"Finding Paradise" Review

Well, I thought I was done with reviews for the year, but then a December 14th release date came out of nowhere for Finding Paradise, so here we are. For those who don't know, Finding Paradise is the sequel to To the Moon, the single greatest story ever told in a game. I first played To the Moon back in 2013 or 2014, and it was the first game to successfully move me to tears. I remember the final seconds of it causing me to sob into my arm, and it still holds a special place in my heart to this day. Having said that, Finding Paradise definitely had a lot to live up to. I went into it expecting an experience inferior to To the Moon, and I have to say, I can't really report that this is the case. However, neither can I say that it's better. Finding Paradise is really a whole different beast. There are things that this beast does that are definite improvements over its predecessor, and there are things that I think could've been done better. I'm going to try and keep this brief, because I'm still writing my GOTY lists, and I need to get this done so I can include Finding Paradise in the calculations. Let's get started.

Finding Paradise follows two protagonists: Dr. Eva Rosaline and Dr. Neil Watts; operatives of the Sigmund Agency of Life Corporation. Sigmund Corp offers a service to people who will soon find themselves on their deathbeds: they grant a single wish. Essentially, operatives enter the memories of the client as they lay dying and rearrange things so that, before they die, the client experiences memories of a life in which their wish was granted. In To the Moon, Dr. Rosaline and Watt's client was Johnny, and his wish was to go to the moon, but he didn't know why. This time around, our protagonists enter the retirement apartment of their new client, Colin, who is joined by his wife (Sofia) and son (Asher). Colin was also the protagonist of A Bird Story, the somewhat disappointing mini-sode that bridges the gap between this game and To the Moon. You don't need to have played A Bird Story in order to get what's going on, so worry not. As our protagonists delve through his memories, they learn about Sofia, about Asher, and about Colin's childhood friend, Faye, in an effort to grant his wish. His wish is something I can't spoil, but it lends an intrigue to the story that is far greater than in To the Moon. This intrigue stays with the story to the end, and the payoff is going to differ from person to person. I found the resolution to this story to be the superior ending between it and its predecessor. However, there are undoubtedly people who are going to be disappointed by it. Don't get me wrong, the ending to To the Moon was definitely more emotionally impactful. However, in terms of sheer brilliance, I can't deny that Finding Paradise comes out on top in my book.
One problem I did have with the story was the lack of development Colin's relationship with his wife received. There are complicated story reasons for this, but at the end of the day, it felt like there was a big chunk of Colin's life that was missing. Another problem that adds to this feeling is the game's brevity. My time with Finding Paradise lasted approximately 4 hours. I can't remember how long To the Moon was, but even if it was the same length, there were far more memories to traverse. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's not enough filler in Finding Paradise. That may seem like the strangest thing I could possibly paint as a negative, but I felt like I got to know Johnny in To the Moon better because of the sheer volume of seemingly arbitrary memories I got to witness. With Finding Paradise, if there is an equal amount of memories, then they re-use the same locations and hit on the same notes far too often to feel like I was getting the full picture of this man's life. Long story short, the commonly used phrase that I opened up this sentence with is exactly the problem. This game desperately needed to be longer. If developer Ken Gao had spent as much time developing the relationship between Colin and Sofia as he did with Johnny and River, and if he had then spent even more time developing the other side of the Colin's life (which makes up the majority of this game's message), To the Moon would've easily been dwarfed. As it stands, that other part is fantastic, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. However, I can't help but wish that other aspects of the story could've received similar attention.
One last gripe I have on the story front is...well...at some point, there's a plot twist, and it's horribly executed. I was frankly shocked at how terribly this plot twist was pulled off. That's all I can say about it, but it was so disappointing to watch the developer who pulled off the Joey plot twist in To the Moon fall to such depths. It's the kind of disappointment that didn't really impact my opinion of the game, but it did shock me.

Because this is a fairly simple game, there's not a lot left to talk about. First things first, it's obvious that a lot of development time went into gameplay and improved cinematography. The memento minigame from To the Moon has been changed up to actually be a challenge. It isn't the greatest minigame in the world, but it was still a welcome addition. Beyond this, there are also segments that constitute actual gameplay. This is gameplay that would've taken actual coding work, so props to Gao for going to such lengths to spice things up. Not only are these gameplay additions welcome, they're also 100% competent, which is quite something coming from a guy who has only really made RPG maker games (as far as I can tell). Beyond gameplay, there's more variety in animations and sprites this time around. As I mentioned, I wish Gao had spent some more time on aspects of the story, but I can't deny that he put some serious effort into this game.

There's one last thing I want to talk about, and that's the soundtrack. To the Moon's soundtrack was one of the best ever made, and two if its tracks: For River and Everything's Alright, have become iconic as far as indie soundtrack pieces go. The soundtrack for Finding Paradise is equally good. I can't say that any of its tracks will end up being as iconic as For River, but it's a beautiful, heartbreaking soundtrack on its own. Ken Gao, who also composed and performed the soundtrack, is truly a talented musician. The fact that he was able to pull off a To the Moon level caliber soundtrack a second time is nothing short of amazing. In addition, Laura Shigihara (vocalist behind Everything's Alright) lends her beautiful voice to a song on this soundtrack as well. I've listened to her newest contribution on repeat as I've written this review. I can't for the life of me explain what it is, but this new song really stuck with me for longer than Everything's Alright. Something about its message (and indeed, the message of the game) just left me with this deep feeling of needing to really think about my life and what I want out of it. I'm not going to be posting it below the score like I've been doing for killer musical tracks from the subjects of the past few reviews. In my opinion, your first time hearing the song should be in its proper context. Make no mistake, though. I sense a shoe-in for best soundtrack piece here.

Folks, it comes down to this. Finding Paradise defied my expectations. I was bracing myself for an inferior experience, and instead I got a deep, compelling story about the human heart and its ever-present longing for the wonder and beauty in this world. Because it's my second time at the Ken Gao rodeo, I can't say that Finding Paradise holds the same kind of special place in my heart as To the Moon, but I find myself equally affected having just put it down last night. I find myself still chewing on this story. Even now, a day after I completed it, I'm still analyzing aspects of the story. Chances are you, too, will come out of Finding Paradise feeling challenged to re-evaluate what you believe makes your life beautiful, so be prepared to stew on this game's themes for at least a day after completion. If you're in the market for a killer story and some beautiful music, then please, for the love of everything good in this world, go out and buy Finding Paradise. I'm already looking forward to chapter 3 of this saga!

Let us review:
-Brevity and its related issues - 7.0
-Poor plot twist execution - 0.3

The final score for Finding Paradise is...

9.0/10 - Fantastic
Excellent work, Ken Gao, excellent work!