Doomsday Paradise is plenty confused, but still has spirit
Doomsday Paradise has described itself as being what you would get if the Dungeon Master called in sick, but left the players to get up to their own devices. And, after spending an hour with this quirky little RPG, I can not only believe that, but feel as though this whole game was cooked up during a fever dream. That’s not exactly an insult, either.
You start the game by choosing whether you’re playing by yourself (which I was) or playing with a friend, the length of in-game time (the shortest being 5 days), and difficulty. Next, you choose your form, which gives you a varied selection of weird but wonderful different specimens for you to embody. In my first playthrough, I decided to be a horn-headed, evil-looking gal who has the sweetest voice known to man and named them Azla. You do not get the option to pick your pronouns or gender identity, as everyone will call you by your name throughout your adventure.
Alongside your form, you also get to pick your crush. This is pretty important, as you’ll only be able to flirt with the character you’ve picked. It’s a little like picking your romance route in visual novel games, but instead of getting to know any of the characters beforehand, you’re thrust into choosing your lover straight away. No pressure or anything!
Once you’ve got started, the premise for Doomsday Paradise is explained to you. It’s pretty damn simple: what if you lived in a summer town where every five-to-six days, an evil overlord threatened to destroy you and everyone you loved? And no matter how many heroes defeat it, another evil being just comes strolling back into town a week later. All in all, imagine Final Fantasy X, but if Sin was a little bit goofier and, instead of remaining dead for a thousand years, came back every Friday to beat everyone’s ass whenever things got a little boring.
The above description may sound a little silly. Why should you care so much about a town? And the answer is: you don’t really need to. In Doomsday Paradise, caring about the town (and the world) is totally up to you. You don’t need to be a hero at all, instead, you can spend the last few days flirting with the townsfolk (for which there are many) and sipping a fruity little cocktail. After all, one fruit deserves another, right?
Speaking of fruit, the entire cast (which features monster girls, pirates, spider queens, and criminal merchants – among other things – is all pretty diverse. My first playthrough I got to know a little more about Tessa, a merchant who just so happens to be a thief with the moral backbone of a slinky toy – aka, my kinda lady. Throughout my five days of flirting, training, studying, and partying, I somehow manage to convince Tessa that I’m her partner for life, despite having accessed only 4 scenes with her max. After defeating the big bad and unlocking her romantic ending, I go on my way to another playthrough where I embody the form of a hulking fish man with nothing on but flimsy speedos. This time my sights are set on Vando, a vampire wizard who shows his affection for you by calling you an idiot while blushing.
As cute as these relationships are, if you’re expecting an epic, Shakespearean romance that the poets will talk about for decades, let me stop you right there. With just 5 days to prepare (or not) against a great evil, you’ll be lucky to figure out what your crush’s favourite colour is before you’re either married or – and the far more realistic ending in my mind – your relationship crashes and burns. The relationships you form in this game are a far cry from BioWare’s, or even your typical visual novel. A part of me feels as though this is the point: with so much disarray in this summer town, getting to know people before the end of days is impossible. Your relationships fly by so fast, it’s like they’re not really there, and if that’s the point, then I get it. But does it make a playthrough feel good to play? I’m not quite confident in saying it does. Doomsday Paradise boasts of having over 100 different endings, but I’m not sure anyone but die-hard completionists would put them through playing 100+ times for minimal differences, no matter how short these playthroughs are.
The game’s combat, which you can train and study for, as well as improve via completing side quests and shopping, tries to do something meaningful by allowing you to work together with different party members and hirelings, but even that falls flat because there’s very little explanation on how to earn these party members in the first place. If you fall in love with your chosen crush, then they join you at the end, but otherwise, you’re just stumbling from place to place in hope that you make enough friends who want to help you out at the end.
As someone who appreciates a good, spicy DND adventure, Doomsday Paradise should be my thing. But I left my preview of the game feeling conflicted. In many ways, Doomsday Paradise seems confused about what it wants to be but still gives its all in trying, and I appreciate that it has a lot of heart. It just… doesn’t know what to do with it.
The premise is promising, the characters – once you get to know them throughout several different playthroughs – are fun and have a wild sense of apathy that would make them excellent villains, and the combat, while confusing, tries to do something new and interesting with party members and stat bonuses. But I felt as though there just simply wasn’t enough time to actively care about what I was doing. Talk to one person, get strong, shop, rinse, and repeat.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything worthwhile in Doomsday Paradise, but as of now? The game just refuses to let me love its full potential.
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