[as always, I’ll try to refrain from mentioning any spoilers, mostly because I’m too lazy to use my own spoiler tag]
The final trial left me a bit disappointed, because it’s set up to be this huge showdown and instead turns into your character rehashing notes from your investigation journal.
Paradise Killer is, for a murder mystery game, pretty straightforward. The characters are straightforward. The puzzles are straightforward. The clues are straightforward. Yes, in the beginning things are a bit hectic and nothing makes sense, but during the course of the game clues fall neatly into place and there’s no wild ‘n wacky surprises that you’d find in the likes of a
Danganronpa game.
I don’t want to frame this as a Bad Thing – after all, this is arguably one of the best and worst things about Danganronpa: the game forces you to do the detective work but trials never go as expected, and no matter how good your detecting skills and deductions are, they’re quickly thrown in the trash as the story evolves.
And speaking of the devil, the sole trial in Paradise is a bit lacking, because it’s set up to be this huge showdown and instead turns into your character rehashing all of the notes in your investigation journal, and the Judge going “OMG!”.
Aside from picking who you think committed each crime, there are no real options other than to just keep mashing the [E] button. I’d gotten used to the multi-hour Danganronpa trials filled with minigames, debates, and twists, but in Paradise Killer, there’s none of that. It’s straight to the point. What should have been the climax and grand finale ends up feeling like a B-movie ending.
For what it’s worth, I enjoyed playing the role of the investigator, coming up with my own deductions and ripping on people trying to feed me lies. There’s a definite thrill in the method, and Kaizen Game Works does a solid job here recreating the investigation experience and crafting an exhaustive amount of lore to fill the world. I’d honestly be shocked if we don’t see a sequel pop up in a few years.