Paradise Killer

Welcome to a nice tropical island. They have a bar, a boat ride, musical speakers everywhere, an idol. This is Perfect 24, but the “crime to end all crimes” has happened. The council has been killed. You are Lady Love Dies (and I’m still not sure if Lady is part of her name or a title), and you are the investigator called to figure out who did it. Since Love Dies was formerly disgraced and not on the island at the time of the crime, she is above suspicion. Now she must explore, find clues, buy soft drinks, and talk to the people of the island to figure out exactly what happened.

Find it on Steam.

Paradise Killer is an open world first person investigation game. You are free to wander around the entire island and do things in any order. It was over 2 hours into the investigation before I even talked to a suspect because I wandered off to the beach and got distracted by all of the random collectibles around. It’s all up to you how to handle things.

There are a lot of fast travel points if you want to get around quickly. You also get some movement abilities to help if you can discover them. For the most part, you are running around, talking to people, and finding clues. The game helpfully keeps track of all important notes you discover as well as gives you a list of suspects.

It is up to you when to finish the game. At any point, you can talk to Judge and decide I’ve had enough investigating, it’s time to start the trial. You then need to present evidence, and Judge will decide if you’ve sufficiently made your case and pass judgment.

To keep things manageable, there are no normal citizens on the island. They’ve already all been killed in the end of island slaughter ritual. Oh, did I not mention you’re a member of a cult trying to revive dead gods from beyond the cosmos? And the island is actually in a pocket dimension to hide from the real world? And it’s called Perfect 24 because the Council and Syndicate have attempted this 23 previous times already? And at the end of the case, everyone is going to Perfect 25?

But before that, Love Dies needs to figure out who killed the Council, the leader of the organization. All of the remaining Syndicate members has something to hide. Some more than others.

The real charm of the game comes from the mood, the ambiance, the style, and the substance. The entire island is dripping with a vaporwave style from lots of pink and blue hues to the great soundtrack going on throughout. The characters are all wild with fun designs and memorable personalities with names like Crimson Acid and Lydia Daybreak.

Make no mistake, the cult’s goal is bad for the world at large. You kidnap people from the real world and force them to worship gods in order to revive the gods. These gods just happen to be alien creatures that treat humanity like playthings.

The worship also happens to attract demons from beyond the cosmos as well, and they slowly corrupt the islands.

Beyond the look and feel of the game, there is a bunch of backstory going on. None of it is important to the current case, but they build up the world of Paradise Killer. Do you want to know more about these gods? You can find out more. Other random tidbits such as life on the island? Yes. Everything creates a more complete and enticing view of this strange world.

Paradise Killer has an intriguing murder plot bolstered by its setting. The case really leans into the world and you should know a good bit about how things works to have a full understanding of what was done. The gameplay is basic with some simple puzzles. You mostly wander around, sometimes with a purpose, sometimes without, and see what you can find. You can also try to jump around stuff to reach locations. The suspects you meet are all hiding things, and it is up to you to uncover them. Then, whenever you feel ready, you can start the case.

Dive into Perfect 24 and enjoy the interestingly crafted world.

Find it on Steam.