➤Review Paradise Lost - An immersive post-WWII journey 🕹

Developed by PolyAmorous and published by All in! Games, the game Paradise Lost presents an alternate reality in which there were no winners in WWII. In a war-torn Europe, the player explores an abandoned Nazi bunker and discovers secrets about the gigantic place hidden beneath the earth.

The journey is smooth and without dangers, focusing on immersion and finding answers, while the action is left aside. Szymon is a 12-year-old boy who, after the death of his mother - no spoilers, as this is already said in the game description -, finds a Nazi bunker during his journey through Poland. The boy's objective is to find a mysterious man who appears in a photo next to his mother, so the journey begins in a place full of secrets and peculiarities.

A slow and monotonous journey

Paradise Lost is not a war game as we are used to. Its post-apocalyptic environment can also make the player create some expectations when thinking about how the game should work in the course of its plot, but I must say that this title does not fit the most common industry standard. Here, there is no action of triple A's and most games that are set in the period of WWII or post-apocalyptic worlds. In fact, the lack of action could be considered a problem for players who are not attracted to quests that focus only on smooth exploration, without many challenges encountered along the way.

There are no enemies, there are no dangers. Death is not an opponent at any point in Szymon's adventure, after all, there is no way for the boy to get involved in a situation that risks his life during gameplay.

Szymon cannot run, jump, or perform other similar moves. Gameplay is limited to walking, finding items and pressing a single button to see the character perform automatic movements to climb up or down from high places/obstacles when necessary.

there are no challenges

As I stated above, there are no enemies and no other dangers, so there is nothing to worry about during your journey. Something that may bother you is the fact that the title does not offer a challenge to the player. But if you check out the journey keeping in mind that this is the proposal, it can become interesting.

Paradise Lost doesn't want to be more than a simple, peaceful journey of immersion. While the stages of grief serve as the mainstays of the plot, the game is only intended to guide the player on a path personal to the main character.

Review Paradise Lost - An immersive post-WWII journey — The journey is summarized as walking and exploring different environments.

There are puzzles, but these are solved in a matter of a few minutes, as they revolve around finding an item needed to perform a certain action. During the gameplay, sometimes I found some items before I even knew I would need them, since the exploration of scenarios is inviting and the different environments don't have impressive sizes, which makes it easier to find the necessary objects to advance in some moments.

Paradise Lost is a game that offers no challenges. The reward is not in completing objectives, but in discovering answers.

Admirable immersion and interesting journey

At this point in the review, you may have understood that Paradise Lost is not the option for action seekers. You're probably wondering how the game works or wondering how boring it can be, but as I stated about its lack of action, I must talk about its great immersion. The journey boils down to walking through the abandoned bunker and solving some puzzles that will be necessary to advance the plot. Although the game does not present moments of real excitement to the player, there is a remarkable and admirable immersion.

The gigantic Nazi bunker was created with a purpose that is discovered as we progress through the game, as more and more secrets are revealed. As we explore the place, we can find several papers that help to better understand the history of the bunker and the citizens who were in it. Reading these papers is not mandatory, but since the game does not focus on action and any other pillar of gameplay, not checking the notes found along the way will certainly make the game unappealing. Ignoring these journals and notes means ignoring the game itself and condemning it to boredom.

The Nazi bunker is full of places that have different characteristics, including even mountains with waterfalls and a beach. The place was clearly created so that an "ordinary" life could be led there, while up there, in the "real world", Europe is devastated after the nuclear bombings carried out by the Nazis. With the continent cut off from the rest of the world due to radiation, life in a bunker would be the only option for anyone who planned this whole situation.

As much as the journey is stopped and the game does not present varied mechanics, the exploration is interesting due to the great setting. Discovering new places from the bunker is really captivating, as you understand more about that mysterious place and different scenarios come your way. Returning to the notes, they fulfill the important role of keeping the player connected with the world in which he is inserted. The interesting immersion of Paradise Lost is created precisely with such notes, since with them it is possible to discover more about the place, characters important to the plot and even about other citizens who lived there. It is necessary to read what is found so that a general understanding of the situation is possible. It is by reading that you will discover the purpose of the Nazis, the story of the man Szymon is looking for and all the mysteries surrounding the bunker, including the details of its creation.

The lack of mechanics and interesting elements in the gameplay is felt, but it is possible to see that the proposal of the game did not make it need content like this to be added. Within what it was created to offer, the title successfully accomplishes its task.

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Engaging plot

The plot of Paradise Lost is indeed interesting. As the player explores the bunker and advances in the plot, various plot elements emerge to make the search for answers more interesting.

The game is able to hold the player's attention and cause theories to be elaborated, while there is a desire to find out what will really be discovered by Szymon at the end of his journey. Although it is short and sometimes seems a little predictable, the plot is well written and delivers an outcome that can be surprising.

Particularly, at the beginning I believed I had discovered what would be the big reveal that would be shown at the end of the game, but I was really pleased when approaching the end and realizing that what seemed logical actually hid other secrets that were unexpected, arousing even more curiosity. on the player and making the conclusion more interesting. The ending did deliver what I thought it would, but it also delivered other responses and elements that made it less evident than it seemed. For me, this made it clear that the plot of Paradise Lost was well thought out, in addition to conveying the certainty that the title knows how to handle your questions and answers, revealing just what is necessary to keep the journey interesting, without spoiling the final experience. .

The verdict

Paradise Lost is, for sure, a game for a specific audience. I believe that the game will go unnoticed by many players, while others will abandon the journey because it doesn't fit the current pattern.

We must not forget that a game must entertain players. We should also not forget that a game is, of course, a different medium than a movie, a book or any other way of telling a story. Yes, in video games the player is looking for journeys that put him in control of situations, that allow him to experience unimaginable and impossible moments in the real world. A game must understand what kind of media it belongs to, so interesting mechanics and other elements must always be valued.

However, we must also not forget that different proposals can successfully deliver interesting content. As with all media, as much as there is a pattern, different visions can emerge to offer something different and even unique.

Paradise Lost delivers something unique. Although technically it does not stand out and presents many limitations, the title is captivating with its own characteristics. By accepting the title and understanding its proposal, it is possible to embark on an interesting journey.