I love a good mystery, a whodunit if you will. Because of that, investigation games like the Sherlock Holmes franchise, are high on my list of enjoyable experiences. I also love things that could be described as weird or strange, like Katamari Damacy. Paradise Killer provides both of these things in one spectacular mystery game.

Paradise Killer puts you in the role of Lady Love Dies, a formerly exiled investigator who was once the head of an investigative unit for The Syndicate. The Syndicate is a cabal of ageless beings who rule over a regenerating island known as Paradise as they try to create the perfect utopia outside of the real world. On the night a new Paradise (Island 25) is about to be born, the leaders of the Syndicate (known as the Council) are murdered.

Lady Love Dies is pulled out of exile by Judge, a being whose sole purpose is to bring justice to the island. You then have to figure out how the Council was killed, who killed them and explore the island to figure out how much Lady Love Dies missed during her time in exile. As such, Paradise Killer is a first-person exploration and investigation game, with all manner of puzzles, collectibles, and things to do and explore.

Accompanying Lady Love Dies on her investigation is her computer known as Starlight. Starlight can do a wide number of things, including letting you hack into computers with a specific type of matching minigame. Starlight also holds a map, timeline of events, all of your case files, and information on your ongoing cases.

Oh yes, along the way you’ll be investigating the death of the Council, but also a variety of other cases. Technically you can get a minimal amount of information (just enough to convict) and report to Judge to begin the trial at any time. However, the meat of the game comes from exploring, talking to your suspects, and hanging out with them to figure out what makes them tick.

There are a variety of ways you can ultimately complete the game. Depending on what evidence you find will depend on where your investigation goes. Will you convict the true Paradise Killer? Or will you accidentally convict someone for a crime they did not commit? When every suspect has a motive, it is hard to know who to trust.

In that vein, Paradise Killer’s true strength is its versatility. There is what I would consider a “true” ending that comes when you’ve explored and acquired all the evidence. However, you can get a variety of other endings as well. As you explore the island, you can also acquire Blood Crystals, which can be used as currency.

You can buy drinks at vending machines, which are a collectible that will unlock various things for your Starlight AI. You can also purchase information from one of the NPC’s and do a blood sacrifice at the many shrines to the gods the Syndicate worships. Did I mention that Paradise Killer’s world is rich in world-building, all set around cosmic horror and gods that want to devour the universe?

It isn’t a horror game; there are no jump scares or anything like that. However, there is a lot of content that will test your moral compass. It also gives you plenty of options to choose what kind of person your version of Lady Love Dies is. Did she have a relationship with Doctor Doom Jazz before? Or do you lean towards putting her romantically with the information broker Crimson Acid?

Do you even risk romance at all? Feelings may blur the lines of friend, foe, and suspect. All of the characters feel like fully realized people in this world, as weird and bizarre as it is. You are given plenty of history and the world itself is full of information. Exploration and world-building are the largest parts of Paradise Killer.

Additionally, the ending leaves enough open that there could be a sequel. It also makes you wonder if you truly got everything or if you managed to miss one vital clue that could have blown everything wide open. The characters are fun and interesting though, enough to really make you invested in them. When I made my final call on who was guilty or not, I actually felt bad because I liked one of the accused people.

Paradise Killer has two main problems that keep it from being truly great though. For one, there is no compass, so you have to use Starlight’s AR mode to guide you to specific NPC’s on specific areas of the island. There is fast travel, but I would discourage using it, as certain clues can only be found by straying off the beaten path. The problem with this though is that using the map is difficult when you can’t tell where you are in relation to where you want to go.

A compass would solve this, and a marker on the map that shows your location beyond the “region” you’re in would help too. The other main issue comes with the voice acting. There is voice acting in Paradise Killer, but not every line is voiced over. In fact, some of the same voice lines are used in weird places that don’t really fit. The lack of full voice acting makes this less accessible to folks who have reading issues.

There are a few accessibility features though, so they clearly made an attempt. This was made by an indie studio, so the fact that they gave a few accessibility features is a good thing. Could they have done better? Yes, but there’s always room in the next one for growth. Other than those two issues, Paradise Killer is a solid mystery/detective game. You actually have to work to solve the cases and there is quite a lot of content built-in.

If you like things that are weird and a little dark behind a vibrant neon-punk aesthetic, then Paradise Killer is definitely for you. The game is colorful, the soundtrack is great, the puzzles are interesting, and you’ll be thinking about Paradise long after you’ve stopped playing.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Paradise Killer was provided by Fellow Traveler for this review.

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Paradise Killer

$19.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Beautiful Neonpunk Visuals
• Lots of Cues and Things to Find
• Fascinating Characters
• Lots of Replay Value
• Fun Soundtrack

Cons

• No Compass
• Voice Acting Could be Way Better