THE EDGE AWARDS
WORLDBUILDING AWARD PARADISE KILLER
Developer/publisher Kaizen Game Works Format PC, Switch
At first, the 24th Island Sequence is overwhelming. But that’s exactly what it’s been designed to be. The vaporwave stylings of this place – in which a heinous murder has been committed, and it’s your job to find out whodunnit – are all-consuming. Unapologetic, even. This is lo-fi in the extreme: palm trees stand uncannily still against creamsicle skies, polygonal buildings almost seem folded into shape, and enigmatic 2D suspects turn towards you wherever you walk like seductive billboards. From the off, as Barry ‘Epoch’ Topping’s sublime city pop soundtrack throbs in the ears, you’re buried in all manner of strange concepts: a council formed to protect against demonic possession; wily gods with hidden agendas; a goat-headed pop idol and a skeleton barman; a whiskey that induces time-travelling tendencies in its drinkers; blood sacrifices as a means of currency for shiny trinkets. Paradise Killer is a minefield of deceit, debauchery and deities. And that’s before you find out about the 23 other islands.