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Finding Paradise Review: An RPG For The Big Thinkers

12K View2022-04-29

If you could go back and change anything about your life, what would it be? Perhaps you'd return to your childhood and have more fun? Maybe you'd choose a new major and pursue a different career path? Or finally take a chance and confess your feelings to the one you love? I probably would've taken the opportunity to learn an instrument and become a rock legend, earning enough money to retire by age 21! As one grows older, big questions like these make you think, "What if?" And it's exactly these high concepts the adventure-RPG Finding Paradise seeks to tackle.

Developed by Freebird Games and published by XD Entertainment Finding Paradise was initially released in 2017 and serves as a sequel to To The Moon and A Bird's Story. I had never played these games, so I was naturally excited to see what the hype was all about. The verdict? Diving into Finding Paradise was an enjoyable emotional rollercoaster. The game lives up to its reputation, and I was captivated by the game's grandeur from the moment I hit "Tap to start."

The opening visuals did an excellent job of hooking me immediately. Throughout the story, changes in lighting effects really add to the experience. Weather effects such as snow and rain highlight the emotional context of a scene. Without giving away spoilers, there's a moment when the characters realize this isn’t the typical day at the office. The rain adds to the sense of unease. Because you're in a dream realm through much of the narrative, the developers added fantastic elements to bring that out, like the ability to change your character's appearance in the dream world. I gave my hero a 1960s afro and a hipster mustache.

I started off Finding Paradise by following returning protagonists, Doctors Neil Watts and Eva Rosaline, two employees of the Sigmund Corporation. Their job is to grant dying wishes to patients by going into their heads and adding artificial memories. Unfortunately, the tech only works while patients are on their deathbeds, so that, in the client's final moments, they believe the memory is real. Light-hearted, right?

To offset the heavy tone of the story, the duo's interactions are hilarious. Jokes are sprinkled throughout the game. Players take control of either Watts or Rosaline to interact with the environment and chat with NPCs. The opening cinematic involves Watts and Rosaline bickering in a car when suddenly a squirrel comes into the middle of the road, causing the vehicle to swerve to avoid hitting it. This leads to some interesting dialogue between the two. Players find out the nature of what they do and their individual thoughts.

The patient this time around is Colin Reeds, an elderly man on his deathbed at this point in the Finding Paradise universe. Fans of the series will remember him from previous titles. The game's primary goal is to explore Colin's memories and experiences to find out and fulfill his dying wish and thus make sure he believes he's led a fulfilled life.

Finding Paradise is full of standard elements that will be familiar to RPG gamers. The gameplay loop has three main steps: interacting with characters from various stages in Colin's life, exploring new areas, and finding memory orbs to unlock pieces of Colin's past. But in a deviation from the genre norm, Finding Paradise is an entirely narrative-driven experience. There are no battles to be had. Our heroes aren't collecting experience to level up, and they don’t unearth items to modify their stats.

In that sense, Finding Paradise is probably closer to a visual novel, where the main gameplay comes in the form of choosing interactions with different characters and advancing the plot. There are also match-three puzzle elements to the game, though those mechanics are not incredibly challenging and certainly not satisfying if gameplay is what you crave. Players will have to solve various puzzles once enough memory orbs are collected to proceed to the next memory from Colin's life.

I easily forgave the lack of detailed game mechanics. After all, Finding Paradise's biggest selling point is its story. Initially created via RPG Maker, the game’s plot progresses nonlinearly, using music and graphic design to capture its audience.

I found the score especially incredible! The official soundtrack has been released on Steam. It even contains an original song entitled "Wish My Life Away" by Laura Shigihara. The game’s beautiful instrumentals added to the emotional weight I felt while playing. Many players have reported crying as they reached the conclusion of the story. With music and storytelling this dynamic, I don't find that hard to believe.

As I mentioned, I hadn’t played earlier installments in this series. Thankfully, Finding Paradise can be enjoyed just fine as a standalone game. Some people may find delving into the memories of a terminally ill man unappealing. But the exploration of universal themes such as aging, loneliness, death, and the questions it asks of its audience kept me satisfied.

Score: 4 stars out of 5

Play If You Like:

● If you enjoyed this title, check out A Bird Story. Colin Reeds is the main playable character here, and it centers around Colin as a child and his friendship with an injured bird. A must for all that are interested in learning more about Colin.

● And of course, check out To The Moon. This award-winning title is the precursor to Finding Paradise. This game follows Dr. Eva Roseline and Dr. Neil Watts as they journey across the memories of John Wyles.

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