WORLDBUILDING AWARD PARADISE KILLER

At first, the 24th Island Sequence is overwhelming. But that’s exactly what it’s been designed to be. The vaporwave stylings of this place – in which a heinous murder has been committed, and it’s your job to find out whodunnit – are all-consuming. Unapologetic, even. This is lo-fi in the extreme: palm trees stand uncannily still against creamsicle skies, polygonal buildings almost seem folded into shape, and enigmatic 2D suspects turn towards you wherever you walk like seductive billboards. From the off, as Barry ‘Epoch’ Topping’s sublime city pop soundtrack throbs in the ears, you’re buried in all manner of strange concepts: a council formed to protect against demonic possession; wily gods with hidden agendas; a goat-headed pop idol and a skeleton barman; a whiskey that induces time-travelling tendencies in its drinkers; blood sacrifices as a means of currency for shiny trinkets. Paradise Killer is a minefield of deceit, debauchery and deities. And that’s before you find out about the 23 other islands.

Learning the arcane rules and secrets of this world – what happens when gods and humans clash, what a footbath really does, and (of course) who’s sleeping with whom – is key to unlocking the many mysteries at the heart of Lady Love Dies’ investigation. Embracing both environmental and narrative openness, Paradise Killer gives you time and space to assemble the pieces of this place in your own particular order, and draw your own conclusions about what has happened here. The sheer confidence on display is breathtaking, and the trust in the player to be an active part of realising this vivid world refreshing. Goodness knows there are plenty of rough edges in Kaizen Game Works’ debut: the island is perhaps a little too large for its own good, and its determination to not patronise players does mean that productive exploration is sometimes obscured. But its absolute belief in its own existence means that there are few videogame locales so utterly convincing. Perfect 25? You can keep it.