Paradise Lost Review (PS4)

WWII is one of the favorite topics when it comes to video games inspired by historic events. No matter if we look at shooters, strategy games, or even adventure games, the conflict between the Nazis and the Allies was retold from many different angles and with just as many outcomes. Paradise Lost proposes an alternative ending to the biggest war the planet has ever suffered and uses it as a pretext to tell a story built around the illusion of choice.

The first project launched by the polish Polyamorous Games is a walking simulator, taking place in a secret Nazi underground bunker. Paradise Lost tries to combine the “what if” approach with an emotionally charged story, to keep you immersed in an experience that is interesting, but far from meaningful. The ambitions of the producers were high, but the implementation could have used more polish. But let’s see what Paradise Lost has to offer and where does it fell a bit short of the mark.

The starting point is a historic twist: the greatest of all wars did not end in 1945, but it dragged on until the ‘60s. This gave time to Germans to finish developing their own nuclear weapons, leading to a most horrible outcome - turning the world into an atomic graveyard. To ensure the continuity of the Arian race, the Nazis build a gigantic underground bunker, to shield from the catastrophic outcome a small group of loyal German citizens. The colony should be not just self-sufficient, but also represent the perfect means to ensure continuity and victory in the end.

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But even the best-laid plans go awry, and we learn about this while guiding Szymon in the ghost town this bunker turns into after unforeseen events. The story unravels itself with each written document or audio log that you find while exploring the ruins of what was supposed to be a pinnacle of technology and human ingenuity. This horrifying background story represents the frame for a much more personal tragedy. Our young hero ends up facing the consequences of these horrors after he loses his mother and tries to find some answers about her past, based on an old photo.

From the moment you enter the bunker until you watch the ending scene, the two narratives intertwine with each step you take. Both the events of the past and your current trip follow the five stages of grief, with smartly constructed parallels among the historical events and your turmoil. But you will not have to face these challenges alone. Shortly after descending in the belly of the beast, you will discover your companion, a mysterious presence, about whose intentions you can never be completely sure of.

This ambiguity gives the illusion of choice: it is up to you if you chose to trust or to be guarded in dealing with the unknown voice. There is something ominous about a presence that watches your every move through the security cameras and guides you using the speakers hidden everywhere in the bunker. In the end, the relation you build with your mysterious guide is more of a flavor mechanic, it does not have any real effect on the gameplay or on how the events go down. Your only real choice comes into play at the end of the game, your final action determining which of the two endings will you be presented with.

Beyond exploring every corner of the environment for clues, and choosing dialogue options, there is not much else to do. There is no combat, no thrilling or horror moments, you cannot die and you cannot get stuck. There are no real puzzles, the most challenging moment finding a key card to open certain doors or some items to perform an optional ritual. Anything beyond walking the main path, which is pretty straightforward, is optional. The length of Paradise Lost and the amount of background information you uncover is up to you and your curiosity. If you rush through the game, the experience will be over in around an hour. If you stop to take in the scenery and search every corner for clues, you are looking at spending an afternoon in the game.

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The atmosphere and the narrative compensate to some degree for the lack of more interactive gameplay elements. Still, the fact that even exploration is optional, takes a toll on the overall experience and immersion. Also, it is somewhat disappointing that you are presented with a huge environment, but only a small part of it is accessible. It is a shame because the visual style of the game can be quite refreshing and the developers managed to create some eye-candy moments. The mixing of Nazi symbols, with technology that was at its peak in the ‘60s and with polish folklore creates a unique setting of mystery, amplified to a point by the hints and cues left behind.

Unfortunately, the graphics do not always present the visual style at its best. Some scenes are just breathtaking, while others remind us that we are dealing with an indie game. Another negative is the 30fps cap on PlayStation 4, with some obvious frame rate drops that should be corrected by a day one patch. This is a big disappointment because the consoles are more than capable of handling this kind of graphics with a much better frame rate.

The music is not bad at all, but the voice acting is just terrible. It is obvious that the developers were hoping to get an authentic effect, by presenting rather clumsy dialogues, but the result is actually an amateur hour and it sometimes breaks the spell Paradise Lost manages to put on you. The same can be said about the content presented in Polish or German: English subtitles would have gone a long way.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion