My first impression of Paradise Killer's announcement trailer is one of confusion and intrigue, and I can't shake the feeling that I wasn't high enough to fully appreciate it.
Paradise Killer bills itself as an "open world murder mystery", but what the press release fails to mention is that it's an open world murder mystery for weebs. It has all the trappings of your everyday detective story: aliens and demons on an island that exists outside of reality with a quirky looking cast of androgynous, sexualized humans that may or may not have murdered someone.
For me, the most striking thing about the trailer - aside from being absolutely buck wild - is Paradise Killer's blend of 2D and 3D art. Looking for clues through exploration seems to make up the vast majority of gameplay, so the use of first-person perspective paired with the island itself looking visually stunning and diverse should make for an immersive tromp. Additionally, players will likely be spending a fair amount of time interrogating potential murder suspects, and I like that developer Kaizen Game Works opted to go with a dating-sim style 2D aesthetic for interacting with NPCs. Something about it just seems whimsical and fun, despite the subject material being grim in nature.
There's not much else that can be said about Paradise Killer at this stage, but it definitely looks interesting. I'm hoping to get some hands-on time with it this weekend during LudoNarraCon.
Paradise Killer is currently slated for a Summer 2020 launch on PC and Mac.
