PARADISE KILLER

Kaizen Game Works PRICE $28.95 AVAILABILITY Released

WEBSITE http://paradisekiller.com/

I’ve been attending PAX, and reviewing games, for a good while now. It’s rare for anything to confuse or surprise me. The guy who built a wooden motorbike as a controller? Nope, I’ve seen weirder input devices. The 2017 collection, casting the American President as everything from villain to edible inventory item? Not my cup of tea, but not entirely unexpected either. Paradise Killer is a cautionary tale about what happens when your level designer gets over-excited; everyone panics and has to write a whole world around an abundance of pink, ceramic skulls, shipping crates and imposing structures.

OK, I’m joking. I don’t know if this even slightly resembles Kaizen Game Works’ design process. In my head, it’s how I explain the wild creativity on display here. Typically, as in Skyrim, I immediately left the critical path and clambered (awestricken) upwards, to a golden temple full of statues spewing blood. I bought a dead nebula from a vending machine, cut my arm, offered precious life fluid to the gods and messed around with rotating passageways for a bit. It was a very Myst-like experience. Well, apart from the characters, all stylish, buff and blue, with names like Doom Jazz and One Last Kiss.

I explored for more than an hour before recalling that I was supposed to be investigating a murder, although I had learned more about my surroundings, thanks to collecting relics and items. The island exists inside its own plane; crafted by The Syndicate who were hoping to summon (demonstrably evil) space gods through fervour and prayer. Periodically, and as a result of demon infestation, it is reset, at which point its current citizens are sacrificed. The island has not yet become its auspicious 25th iteration, due to the entire council being murdered.

So you’re solving a murder? Well, you are The Syndicate’s lead investigator, who has been in exile for three million days. So, yes, if you really want to. You’re assisted by Starlight, for managing clues and information, which is a laptop that chimes prettily alongside the saxophone motif from the game’s soundtrack, one of several incredible moments for musical implementation. If I were going to suggest one mandatory place to begin, before wanderlust takes hold, it would be to buy computer upgrades from Crimson Acid, thus allowing you to hack with more goats, moons and … you’ll get the picture.

So you’re NOT solving a murder? Certainly the game doesn’t demand you do it well, or integrously, and I’ve recently seen several games where you’re “allowed to” mess up investigations, including Yes, Your Grace and Lamplight City. In this case, the trials are framed as you presenting “your truth”. Everyone has secrets and it soon becomes clear that this is not a matter involving one, clear incident. Given the complexity of characters and contexts, even forming an incorrect case will require a thorough understanding of the island.

I can’t shake the feeling that Paradise Killer’s level designer was like, “Oh my gosh, look what I made!” And the rest of the team were like, “Mate, we’re just making a visual novel, not a gigantic, funky universe full of sexy, scary creatures. Or are we?” We conducted a pleasant interview with a developer prior to playing the game. Now, of course, I have more questions. Paradise’s intriguing weirdness initially struck me as very distracting, in a context where I was supposed to be investigating a crime, but curiosity was ultimately the key to forming a (somewhat more) complete picture of what had occurred here.