I don't know if there was supposed to be another thread for discussion, if so I haven't seen it (probably a me problem), but let me know if there is and I'll crosspost this to that thread.
I love Paradise Killer. There are so many twists and turns, but I think what I really love about it is that it never tells you if you are outright right or wrong. It's a game about empathy, as even once you've discovered all the evidence, you can still implicate the two seemingly innocent people on the island. Or you can lump it all on the handy scapegoat one of the conspiracies provides, because why uphold a status quo if that status quo only benefits a few? You're given no true indication of what the right answer is, ultimately it's your right answer, and that means the decision can only be made after you've exhausted all possible empathy in your soul. Personally I played it as if I were Lady, rather than me, so everybody but one person made it out.
This game's presentation stuck with me so hard that, when discovering new oceanic planets in No Man's Sky, I can't help but name them Memories Of Paradise. I'm now nostalgic for a time and place that never existed, a hazy island hellscape where, were I to exist on it, I would be drained of blood and stacked in like sardines with my fellow victims. Yet something in this world, maybe the notion of endless suffering in endless paradise, really resonated with me as someone who tries to make the most out of their days.
Personally I didn't like that you had to have every item of evidence to conclusively pin the conspiracy perps. The first time I reached the trial, I thought I had everything, and knew I could implicate two specific denizens, but when it came to providing the evidence I came up short and they weren't convicted. Of course, I was able to just exact justice if I wanted to anyway, but it felt empty. I had to reload, hunt out the remaining pieces of evidence (they didn't appear with "item sight") and try again, which was successful. I get that it was trying to emulate some sort of real trial, but given the ability to execute whoever afterwards, it just seems weird to me.
On the topic of "item sight", this game would be almost unplayable without it. Even with it I had to look around for access to a certain few of those hearts. It's not really a criticism, more just noting that the moment-to-moment gameplay felt less like investigating and more like litter picking.
Thankfully the litter picking isn't the real meat and potatoes, the NPCs are. The conversations are rich and detailed, the voice acting is exceptional and the various relationships between everyone are much more intriguing to figure out than they are frustrating. Even now, years on, I am still thinking of a good few of the outfits from this game, and still thinking about the intricacies of how everything was pulled off.
Even now, I am still willingly putting on the OST to just vibe out. Some of it was even played at my wedding. Also just saying, The Sarcophagus BGM is so much more sinister than it ever needed to be. Every second spent in there felt like I was going to get jumped on by some demon.
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