How do you even begin explaining a game like Paradise Killer? This unique title from Kaizen Game Works and Fellow Traveller very nearly defies description. In short, this is a murder mystery. But more specifically it’s a killing amongst gods living in a trans-dimensional pocket universe with noticeable 80s influences and a subtle subcurrent of Lovecraftian horror. These are immortal beings that squabble like Greek gods and goddesses, all to catchy 80s background music. This is Paradise Killer.
Right from the outset, Paradise Killer feels different than other games. The weird names, the vibrant colors, the odd conversations, it all instantly draws you in. This is world-building at its best, a captivating new world reminiscent of some of the best science fiction and fantasy around. It’s quite difficult to use words to explain the vibe of Paradise Killer, but if you’ve read a fair amount of classic science fiction, it’s like a mix of The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison, and Lord of Light, also by Zelazny. These works take bits and pieces of our world and weave them majestically into a new context that redefines our use of them. The neon, palm trees, glitz and music of the 80s merges with the infighting of the gods and a murder mystery and becomes something new all on its own. Add in a touch of sci-fi with beings that create their own universes and you’ve got quite the setting for a story!
In Paradise Killer, you play Lady Love Dies (all the names are utterly unlike anything resembling normalcy, which fits thematically), an exiled goddess who’s been away from The Island for around, oh, 3 million days. The gods are all trying to create the perfect island in a pocket universe where everyone can live in harmony, but it keeps failing. This is attempt 24 and, well, several have been brutally murdered, apparently by a madman influenced by demons. Of course, they’re immortal gods so this is rather an issue with the surviving pantheon. The Judge frees Lady Love Dies from her exile to investigate the murders and find the culprit, and the game begins in earnest.
This is a first person game where you explore the Island, talk to its denizens, and collect and collate data. Additionally, you must collect blood crystals which are used as currency and hidden pretty much everywhere by a mischievous demon. Intrigued yet? Using your investigative powers, you’ll form a case proving who murdered the council, discover the whereabouts of missing gods, and ensure justice is served. As you explore, you can find the various gods standing about, waiting for you to get to them. A button press brings up their location on your HUD and an exclamation point on their thumbnail shows whether they have something pressing and relevant to say immediately. The more gods you talk to, the more information you gather, eventually using contradictions and information from testimonies to press your case. It’s a very interactive and hands-on sort of investigation and no other game has really put these gameplay elements together in this style before.
However, before you get too excited, there are more than a few issues hiding on Island 24 as well. The biggest of these is the island itself. It’s absolutely huge, and it honestly takes forever to properly explore areas. In fact, it’s hard to even get to the people you need to talk to, especially initially as there are no indicators of what paths to take and they’re widely spread across the island. Love Dies will have to travel to every nook and cranny to find everyone to interview, and honestly, it’s more than a bit of a hassle. At the various save points around the island, you can spend your Blood Crystals (the game’s currency) to unlock fast travel locations, and more to utilize them. This is the first mistake the game makes, putting fast travel behind a virtual paywall. Want to zip around rather than stumbling through the island? Pay. Need to go back and talk to someone again? Pay some more. It’s a never-ending cycle that leads directly into the next issue with Paradise Kills, item gathering.
It’s hard to say when item gathering in games became a thing. Maybe it was the early N64 games like Banjo Kazooie. Maybe it was earlier with Donkey Kong Country. Curse you, Rare! Either way, it damned well needs to stop. Now. To get by in Paradise Killer you need a ridiculous amount of Blood Crystals, both to buy items and clues, and to travel, saving you the hassle of wandering about looking for gods that you need to talk to. You also randomly discover other items such as alternate song tracks, random items that simply inject flavor into the game, and much more. But stuff is stashed pretty much everywhere and there doesn’t often seem to be any purpose to it.
The entire game would work better without any crystals or other hidden items. Just open up the soundtrack and let people play it as they reach certain areas. Done. Same goes for the other items you find. Why are they hidden everywhere. Why even bother to collect them? It’s simply too much. When you add in a completely unpopulated island aside from the gods and a massive, sprawling map with nigh-infinite hiding places, the fascinating nature of Paradise Killer takes a back seat to tedious exploration in an empty world with virtually no payoff. Mechanically, you can go almost anywhere you can reach, using the shoulder buttons to jump, scan the area in low light, run, and find other gods. You can also fall from any height and sustain no damage because damage isn’t a thing in this game. If you do somehow manage to ‘die’, you’ll just be respawned anyway. It’s a versatile interface overall, but also somewhat irritating as you may have to get pretty creative if you’re a completist and have to have every last Blood Crystal.
Then there’s the trial. As investigator, eventually you need to solve the case. You can do this at absolutely any time, even at the very beginning of the game, negating any need to actually play. It’s a weird option to have but at the same time, it reinforces the freedom of choice available in Paradise Killer. Present your evidence and let the Judge decide whether it meets the criteria and alters the official narrative. If not, pretty much everyone goes free. There are a lot of twists and turns here, so naturally, hurrying through isn’t the recommended course of action. Once everything is decided, all conspirators exposed, and everyone’s dirty laundry is aired, you have more options as well. Maybe you didn’t get that crucial piece of evidence but you really feel like someone is still guilty, you have the authority to terminate them based on your gut feeling. It’s a fresh and unique option that’s a breath of fresh air in a style of gaming dominated by fixed narratives and static storylines. Want to kill everyone? You can! Want to clean house a bit and keep just your allies? No problem. The world is your electric chair! No matter what you decide, you’re in control until the story wraps and the island’s reality is deconstructed, so have fun!
Visually, Paradise Killer is a sharp looking game with unique designs as well. Everything is strange and captivating, and there’s an air of unreality about the entire island. While the island isn’t highly graphically detailed and the textures won’t wow you, the 3D map of the island is incredibly complex and dense, featuring a near-endless supply of nooks and crannies to explore. If you’re of the mind to just explore, this will definitely scratch the itch! Character designs are detailed and bizarre as well, ranging across every imaginable fashion and look but combined in new and interesting ways. The characters are the only things that aren’t 3D in the world too, giving them a weird cardboard standup look as they turn on a three dimensional axis to look at you. It’s a cool effect that just makes Paradise Killer stand out more. There’s also an uncensored mode in the options that allows for swearing but leaves a couple of visual things censored, probably for the best too. As mentioned previously, the soundtrack is absolutely outstanding and is composed by Barry “Epoch” Topping and available digitally on Bandcamp here. It’s honestly a travesty that it’s not available on CD, as it would be well worth buying on disc! This is an absolutely excellent set of tunes that will have you grooving for hours! Don’t forget the voice acting either, since it’s quite good. All the characters are voice acted, and sometimes they even say all their lines! The voice acting is actually a bit odd, as sometimes it coincides with what the characters are saying and other times it’s divergent, providing repeated quotes that don’t line up with the actual conversation. Regardless, there’s solid voice acting for everyone and it’s a nice addition.
Paradise Killer is one wild ride. It has mystery, intrigue, gods, demons, and a whole lot of drama. It’s also text-heavy and somewhat tangential to a visual novel so it won’t be for everyone. Things get bogged down pretty heavily by the amount of exploring and running about you have to do, which is a mixed bag due to the excellent design work and empty world that takes a long time to get from place to place. Quickening up the pacing would really tighten the game up and hold players interest more fully, but this mixed approach is more realistic in terms of investigative procedure, so it’s hard to dislike it either. Combined with the off-the-charts creativity and style that Paradise Killer has to offer, the game would likely end up a heavyweight cult classic with only a few tweaks. Weighing in at $20 makes this a reasonably priced title with a solid amount of gameplay and if you follow through with all the leads in the investigation, you’ll probably get around 12-15 hours or so out of it, more if you’re diligent. Ultimately though, Paradise Killer ends up being a fun but slightly too slowly paced game that ensnares the imagination and takes you on a wild ride through the minds of gods!
This review was based on a digital copy of Paradise Killer provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes. All screenshots are of actual gameplay. Paradise Killer is also available for the PC on Steam. Now let’s go solve a murder, by gods!
