What is it?
An open-world mystery/detective game. The premise of the game is that you play as Lady Love Dies, an investigator and semi-immortal member of a strange murder cult called the Syndicate. The Syndicate is ruled by a council of anime-like characters who wind up murdered. Your job, as Lady Love Dies, is to figure out exactly who murdered the leaders of the Syndicate and bring them to justice.
My full playthrough clocked in at 15.4 hours--I would estimate that if you wanted to try to fully explore and find collectibles it could be closer to 20 hours.
Pros:
+ If you want a unique setting and story, look no further. The Syndicate is a murder cult that kidnaps humans in order to sacrifice them en masse in order to resurrect a set of lost gods. Unfortunately, the cult hasn't been very successful and has only managed to bring back one god. As a result they are continually starting and ending each cycle of murder and seeking to create the "perfect" island. The game takes place on island #24 which was on the verge of ending when the entire Syndicate council was murdered. The island is filled with statues to bizarre gods and mundane structures to house the "citizens" (aka--the murder victims) and the strange group of Syndicate members.
+ Exploration based gameplay. Most of the gameplay consists of wandering around the island and looking for any clues. There are collectible items to find as well as a type of currency called "blood shards" which can be used to purchase certain items (basically cans of soda) and pay for fast travel. Each clue you find leads you toward a certain character who might be tied to the clue and requires you to interrogate those characters. There's some very light puzzling in the form of "Nightmare Computers" which serve as locks to certain areas/items.
+ The log system in the game is very handy and does a great job of keeping track of all the clues, alibis, and information that you find.
+ The music is fun and has a sort of 80's vibe. One of the collectible items is cassette tapes that play certain music while you're exploring.
+ Strange, anime-style characters. If that's your vibe, it'll be right up your alley.
+ The ending/solving the mystery is very satisfactory. I won't spoil anything, but at the end of the game a trial is held and seeing all the pieces fall into place feels good.
Cons:
- It took me awhile to really settle into the game. I started it up and it just felt too unstructured and strange, so I set it back down and didn't pick it up for quite awhile. Then, I gave it another go and it finally started to be more enjoyable.
- It can be slightly annoying to continually flit back and forth between characters as you find clues. However, it is a necessary to befriend the characters because as you build up your relationship with them they will often share valuable clues. Find plenty of blood shards...you'll need them for fast travel.
- There's no "aha!" moment where you feel like you've really solved the mystery. Basically, I just tried to clear out all my leads and when I realized there wasn't anyone else to talk to that it was time to hold the trial. It can feel a bit unsettling, but once you're at that point it's time for the trial. (Don't worry, if you've been thorough enough everything comes together in the trial)
- For all the "non-readers" out there...there's a tiny bity of voice acting, but it's mostly text-based.
Recommendation:
If you like open-world exploration based gameplay and solving mysteries, you'll probably enjoy Paradise Killer. Even though it took me a bit to really get hooked into the story, I did find myself wanting to figure it out. Paradise Killer frequently goes on sale and is definitely worth a play.
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