Finding Paradise

I don't really play games for the story. I generally think there's no benefit to be had from splitting your attention between telling a good story and creating engaging gameplay. However, perhaps a good game can benefit from pieces of story here and there, to give meaning to whatever you're doing. Similarly, perhaps a good story can benefit from pieces of gameplay - reader interaction - to stop attention from waning, to create pauses for thought, and to maybe slightly deepen your attachment to the story.

I immensely enjoyed Finding Paradise's predecessor, To the Moon, and I thought there was no way they could replicate such a memorable story... but they did. Finding Paradise is every bit as good as To the Moon was, so if you loved that, you can stop reading here and go experience Finding Paradise. It's more of the same fantastic storytelling. However, for others, this review can serve for both games in the series.

The reason I approached this in such a roundabout way, is that I don't have much to say about the To the Moon series. As any good story, telling you any major plotpoints would ruin it, so you'll just have to take my word for it being good. Both stories follow two doctors, who work for a unique company that grants people's dying wishes by rewriting their memories, so they could live the lives they always wanted to, at least for a brief moment before their death. To accomplish that, they must traverse through the person's entire life, experiencing the most imporant pieces of it. The beauty of the To the Moon games is how they manage to show that something as ordinary as a regular person's life can be quite extraordinary.

Both games are about 4-6 hours, so they won't take a large chunk of your time, nor will they waste any of it with irrelevant bits or tangents. I wish they were longer, but honestly, they don't have to be. They say what they need to, don't say what they don't have to, and that's probably for the best. Both To the Moon and Finding Paradise are the best story-based games I've played, and I would recommend them to anyone, regardless of whether they like this genre. Myself, I'll be looking forward to the third installement that might be coming out in the nearest year.