Born from a collaboration between developer Otomate and the powerhouse voice-acting group 8P, Paradigm Paradox offers a rather peculiar setting as an otome visual novel game. Taking place in a distant, apocalyptic future, magical girls known as the Blooms must protect dwindling humanity from monsters known as Vectors.
Paradigm Paradox’s sleek interfaces, superb voice acting and music, and generally strong visuals make for a wonderfully pleasant backdrop to a story that, ultimately, disappoints. Cliche plotlines, muddled characterizations, and the insignificance of player choice detract from the compelling romances which draw you in. The true paradox is the gap between the strong gameplay features and characters, and the lackluster story.
▍A Simple Story in an Underdeveloped World
Paradigm Paradox unfortunately never immerses the player in its futuristic setting. The game begins with a common route, but important aspects of the narrative remain unexplained by the time the player branches off to the romance routes. You will wonder what catastrophe forced human populations into small colonies, but not be given an answer. The central baddies, Vectors, look and feel too much like generic sci-fi monsters.
The player character awakens to powers that are equally generic—you are able to augment the abilities of your magical girl peers, but this technique is not used creatively, only vaguely strengthening allies who do not seem to need help smacking Vector punching bags.
▍Touching Scenes Brought to Life by Voice Acting
The fast-paced VN jumps between events that are not fully unpacked, though depth is given to the player’s interactions with the love options. The various romance routes, which can generally be completed in around four hours, are filled with sweet, memorable moments.
Quality can vary between routes, as some are weighed down by the plot, and the characters have rather strong personalities which may not suit your tastes. The route of a sis-con character was a particular chore for me. But overall, the game’s romances are brimming with fun moments that play to the incredibly diverse personalities of the male cast, spanning a tsundere junior, to a rough-talking villain who knows how to cook.
The voice acting, which makes each character feel different and lively, cannot be praised enough. Paradigm Paradox features superb talents like Junya Enoki, known for his role as Yuji in Jujutsu Kaisen, and every VA nails their performance. Dramatic moments and intimate conversations alike are carried by the voicework.
▍A Competent Localization
The translation from Japanese to English is superb, and smart and creative localization decisions largely avoid awkward moments. Though there are occasional spelling errors and empty text boxes, and some phrases that are a touch confusing. But publisher Aksys Games did commendable work in capturing the unique feel of each character.
▍Strong Visual Design to Complement the Voicework
The sprites and CGs in the game are well-drawn, and character designer Natsuo effectively conveys personalities through different outfits and expressions. As a minor annoyance, some unappealing character sprites, like a pout for love interest Mihaya, appear too frequently, and a handful of CGs depict strange perspectives for a romantic moment.
Still, Paradigm Paradox discovers creative use for its limited sprites, using movement and visual effects to give some life to otherwise static fight scenes. Less effort has been devoted towards the art for the female side characters you team up with to fight Vectors. The gap suggests Paradigm Paradox’s fundamental split in quality. The game soars during intimate interactions with the male leads but plummets when answering questions about the post-apocalyptic world, or the moral implications of killing Vectors.
▍A Branching Plot Valuing Character Over Content
Following the common route, a player can pursue a Justice route or a Villainous Justice route, with different love options associated with each branch. Visual novels often use these branches to complicate and enrich a game’s themes and plot, but Paradigm Paradox doesn’t tackle questions of good and evil with many nuances. It cares more about a villain’s pout than the implications of his killing human colonists.
That being said, the game offers interesting plot twists which, though not incredibly inventive, give the narrative depth and intrigue. A full understanding of the plot requires a playthrough of each route, though the plot isn’t delivered evenly. I enjoyed the Villainous Justice routes more, which mix romance with worldbuilding, while the Justice routes stick more closely to the backstories of the male interests and can drag.
The lackluster plot is not helped by a lack of interesting player choices; it is usually comically clear what option will lead to a bad end. Endings are determined by two stats: affection, and a secondary stat that is less clear: Ability Use in the Justice routes, and Sync Rate in the Villainous Justice routes.
Fortunately, Paradigm Paradox has a fantastic UI, allowing a player to change these stats and load a route at any branch to hunt endings and discover unread conversations. The menus and controls are sleek, simple, and highly customizable, removing all of the clunkiness of cramming a book into your Switch.
Differentiating visual novel from the novel are the songs you will listen to on a loop for hours while playing, so it is quite fortunate that the music within Paradigm Paradox is fun and varied. The songs are emotional and impactful, hitting all the right notes while packing in surprising electronic melodies that enliven the futuristic setting.
▍Paradigm Paradox is an Enjoyable Visual Novel, Despite Some Flaws
Paradigm Paradox offers characters that you will remember in a world you will forget. Attention and care have been given to the love interests—music, voice acting, and illustrations create memorable snapshots of romance, though there are a few hiccups of awkward art and weaker routes and characters.
The game’s underdeveloped story keeps the focus on the male leads, but the plot ends up being a hole at the heart of the visual novel, detracting from player immersion. Strong characters, controls, and phenomenal voice acting ultimately salvage this game from a dull wasteland of a plot, making the competent English localization of Paradigm Paradox a solid purchase, well-suited for the Switch’s Handheld mode.
Score: 3.5/5
Follow QooApp official Facebook / Twitter / Google News / Reddit to get the latest ACG information!
Paradigm Paradox Review – A Charming Otome Visual Novel Set in a Dull World
Paradigm Paradox combines memorable characters and voice acting with a forgettable story, which makes ultimately a Switch title worth experiencing.
Operating System: Switch
Application Category: Game
3.5