Paradigm

Grab a chair and get comfortable in front of your screen, Paradigm is on. It’s one of those games that hooks you from the first seconds and doesn't let go until you’re late for work or you realize that you’re three hours late for picking up your kids from school (slight hint that it’s not really a kid’s game).

The story behind Paradigm is in itself outstanding. At the start of the game you are made familiar with the DUPA genetics company that literally manufactures perfect children for the most wealthy people in the world. The reason for this is to make sure that human nature and natural selection are deprived of the chance to render their biological kids as dimwits who might end up squandering their fortune on point and click adventure games and such.

Paradigm was initially designed to be one of those prodigy kids who could take his parent’s business into the future and carry on their legacy but something goes wrong with his development. Unable to become what he was built for, our main character ends up in a nearly abandoned Soviet town surrounded by all kinds of fascinating weirdos.

Along with excellent world and character design, Paradigm shines in the humor department. It’s quite rare you get the chance to play a game that delivers so many great jokes, bad but good puns, flawless ironies in regard to today’s society and well placed sarcastic remarks on a lot of other things.

Being a point and click game, it uses the standard mechanics for character movement and interaction with objects, machines and NPCs. What’s different in Paradigm is that your mutated friend has something clever or funny to say about each one of them.

Mr Paradigm’s personality is off the charts and he becomes so entertaining that you won’t even mind when he calls you stupid (don’t worry, it’s a totally fair remark considering the action you want to perform prior to the insult).

Paradigm is passionate about his music and dreams about becoming one of the best electronic music producers since the creation of chiptunes but he’s not the only character with an interesting backstory. In his front yard you get to meet Doug, your bro mutant beet who has mad skills in beatboxing.

Apart from the sentient vegetable, the story contains a sloth that seems to be the bad guy, a 70’s inspired gundam, a space cadet who looks like he’s drugged out of his mind and more. We haven’t even talked about the ‘Miniature Unicorns Fighting Warrior Pugs’ association but it seems pretty self explanatory, doesn't it?

At the time, Paradigm is still work in progress but even so it’s worth having a look into and definitely something you need to keep an eye out for in the near future. It has too many great things going on for it and it truly is a game in which a lot of heart, thought and work have been invested.