Developed By: Eko Software

Published By: Nacon

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC

Reviewed On: PS5

When I first started this out, the 3d models were such a turnoff with a lack of expressions, stiff movement, and lip sync – it goes to show that the whole budget of the game goes to the zombies themselves as they are more smiley and expressive throughout the ads including cinematic 80s campaign. The hours in it look interesting in the concept of controlling zombies and crafting at first but later on, it’s pretty much the same brain-dead ARPG in disguise.

Is this a dead-by-arrival game? Yes, with the main emphasis of a strong beginning but the way it goes, it gets boring after a while unless, of course, you like to shoot and beat up zombies with a bat all the way. Everything else is pretty much a try-hard in terms of story and cinematic and lacks the constant delivery to keep it fresh. Because well, of course, it’s all about the zombies in the end. Here is my review of ParadiZe.

Gameplay – Wack A Mole

The game offers three forms of gameplay, an ARPG top-down view of the action with melee attacks or swapping to a gun range attack at a distance via a triangle button. Pressing the R1 will bash the enemies with a light attack while the R2 button is for shooting or hitting enemies harder with your melee weapons.

The thing is melee attacks such as Baseball Bat hit harder than gunshots, with shooting felt sounds like a paintball/nail gun. The gun is aimed using the right analog stick, which may take time for the cross-hair to align a shot before succession. Anything before that may cause less damage or no hits at all which can get frustrating.

The second form of gameplay which is the main meat of the game is controlling Zombies, dubbed Zombots, using mind control headgear to dictate their behavior and actions manually but this still can get unpredictable at times, sometimes opting to swing guns like bats instead of shooting it out with an added element of frustration due to what seems like random decision-making or pathing issues by zombies running around randomly or getting stuck in rocks or walls in-between.

Thirdly crafting for essentials of bandages, bullets, arrows, and weapons that are pretty straightforward. But in terms of building settlements, walls, and traps can be pretty irksome due to the lack of clear guidelines for placable grounds, often resulting in frustrating error or none error messages prohibiting construction seamlessly, including, such as the inability to build outside a forest despite other areas being forest by itself.

Despite the diverse range of enemy animals, bosses, and zombies armed to the teeth with different armor and weapons, their attack patterns don’t deviate that much. With only occasional exceptions like zombies donning pillow suits for melee protection or heavy armor for gunfire which can be countered by a swap of the weapon via the triangle button.

While the combat visually offers visceral guts and body parts spilling with guts splattering and ragdoll physics, the novelty wears thin pretty quickly as there are lack of variety in their attack patterns including large animal or tanks boss fights. Especially as end-game skills such as an explosive bullet or arrow chain attacks are introduced late, and the lack of significant variation in bulky armor that gets bulkier and weapons fail to sustain the consistent excitement. I even gave up on multiplayer because other players could swipe my loot, leaving me empty-handed.

Music And Cinematic – High and Dry

The cinematics presented from the beginning show an 80s advertising in trying to add a dash of humor that falls flat because of the poorly designed 3D models (stiff hair, bulging eyes, odd black spots on skin) in the in-game cinematics along with the dry voice acting. As though everyone’s reading off a cereal box, makes the delivery of comedy fall flat.

The music starts with rustic acoustic guitar strings, a sort of redneck countryside-inspired vibe; evoking a sense of imagery of rural landscapes. Transitioning to bass during combat and electric tunes in the concrete jungle area which at first can be alluring but it’s still softly played and overall it all feels a bit on the dry side too. To the point that the shooting sound effects are underwhelming, akin to the sound of a faraway paint gun or a nail gun hitting a cardboard.

Pacing And Designs – Pretty Bare Bones

While there’s a variety of zombie types, both animal and humanoid, the graphics look outdated on the 3D models, akin to a mobile-based game. Although some enemy designs are skinless, they still lack the variety of designs and colors needed to distinguish between themselves or to make them pop out more and less messy during hectic moments. On a side note, even my main character looks like bigger bulkier hockey pads as armored gears on with a lack of variety – hence the cosmetic gears are merely focusing on being a bulging large hockey player.

In terms of level design, while detailed and atmospheric at night/cave, does appear with grainy dots due to intricate grass and bushes designs and with added motion blur effects aura surrounding the main character’s body as she/he runs including getting stuck in the mud, potentially causing headaches during prolonged play.

The storytelling between residents feels disjointed, with residents having disparate needs and wants in a post-apocalyptic setting with poor delivery, resulting in mostly different kinds of fetch quests for people, parts, boss fights, or animal items. Overall, it fails to immerse me in the world or make me care about the inhabitants.

What I Liked About | Welcome to ParadiZe

• Music – Concrete Jungle areas music sounds decent but too soft and shy.
• Gameplay – Weapons that cause guts to splatter and ragdoll enemies flying around look decent. Controlling zombies is decent too except with a few AI/attack/pathing issues.
• Lighting Design – At night or in a cave looks atmospheric with good lighting effects.

What I Wished Was Better

• 3D models in-game – Enough said.
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• Storytelling – The story felt disjointed from one resident to another. Dry attempt in humor writing and witty lines.
• Gameplay – Building settlements, walls, and traps need more flexibility in placements. Learning skills are only worthwhile doing towards the end game as it doesn’t feel powerful at the beginning. No shared loot in multiplayer.
• Crash and bugs – Occasional random crashes and pathing issues of zombies getting stuck in certain areas.
• Level Design – Intricate but too grainy in the pixel/dots. Odd blurry aura on the main character as he/she runs as well as running on mud.
• Objectives – Some objectives lost the marker or no longer show the marker after you completed a different mission.
• Sound effects – Less depth and impact such as shooting a gun sounds like hitting a cardboard.
• Poor voice-acting – Dry lines in delivery, making the storytelling harder to digest.

Verdict – Dead Ahead, ParadiZe Lost

While ParadiZe does offer some enjoyable moments by performing baseball bat attacks, finishers, boomerangs, and bow attacks. These highlights are just based on weapons and overshadowed by lackluster elements as a whole in the overall package in terms of storytelling, plot, building mechanics, sounds, 3D models, and gameplay.

Coupled with some ingame crashes as well as certain objective stuff such as “bow crafting/digging holes in the land with a pickaxe before planting the seeds” which is not included in the tutorials, will make you feel lost for hours to no end looking for the solutions.

Final Score – 4/10