Paradise Killer

Don't be fooled, this is not a detective game. You will have to do no logical deductions to play through the game. It's more a 3D platformer collectathon wrapped in a detective story (in a bonkers world).
(By the way, don't worry about wasting your blood crystals, there are more than enough on the island.)
It has some weird game design decisions, but in the end it's more than the sum of its parts. And I mostly enjoyed my time with it.

I don't know what game the PCInformer and Gamespot reviewers played, Paradise Killer is emphatically NOT a detective game. It is a game with a story that's about a detective. There is not actually any detectiveing for you to do in the game, the character has it all figured out without your input.
Nonetheless, it's really good and you should play it, just, set your expectations at "Watching Clue, the movie", not "Playing Clue, the board game".

I'm not a big reviewer by any means, but this is a special one to me.
Paradise Killer is one of the most interesting and lovable experiences I have ever had gaming. There is SO much about this game that I absolutely adore. I'm going to attempt to break it down (of course, without spoiling anything).
You play as Lady Love Dies, an exiled investigator that is summoned to find out who committed "the crime to end all crimes". The goal of the islands population is to reach Perfect 25, an alternate reality of Paradise that is, well, perfect. As the title suggests, it's taken 25 iterations to reach perfection. The only thing stopping everyone from moving to perfection, is the murder that hangs over the islands populace.
Your task is to find out who carried out the murder, and sentence them. You'll need to build relationships, find clues, interrogate and formulate a case against the members of the island before bringing them to trial.
Character Development
To start, the characters you'll meet throughout the game are excellent. Every single one of them have their own unique personality and way of interacting with your character, LLD. They are incredible well written and personable, the developers have done an excellent job at creating a whole host of characters that you enjoy talking to, even if some of them hate your stupid investigator face. The artist renditions of the characters are beautiful too, some of the most creative character building I've seen in a video game! I could not fault it.
Music
Being a musician myself, this is always an aspect I pay particularly close attention to, whether it's in the form of a video game or a movie, music is pretty much my life! Very happy to say that the soundtrack to this game is 10/10 flawless. A mix of 80s city pop / vaporwave breathes life into an already thriving island paradise. The sheer amount of joy it is to walk around the island bopping to this absolute heater of a soundtrack is too much fun. Composer Barry 'Epoch' Topping really knocked it out of the park and crafted one of my absolute favourite soundtracks. I immediately bought the vinyl to support the company, and you should too! I often use the soundtrack on my stream, it's an absolute hit.
World Building
Another absolutely flawless element to this gorgeous game. There is not a single part of the island that doesn't feel alive and part of a fully moving island paradise. There are so many places on this map where I was left speechless upon entering. It's bright, it's colourful, it's mysterious and it just looks phenomenal. Even though a small portion of the assets used are a little stretched out and bulbous (particularly found around the Opulent Ziggurat) but it's completely understandable, and still fits in with the scenery.
Writing
I adore the writing in this game. Everyone feels so real. You have two options when you speak to a character, to question them and to hang out with them. The hang out function is a really interesting one as you find out a lot about the characters back story and from that, can piece together their potential motives. After each hang out your relationship will increase with the character and, on some occasions, they will tell you a secret about another islander to use against them. The wit and the humour is second to none, I adore every character, even the ones that made my brain ache. And, whoever at Kaizen wrote the lines for Shinji, I applaud you. I actually caught myself laughing out loud a number of times.
Summary
Overall, it's safe to say this has been one of the most entertaining experiences I have had in gaming in a very long time. Like I said at the beginning, I'm not much of a reviewer at all, but I hope I got across how much I absolutely adored this game, its soundtrack and its writing.
Kaizen Game Works, Epoch, you have crafted a masterpiece, thank you for sharing it with the world.
p.s. sequel when?

It's not for everyone, but if it's for you, damn it hits.
I'd recommend this game if you're a fan of: david lynch, recognizing truth as subjective, vaporwave, character driven stories, dystopian art, or visual novels.
I'd say maybe try another game if you're a fan of: storytelling that gives you all the answers, action/combat oriented game play, or perfect playthroughs.
some notes:
- you can 100% this game, but it's just a bit of a challenged
- lady love dies can romance both a woman with a goat head and a sexy scotsman (the bisexual dream)
- good music
- very funny but also very compelling

Even in my childhood, I remember dreaming of a perfect game.
It would have a giant, open world full of disparate content to explore. Its characters would be unique, plot memorable. Around every corner, a surprise. Every minute, a new plot twist.
Took me quite some time to realize how much effort it would really take to make something like that.
I am never going to stop dreaming about that perfect game, of course.
But after playing Paradise Killer? I think I have an idea of just what it can look like.

i think as a mystery this game is just somewhere between "okay" and "good" as IMO/E once you gather some clues about a handful of people you can more or less put the whole story together. that's not a super bad thing, but if you're expecting ace attorney, where feeling like you have a strong case is only half the battle because the actual trial section will throw curve balls and challenges at you, you won't get that here. even without that expectation, i think the final arc (basically the trial on) doesn't feel as satisfying as a result of it not properly capitalizing on the tension and build up from 15ish hours of gameplay.
but what really makes this game stand out (besides the incredible art, both 2d characters and 3d settings) is the world building (the movement is really good too, its a joy to run around exploring and collecting shit). i want so desperately for the world of paradise killer to get more exploration because its INCREDIBLY imaginative. all the gods and demi-gods are so damn cool i just want to know everything i possibly can and get sucked into this universe and read lore and wikis and all that good shit. that's definitely a good thing, but i ache a little knowing that (at least for now) there isn't anything else out there.

So, up front, recommending this with a catch. I really enjoyed what it brought to the table, but it isn't quite what it advertises.
It WILL give you a great setting, a clash of styles that I've taken to calling "Cthulhu vaporwave." Miami beach condos within site of walled-off sites of demonic destruction and temples of marble and gold where immortals make blood sacrifices to alien gods. The main draw of the game is to wander the island, bob your head to the future funk soundtrack, and enjoy the strange characters and stranger locations.
It WON'T give you a deep investigative experience. Paradise Killer is much closer to a walking simulator than a game where you would actually need to solve mysteries. You can dig up information for your investigation for at least a dozen hours, but the reward is mostly the journey itself. You can end the search and begin the trial as soon as you have enough evidence to point a finger at anyone. The end result is of little consequence, and the trial itself is probably the least interesting part of the game even though it puts some finishing touches on what you found before then, but the journey is, in my opinion, enthralling.
The other aspects of the game that you are better off knowing beforehand are regarding the collectibles. Blood crystals are the currency used for any exchanges:
Secrets, purchased from a particular character, which can aid in your investigation.
Drinks from vending machines, which are purely for lore if you want to know more.
Foot baths, which, for whatever reason, give you powerups which make navigation significantly easier: one gives you the ability to see hidden objects, the other lets you double-jump. Neither of which you need, but are helpful.
Drinks, purchased from another character, to allow you to have chats with them.
And the fast travel system, both unlocking nodes as well as using them to travel between them. This is the part of the game that I think just flat-out sucks, since it encourages you to not use the conveniences you've earned, but since I finished the game with 40 crystals in my pocket and I'm sure I missed a few, I think you can be fairly liberal in your use with them to go to areas that you know will have new developments.