Technical Information

Developer: Kaizen Game Works
Publisher: Fellow Traveller
Release Date: September 4, 2020

Every few millennia, a new island emerges, like a phoenix. The next island is Paradise 25, designed to be perfect. However, a killer appears and murders the Council.
Step into the shoes of Lady Love Dies, dive into a world where humans, gods, demons, and aliens coexist, investigate who’s behind it all, and present all the evidence you find in court to execute the culprit.

Paradise Killer is a first-person exploration and investigation game.

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the Game as a Whole

Graphics and UI

I’m not sure if it was intentional, but Paradise Killer has a strong vaporwave aura. The colors and aesthetics strongly remind me of that style and give the game a lot of charm. At the same time, it’s also possible to notice a pagan and sinister touch in statues and other details. The visual identity is really unique.

The characters scattered throughout the world are all 2D, almost as if they came out of Paper Mario. Honestly, I found it strange.
During dialogues, they sometimes change their expressions or poses, but unfortunately, the variety is limited.
That said, I found the concept behind each character very creative, they remind me of enemies from Persona. I loved it!

The game’s menus and options are well designed.
There’s a section with investigation tips and another dedicated to all the evidence you’ve collected. This evidence is organized into separate folders by characters and facts, it’s very methodical.

The map shows your location, but the areas are very extensive, which confused me a lot from the beginning until about halfway through the game. The map works more as a general reference of where you are, without clearly showing which paths to take to reach another region (prepare yourself to get lost many times).

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

I loved the soundtrack! It’s very memorable, and I even listened to it during my end-of-year trip.
Just like the visuals, many tracks are heavily influenced by vaporwave.

During dialogues, characters use slang quite often. I really liked this, as it helps give each of them a unique personality and reinforces the player’s immersion in the story.

Gameplay

The story is somewhat complex, and at first, I felt very lost.
I didn’t have the patience to read every detail about the evidence and events, so I let many things flow without worrying too much about specifics. As I progressed, certain facts started to repeat themselves and slowly began to make sense.

Despite the large map, there are phones scattered around the island that allow you to save your progress (there are three save slots) or fast travel to another region using a different phone, though you need to unlock it first.

The game’s charm lies exactly in the size of the map, which forces you to go back and forth between locations to find evidence or contradict something someone said. Exploration is the core focus, and there are many hidden areas to discover.

As you interact with characters, you can choose dialogue options to build an “elo” with them. Once an elo is maxed out, a character may reveal new information or give you a gift.
I found this system somewhat confusing, since there’s no bar or clear indicator showing your progress.

I should also mention that I slept with two characters (the protagonist is bisexual and, honestly, I don’t give a shit! I was going to flirt with everyone anyway). At some point, I even thought the game might lean more into dating-sim mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, but that doesn’t take away from the complexity of the game’s decision tree.

There’s no life bar and no weapons. Paradise Killer is completely focused on narrative and investigation.
You can start the trial at any moment, even if you’re missing evidence.

Replayability and Game Retention

What changes in the ending are the characters you accuse and execute (yes, you’re responsible for that). This opens up multiple possibilities, so my recommendation is to gather all the evidence and think carefully before starting the trial. Some characters left me very uncertain, and I ended up testing different saves just to see what would happen.

I found the game extremely memorable, whether because of its characters, music, or story.
I’ll definitely play it again in the future.