Paradox Escape Route - review

Paradox Escape Route is a RPG puzzle game. It belongs to the science-fiction genre. The setting of the game was set on Mars, on which arctic conditions prevail. The player's tasks include survival and finding a way to escape from the planet, which is a very dangerous place for him. An interesting aspect of the game is the possibility of outsmarting enemies and completely avoiding combat, as well as the ability to take on challenges and various fights with opponents.

The player can choose between eight characters - scientists. Of course, they differ significantly in skills and equipment. Each of them has different abilities, thanks to which you can hack new passages in different way. This allows you to create completely new sections to help you escape. There are several types of weapons at your disposal, thanks to which you can effectively deal with any monster or machine. The choice of weapons is quite diverse and you need to acquire some experience to check which one works best for each case. This is definitely a big advantage of the game, because you have to figure out the best way to defend yourself. The “not so easy” style gameplay doesn’t let you get bored so quickly. An additional advantage is the inability to use weapons in the first few minutes of the game. At that time, the only defense against enemies is a flying companion.

The atmosphere of Paradox Escape Route is very specific. Someone who likes retro games will be enchanted. The game reminds of the first Dragon Quests or Dragon Warrior games. Some jRPG games from 1990-2005 created for Nintendo DS, PSP or the first PlayStation come to mind. Older players know exactly what we are talking about. The graphic design is not wonderfully polished and is distinguished by quite large visible pixels, but it has an amazing atmosphere which accompanies games from the past. In the era of modernity and almost photographic image on the screen, it must be admitted that this is a very bold move. But luckily the game is consistent so you may like it. You can quickly get used to this graphic design if enough attention is paid to the story.

The plot is ... just specific, but certainly interesting and you can see its huge development potential at the very beginning of the game. Some scientists are doing research by digging in the frozen lake on the ice-covered Red Planet. Then suddenly an earthquake surprises the researchers. Everyone is being evacuated, but unfortunately our hero can't do it. His escape pod crashed. The monsters with tentacles, which were accidentally released while conducting excavations, are starting to show on the surface of the planet. Although, these are the first obstacles encountered in the game, it is quite difficult to overcome them, which is a huge advantage of Paradox Escape Route.

The fight mechanics resemble the mechanics of the first parts of the Final Fantasy series. We think this is a big plus - turn based fights, specific attacks and the need to wait for the opponent to move spice up the atmosphere. Puzzles, however, have been constructed in a way that many people may not like. Moving colored blocks and arranging sequences from them, which is disturbed by gray blocks, is not the easiest and most pleasant way to solve logic puzzles. This style can especially upset players accustomed to modern games. However, fans of retro games from the 90s can find a certain charm in this specific tasks. Puzzle combined with music resembling the one we can hear in the well-known Wipeout game is undoubtedly an interesting mix. The music makes the biggest impression and it is the one that turns up the atmosphere of a deserted planet. A huge plus is that the Paradox Escape Route was created by an independent creator - Dustin Chavez, who developed it completely alone as DKC Game STUDIO. At the beginning the music was created and it is one of the main advantages of this game. Dustin composed and created hundreds of songs for several years, which he decided to "close up" in one complete work. For this reason, the music is very refined and does not tire at any time, and makes the time spent on the game more enjoyable. The idea of ​​combining all the music in this form of entertainment seems to be interesting, which is a very big plus of the game. A large number of puzzles and extensive quests certainly draw into the game. Many of these puzzles require real mental effort.

To survive to the end of each mission, you need to somehow refill the oxygen tank. Personally, I have not yet met death by suffocation, although at the bottom of the screen flashes the information: "danger oxygen level now". It can be a poorly developed element of Paradox Escape Route, it can also be a survival element - if someone solves puzzles more slowly and moves less well, at some point he may be unpleasantly surprised by death in the middle of the mission. Such a vision significantly turns up the atmosphere of the game!

Unfortunately, in my opinion there are also a lot of disadvantages. The controls can be a bit annoying for many people. The character moves slowly, for some reason there are also sporadically bugs. Sometimes, some items cannot be picked up. The menu is unintuitive and very annoying. In moments when we have to use it, it slightly spoils the joy of playing. The disadvantages include deaths of the characters. At least at the very beginning there are no autosave or checkpoint options. The only salvation is the manual save of the game, but players accustomed to the standards of modern games can be very surprised, disappointed or even upset when sudden death takes them back to the starting point, a dozen minutes earlier in the story. The gameplay is not very dynamic and it takes a bit to pass the next elements of the story. However, these are issues that can be easily improved, especially if the game will work online and the creator will ensure regular release of updates and patches based on the suggestions of the players.

Another disadvantage of the game is the fact that the camera can't keep up with the character - camera movement can be compared to games such as Riddick from 2009, or a specific camera system from Heavy Rain. The angle of observation of the character is constantly changing, misleading - something that in the first shot was in front of the character, in the next camera view is on its side, which requires changing the key combination. Some shots, in turn, are "stretched" - the character wanders so far until it is almost invisible on the screen, and the camera still does not follow him. This prevents some actions, which can be annoying. However, if we get used to this "camera style" the gameplay becomes smoother and more enjoyable.

The more time you spend on the game, the more you get used to the controls and unusual graphic design and get caught up in the interesting plot, puzzles and musical setting. I think that this is not a game for everyone, although it is worth that every player personally checked and tested it. It is worth doing, at least because of the interesting and original music and the atmosphere created by the creator of this title.