Paradise Killer | Review in 3 Minutes

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Amy Campbell reviews Paradise Killer, developed by Kaizen Game Works.
Paradise Killer on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/11...
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[@jasonblalock4429]

1:47 This is actually a really common money-saving trick in visual novels and similar games, when they can't afford to voice 100% of the script. It happens all the time in series like Persona and Danganronpa. You just get used to it, after awhile.

[@skahana950]

It just shows she's not very familiar with video games. I've seen all these '3 minutes reviews' since they were '2 minute reviews' and it seems to be a common theme. I enjoy the short length of these videos and the quick glimpse of the game but the content itself seem like it's being written by someone who's never played a video game.

[@tonkahanah5890]

Yeah, I came to say this is pretty common but I definitely get the confusion. I know if I had my way I'd prefer they they not do that at all.

[@user-ux4gu2lh8c]

S Kahana Doesn’t matter if it’s common, it’s still a legitimate criticism and shouldn’t be encouraged

[@skahana950]

@@user-ux4gu2lh8c never said it shouldn't be criticized. I just said that the reviews themselves seem to be written by someone who wasn't familiar with video games or it's tropes. It seems to be the case on a few of their videos. It may be the time limitations but my point still stands, the writing isn't always the best.

[@gamesdisk]

@@skahana950 I found it jarring to, tbh. And even more so when the tone doesn't fit. And I played alot of games like this.

[@radhamster]

When Love Dies, Only Truth Remains

[@ElLoGGe]

Interesting aspects. Watched the review before buying and playing. Finishing it after 2 days I can tell that I found the map to be perfect for exploration, all those relics and blood crystals to find were amazing and hook me during my 13 hours of playtime. Regarding the voice samples you can turn them off completely so that was a point i think isn't that bad. I played with standard settings and found those samples to be refreshing. for me this is one the greatest and relaxing games I played in a while. Highly recommended.

[@wolfm33]

Just a little advice. Give the game some time. At first it might look silly but it's really really worth it.

[@zacziggarot]

Meh even Phoenix Wright gives you multiple cases to go through. I was left at the end very disappointed with only the single island and only one batch of trials

[@ButtonEyedBee]

Running and climbing on everything is always my cherry on top with exploration in games. Let me goblin all over the map more, game developers

[@WastePlace]

Lmao best way of describing it. Let me goblin out more in video games

[@zacziggarot]

What experience do you have with goblins to make you think that they Skyrim climb all over?

[@ButtonEyedBee]

@@zacziggarot I have a very cool imagination ♡

[@thewalkingforest5185]

I can feel the waves from the vapour

[@kvjackal7980]

For anyone looking for comments praising this game, or looking for excuses to play it, here's mine. Do it. It's a fantastic little indie experience, intriguing but somehow relaxing. I really, really enjoyed it.

[@bbspooks]

Doctor DOOM JAZZ??? I mean come on. That is amazing lmao

[@zacziggarot]

Especially when you you find out his back door is just a passage to his back door 😂

[@ArtSapda]

Ok, but Doctor Doom Jazz is money!

[@vazak11]

I love the characters style.

[@seankaplan2007]

It's like an american Jojo

[@professorpennies]

@@seankaplan2007 the game is british tho

[@ArvidOlson]

I personally like the voice acting but you can turn it off in the settings, nothing that needs to be “ignored”.

[@Tradgik_]

I disagree with a lot of this review. Exploration was such a fun part of the game. Being responsible for your own navigation, made me feel more like an investigator honestly, I do agree though, that following up on leads with everyone was cumbersome at times. Game could have used voice acting through out.

[@wildonionchase3934]

Danganronpa is a clear influence but Suda 51’s visual novels are also being paid homage. It’s like a more playable version of Flower Sun and Rain and the way the game lets you know which character is speaking during cutscenes is identical to The Silver Case.

[@SuperMandibleclaw]

1:47 i take it you've never played a visual novel before

[@chromeaurum337]

So much jojo posing... I love it

[@royfox2010]

I like these 3 minute reviews. It's not a huge time commitment so it's easy to digest.

[@halonothing4210]

I feel like "Return of the Obra Dinn" did this better.

[@Fachewachewa]

The boat was so small and people still complained about the back and forth, so I can imagine how this would be an issue with a world this big :/

[@weirdwyx]

Not even close to the same game genre. Paradise Killer is literally just the logical successor to games like Phoenix Wright. It is the best game of it's poorly defined genre, and It's definitely not a fill in the blanks where's waldo with style game like Obra Dinn... Obra Dinn is a VERY good game, and is the best of its genre too, but this is literally apples to oranges. I don't think its a fair comparison on any scale to paradise killer... Gameplay, aesthetic, tone, etc. It's so wildly different that it upsets me to compare them on any note than general quality, which i'd argue paradise killer is a better game with more replay value.

[@zacziggarot]

​@@weirdwyx there is ZERO replay value, nothing changes except how the player reveals evidence. The evidence and events are always the same. That's not replaying, it's just save scumming, the ONLY thing that can change are the events of the final trail. Honestly I strongly prefer the Phoenix Wright series over this. I got super bored with the island when your only rewards are inconsequential collectables that have NOTHING to do with the cases and were mostly padding. Meanwhile Phoenix Wright has you exploring multiple areas that feel more meaningful usually

[@weirdwyx]

@@zacziggarot that's a fair criticism. I have replayed paradise killer about 3 times now, and as much as I strongly agree with your sentiments, I don't treat paradise killer like a good arcade title. I'm not normally a plot guy, but paradise killers narrative is so engaging to me, that the collectibles aren't inconsequential, but they add speculative setpieces of the environment and world building, which I think is great for a narrative deduction game about an alien setting. The replay value I got was the interpretations of the events that can change, and I would say it's not a detriment that there is a clear and defined truth to the case. It's a detective game. I want there to be a solid story related to the many lines of dialogue throughout the game. I don't expect it to play like Tetris in terms of variance. But, what I do enjoy on separate playthroughs is the ability to change your focus, and see the events through a different lens. The game really works best when you consider you may have biases, and when I adjust my biases, new narratives get constructed, but only with good detective work will you come out with the right answer. And as is constantly said in the game, "truth and facts are not the same." I think it's just my favorite game in terms of tone and theme, and I've even adapted it to a DND game I've been running for 2 years now. Is it my favourite game ever? No. You're right. It's flawed. But for what it does well, I haven't seen a game beat it. In the same vein of the game, I hope you're able to see a different perspective and still enjoy other detective games more. But I personally quite enjoyed this game for what it is.

[@CD6405]

Does the game have a constant sound of white noise or is it the person’s mic?

[@GeorgeNoiseless]

What you're hearing is part of the soundtrack.

[@danielleanderson6371]

White noise plays when you're near a collectible.

[@TeamCGS2005]

Awesome review. Sounds like a good example whereby linearity for certain parts would have been a good thing. The sense of having an open world is far better than in a literal sense, as in this game.

[@alexf6023]

I was thinking of buying this game cos the 2D art style of the characters looks amazing and have been told the soundtrack is banging, but there seems to be bit of a jarring mismatch with the 3D open world. Has anyone else who played this found it to be a problem?

[@MrWhygodwhy]

I don't know, I liked it. It gave the game a Myst vibe. The map sucks but running around the world was enjoyable for the vibe and exploration. I thought it made the game better.

[@danielleanderson6371]

The open world is surprisingly full of things to do if you consider this is an indie game.

[@oliverlindgren4447]

Absolutely not! The 3D world is what makes the game worth it in my opinion, had it been 2D I probably would have refunded it.

[@TheCreepypro]

not into text based games but I do love quirky characters and their development so maybe I'll try it out since I like detective stories as well

[@mathiasjrs2878]

did you try it. cuase i am in the same baot and i loved it though it was alittle rough around the edges

[@curupa66]

More people should play this game

[@zacziggarot]

Meh, I can understand why traversal would get annoying seeing as most of the collectables have nothing to do with your investigation, it just feels like added padding, because it is

[@hustle_simmons]

Its likes jojos and phoenix wright had a baby

[@notimeforcreativenamesjust3034]

Dangronpa?

[@gnardawgyt]

Thia game is incredible

[@BroadwayBrittany]

Looks really interesting, though I can’t understand why they went for that explorable 3D world. It’s a completely different design aesthetic from the character sprites and doesn’t seem to benefit the game in any way (from what I can see at least based off of this review). My guess is that it was added as padding to lengthen the game’s playtime so you don’t just hop from character to character when you needed to. Like I said, this is purely based off of the reviewer’s comments and the footage shown here. Having said that, it seems like a fairly good game that’s unfortunately weighed down by some poor design choices, keeping it from being a GREAT game.

[@vargsvansify]

Suddenly seeing that 3D first person world really surprised me as well. I was intrigued by the premise until that part showed up. Would love to hear the thought process from the developers, because it's so strange to me that I kind of assume there's something I don't understand here.

[@Dreamboum]

Outer Wilds has already proven that having an explorable 3D world in a mystery game can offer brilliant moments. Mystery is best appreciated when it is player-driven, which mean that I am in control of what I want to investigate. Paradise Killer offer that in spade and it isn't padding at all, just like Outer Wilds is anything but padding. It's a bit weird how you fully formed an opinion from a game you haven't even played.

[@BroadwayBrittany]

Dreamboum I’m not saying an explorable 3D world doesn’t work in mystery games, and you’re right: The Outer Wilds does it RIGHT. However, in that case, the world matches the art style of everything else, and it’s already a first-person game, making the choice obvious. From what I can see here, you go from bright and vibrant text screens that give off a Phoenix Wright vibe only to be shifted into a generic looking 3D world. There’s a disconnect with the art styles, and even if the world is well-utilized (which it very well may be), it looks like two completely different games, one of which received a lot less care and attention than the other. If it were me, I would’ve gone for a 2D world to explore or a 3D world with a much more stylized art style; that way, everything would’ve felt more cohesive. As far as it being padding goes, that was just my initial guess as to why it seems so jarring. That said, another probable cause is that it was a choice that was made and implemented late into development, and they simply ran out of time to do anything more with it. I have no doubt that this game is good, I’m just making observations purely from a game design standpoint.

[@Dreamboum]

@@BroadwayBrittany I wouldn't call the world of Paradise Killer generic. It is extremely stylish and well-realized. You are once again making weird assumptions about its development about a game you have never played. You have to realize that your observations are coming from a point of pure ignorance and you're sounding like an armchair developer. None of what you say matches the reality of how this game is flowing in terms of game design because you clearly haven't played it.

[@JoshuaOReilly]

I'd assume they went with a 3D world because the assets are a lot easier to buy/use from the big engines. A 2D world requires more art to be made from the team when on Unity you can just buy all of the things on that island, leaving only the characters themselves to be made. Dunno if this is true in the case of this game but that's my most plausible explanation.

[@Tiger74147]

Sounds like Confirmation Bias: The Game!

[@JaneMed27]

I want this is at $13

[@goldenmindcavity]

lovely review as always Amy

[@CrispBaker]

Blood crystals... Why....

[@alexgold2611]

Anyone can see that this game is a story driven game and play it for mostly that.

[@0utrunner237]

Maybe they should've focused more on the story part and less on the exploration then. No different than BlazBlue, I'm here for the fighting not hour long story cutscenes. Difference is that BB allows you to skip straight to the action, I don't think you can skip over the mandatory exploring of a barren land.

[@alexgold2611]

@@0utrunner237 A lot of games don’t allow you to skip cutscenes. I hope you find a better suit game to your tastes.

[@kidrobot.]

@@alexgold2611 lol? almost every game allows you to skip cutscenes

[@alexgold2611]

@@kidrobot. If It does your stuck on a loading screen

[@flushit.]

"...during some conversations a generic voice-over would play, instead of a recording that matched the written dialogue." She clearly doesn't get it. While you read the dialogue the voice-over set's the tone. It's such a funny thing, and I love it.

[@zacziggarot]

Yeah it did give you a decent feeling for whether or not the suspects agreed with your questioning

[@vigilante23]

I binged this game and it was a good time

[@gyri5524]

Its really good thooo

[@zacziggarot]

Wasn't all the stuff about Crimson and KHX a red harring? I was just annoyed that even if you get Henry found innocent ALL the citizens get offed before starting the next island so the whole game is kinda pointless. Even if Henry is found innocent he's still going to be killed when the island gets shutdown

[@axelprino]

The difference is visual style between the 2D and 3D sections of the game look pretty jarring, the game calls for flatter shading and textures if you ask me, something closer to cell shading maybe.

[@lupin-x2]

Watching this with my eyes closed makes me want to play it but, boy, that map.

[@zacziggarot]

It's not too big of a deal, I have like 40 extra crystals for fast travel and I've already done everything. My only gripe is that most of the collectibles are inconsequential to the cases you're working, makes it feel like over half the game is padding

[@melancholyman369]

I see that the artist is a JoJo's fan....CULTURED

[@strayorion2031]

More mysteries should give you an open world

[@zacziggarot]

I don't think they fully utilized the open world in this, it felt like it was mostly filler especially when most of the collectables had nothing to do with any of the cases

[@jo12danjames]

Gamepass unite!

[@sofielundsskolan]

This reviwer and most commenters obviously have never played a Suda51 game, or are willfully ignorant of how the style choices in this game closely resemble that particular flavor of weird.

[@SonicBoyster]

"Willfully ignorant." Not everybody loves Suda51 or assumes everything is inspired by Suda51. Get out with your uppity garbage.

[@Pc-pp6hx]

Something is not fine with her legs

[@ruby7951]

A 3D exploration world for a mystery visual novel? What a weird mismatch.

[@kntwing23]

not my type of game... >

[@raulrojas9253]

Are those JOJO POSES!!!??? O.O

[@barelyafan5591]

1st

[@Sunbreaker7]

2nd

[@LucasRLAlves]

4th, I guess.

[@0utrunner237]

Oh damn, thanks for this! Was about to bite the bait, but a clunky open world devoid of any life doesn't sound exactly fun. Payout seems to be the exciting trial at the end, but that's just it, *at the end.* I'll just stick to the tried and true murder mystery series.

[@jessehruska8035]

I would suggest giving the game a go if you enjoy other games like Danganronpa or the Ace Attorney series. It isn't perfect, but I found Paradise Killer to be unique and enjoyable. Personally, I love the Ace Attorney games, though their investigation sections usually don't hold my attention very well. With Paradise Killer it was very engaging for me, despite its huge and sometimes barren world. Plus, little revelations happen throughout the game, so shocking twists that would normally happen during a trial occur throughout the whole game.

[@danielleanderson6371]

The barren world is contextualized within the game. Part of the premise is that the island was in the middle of being cleared out when the murder happened, so most of the population have been removed. Considering this is a detective game, you want the population to be reduced to a manageable amount or it'd be impossible to code and impossible to play. I actually found exploring the open world to be surprisingly fun. It allowed clues to be hidden without reducing the game to a pixel hunt. The game draws a box around things you can pick up or investigate when you're near them, which wouldn't work as well in a 2D setting where that might give away some of the puzzles. Also the game does give you movement upgrades and a fast travel system, both of which make getting around the island less tedious.

[@zacziggarot]

​@@jessehruska8035 little revelations get annoying when you have to cross a MASSIVE map to apply said revelations at whatever suspect has new dialogue unlocked

[@Guff1e]

3?

[@MistromLuthane]

Ninth

[@olliinthekitchen7825]

If VAPORWAVE was a game.

[@wideveed]

It doesn't seem all that interesting, good review though

[@galrjkldd]

1:53 looks like they needed a better editor.

[@professorpennies]

it a method of saving money

[@cizfranainedres9028]

Kotaku called this a great game🤦🤦

[@threat645]

This reviewers standards are too high without understanding the difficulties of hiring good voice actors that aren’t the same recasted voice’s we hear every anime game like Laura Bailey. Also the game isn’t meant to have block buster environment details. I dont think the game even touches 60$ pricing 🤔

[@Pyrrhus_Archvile]

so tumblr danganronpa

[@0utrunner237]

Probably indeed started out as a DanGanRonPa fangame, until the creators realized they could make money off of it.

[@lilfrailecillo6506]

My new favorite example of why open world doesn't mean automatically good.

[@bobsteel1981]

"...Your accusation doesn't have to right, you just have to have enough evidence..." Framing simulator. Pass.

[@Lgreyman]

according to an interview with the dev there is a exact true version of events and murder suspect , you'l just have to be extra thorough in order to get it. the intent was for it be more like a real life prosecution attorney convincing a jury where you really don"t know for sure . kotaku - paradise-killer-is-a-whodunnit-where-anybody-coulda-dunnit - interview.

[@stupidmonkey089]

@@uanime1 Why would something they intentionally designed by a flaw? The devs, and the reviews, have LITERALLY stated that you can accuse anyone as long a you present a compelling case with evidence, but there is a truth you can find out

[@facundosterzerforino1704]

@@uanime1 It happens in really life and it would continue to happen, that's why the term scapegoat exist

[@facundosterzerforino1704]

@@stupidmonkey089 It's not a flaw, it's the entire point of the game, is up to you to find the truth.

[@SonicBoyster]

God forbid a game let you get something wrong, right?

[@wiiviewer]

I couldn't disagree with you more about the trials. They were pointless and boring. All you do is pick the person who has the most evidence against them, (and who isn't Henry) and just pick every dialog option, until the "trial" is over. Each "trial" last about 5 min, and they just recap everything you have already learned. Honestly, if you want to see what the story of the game is find a Lets Play of the trial and everything is laid out for you, in less then 25 min. You don't even need to watch the other 10 hours or so it too you to finish the game up to that point.

[@danielleanderson6371]

I found this to not be the case. In one instance I remember one person having tons of evidence against them, but they were all things that could easily be explained away, while another character had just a few things against them, but one piece was so damning it made me absolutely sure they were responsible. Spoilers going into greater detail are as follows. The mystery of why K. HX went missing seems to point towards Crimson Acid, with a clump of her hair being found in his apartment. Lady Love Dies explains that the scene could've been cleaned up, but it's up to the player to notice that there's no reason to clean up all of a crime scene except for a clump of hair. If Crimson did it, she would've cleaned up the hair, too. Looking around K's apartment you see he has an obsession with Crimson, implying that he stole a patch of her hair or acquired it possibly during a romantic evening with her. Meanwhile, when you find his body, he's clutching Yuri Night's ring, which is explained by Yuri as K doing repairs on it. There's not much other evidence against Yuri, but the fact that you find K hidden on a beach with a ring tucked in his hand frozen by rigor mortis is much more damning than a clump of hair and K having a thing for Crimson.

[@oliverlindgren4447]

@@danielleanderson6371 Yeah, but there was still no real "trial" It wasn't like the acused said they had an alibi and then you had to disprove it like in Danganronpa. Don't get me wrong, I like the game and the exploration part. But the actual trial was just spam X until you win.

[@danielleanderson6371]

@@oliverlindgren4447 I think the meat and potatoes of PK is exploring the island and talking to people. The trial at the end is mostly a formality that offers a bit more character development. Maybe in a sequel we'll see something more involved.

[@oliverlindgren4447]

@@danielleanderson6371 I agree!

[@rev3138]

Well damn, why play any game?

[@MariaVosa]

Ok, but Doctor Doom Jazz is money!