Paradise Killer equally values exploration and style with a liberal dose of visual novel seasoning, and while I must acknowledge the Playstation Plus fog lingering over my takeaway that does little to devalue how I powered through this game in two pretty visceral, almost astonishing pair of seven hour sessions.
I'll grant that as I got into the back third of the game that the city's labyrinthian construction became extremely annoying, and the mystery isn't actually all that mysterious. After my first marathon, I felt confident enough to approach the judge with my accusations only to realize I had very little evidence to present.
That could've felt discouraging, but instead it was exactly the push I needed to keep digging into Paradise 24's secrets. And I was truly surprised by many of the later revelations Lady Love Dies' detective work offered, and even if I was only confirming my early suspicions I really enjoyed the process of finding out exactly why some character made a choice, let alone their role in the broader mystery.
Better yet, the trial made me aware that I'd forced the hands of some characters to solidify my hypotheses, that there were several more clues to find and mysteries to solve, and that while I may have satisfied the demands of the court I may not have fully solved the mystery of Paradise 24.
As I began uncovering lie after lie, it was undeniable that not only did the Blood Crystal economy feel mightily restrictive (though I'm sure more than enough of them exist for the obsessive collectors) but the city itself was quite a burden to navigate even with all the movement upgrades. It got less and less fun making my way towards the character I wanted to talk to the closer I got to the end...but the thinker in me also began to interpret that impatience as an extension of the gameplay. In those moments, I started finding the time it took to get from one suspect to another a representation of both my and Lady Love Dies' frustration with the increasingly desperate lies of her former friends who'd become my new adversaries.
I'd like to think I nailed the trial. It sure seemed to feel like it. But I also know that there are mysteries I didn't solve, environmental puzzles and narrative links left dangling. Perhaps I was allowed to accuse one person of too many crimes, and finishing one or two of those Resident Evil-esque puzzles may have been the key.
I suppose for now I'll just have to feel okay with what I chose. But I wouldn't surprise myself if I came back to this when I'm looking for something to play and tried to uncover the mysteries I presented to the Judge as tangential.
At the very least, it'd be nice to wander around this place listening to its dope ass, mysteriously joyful soundtrack in search of the various Sinji interactions I missed. Because at the very least, the truly curious player just has to know if the reward for finding all of his instances is the removal of the hilarious emoji obscuring his banger.
I'll grant that as I got into the back third of the game that the city's labyrinthian construction became extremely annoying, and the mystery isn't actually all that mysterious. After my first marathon, I felt confident enough to approach the judge with my accusations only to realize I had very little evidence to present.
That could've felt discouraging, but instead it was exactly the push I needed to keep digging into Paradise 24's secrets. And I was truly surprised by many of the later revelations Lady Love Dies' detective work offered, and even if I was only confirming my early suspicions I really enjoyed the process of finding out exactly why some character made a choice, let alone their role in the broader mystery.
Better yet, the trial made me aware that I'd forced the hands of some characters to solidify my hypotheses, that there were several more clues to find and mysteries to solve, and that while I may have satisfied the demands of the court I may not have fully solved the mystery of Paradise 24.
As I began uncovering lie after lie, it was undeniable that not only did the Blood Crystal economy feel mightily restrictive (though I'm sure more than enough of them exist for the obsessive collectors) but the city itself was quite a burden to navigate even with all the movement upgrades. It got less and less fun making my way towards the character I wanted to talk to the closer I got to the end...but the thinker in me also began to interpret that impatience as an extension of the gameplay. In those moments, I started finding the time it took to get from one suspect to another a representation of both my and Lady Love Dies' frustration with the increasingly desperate lies of her former friends who'd become my new adversaries.
I'd like to think I nailed the trial. It sure seemed to feel like it. But I also know that there are mysteries I didn't solve, environmental puzzles and narrative links left dangling. Perhaps I was allowed to accuse one person of too many crimes, and finishing one or two of those Resident Evil-esque puzzles may have been the key.
I suppose for now I'll just have to feel okay with what I chose. But I wouldn't surprise myself if I came back to this when I'm looking for something to play and tried to uncover the mysteries I presented to the Judge as tangential.
At the very least, it'd be nice to wander around this place listening to its dope ass, mysteriously joyful soundtrack in search of the various Sinji interactions I missed. Because at the very least, the truly curious player just has to know if the reward for finding all of his instances is the removal of the hilarious emoji obscuring his banger.