves but I'll just say this...there are so many pieces of information that personally I would find it exhausting if not impossible to put it all together with my own head. I'm just not that good of a detective.

At the end of the game you will have to make some possibly tough decisions based on what you think happened. Once the credits rolled I felt satisfied that my 20ish hour journey was finished.

Um dos melhores jogos de investigação/mistério que joguei a tempos, junto com sua pegada ''collectathon'', ele propõe um mistério enorme junto com um dos universos mais densos que já vi (Ok, as vezes parece que eles só tacam coisa pra encher linguiça, mas ainda) com personagens que te prendem, enganam e fingem de tudo. Seu estilo de arte sendo bem único no modo que é utilizado, juntando com a OST incrível que tem, o que mais peca pra mim talvez seja a gameplay. Ok, é um jogo de mistério e eles focaram totalmente nisso, e o resultado foi super positivo, mas ainda, se você coloca que a mecânica pra achar as coisas é num first person, tenta adicionar uma coisinha ou outra. De qualquer forma, SUPER recomendado, principalmente pra quem quer começar num mundinho meio Visual Novel, esse jogo te deixa querendo mais coisa nessa vibe, 100%