Paradigm Paradox Review

An Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary World...

Developed by:
Idea Factory
Published By:
Aksys Games
Genre:
Otome
Consoles:
Nintendo Switch
Release Date:
October 27
Our Score
3
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Another bright and eye-catching otome being finally released to the west after its original release: Paradigm Paradox is finally here! We were gifted a review copy of Paradigm Paradox for the Switch! Let’s check it out!

Paradigm Paradox was originally released in Japan in May 2021. It was developed by Idea Factory and published by Aksys Games, one of the biggest otome game publishers for the west. I was curious to see what this was all about after seeing this game a while back. Now fully translated I was excited to see what was in store with Paradigm Paradox!

High schooler Yuuki is as average as they come. She enjoys a mundane life of school, friendships, and generally being uninterested in boys, until one day she finds herself outside after curfew and face to face with a horrific monster known as a Vector.

Just as all seems lost, Yuuki is saved by four female superheroes… And is invited to join their cause and protect the colony from the Vector threat! But there’s more to these girls than meets the eye…

Join Yuuki on her journey to uncover the mysteries of the Vectors, her newfound powers, and why so many boys are suddenly talking to her at school! – Paradigm Paradox Aksys Games page

Vibrant and bright, Paradox Paradigm brings to the otome world a twist on romance and being a superhero, between what’s right and wrong, what’s human and not human…all with a twist of course. Jumping right into the game and playing it, truth be told I wasn’t really impressed and a little disappointed.

I wasn’t too impressed by the story. It is fairly easy to tell where the story is going based on the character introductions and similarities to an important turn of events within the early stages of the story. The story makes it easy to see where it’s going and it’s fairly easy to follow, almost a bit predictable in some instances, and because of that I personally didn’t find the story too interesting. There wasn’t anything that really held my interest. 

I will say I was a little disappointed at the fact that the setting is in a high school after playing other otomes that focuses more on adult or settings outside of a high school setting. I was hoping for something different with this game. 

 

The art design of the game is pretty mediocre with the designs of the main character’s design and possible romantic interests being simple. I feel as if the antagonist’s designs are more vibrant than the main character and romance options; it’s as if they wanted to place more focus on the antagonist than the main cast of characters. In most cases both the main character’s romantic interest and antagonists designs should be vibrant and unique, but they are definitely toned down in Paradigm Paradox.

Unfortunately, it becomes clear that throughout Paradigm Paradox assets are heavily reused. The same backgrounds are constantly being used and models are recolored. I feel if a bit more effort was put into adding variety to the creature models and backgrounds, I believe it would have changed the vibe of the game by a lot.

As for the game play in Paradigm Paradox, it is your standard visual novel otome style experience. The user hub and interface is super smooth, easy to read and follow. The hub also tells you a little of what to expect from the game under the ‘status’ option (hint, hint).  One thing I found convenient was the quick save and quick load options. If you felt that you chose the wrong choice or you wanted to see where a different choice may lead you, these two options made it a lot easier. In fact I was able to stray away from the ‘common route’ and to a less common route.

This may not be one of my favorite otome games, but it is definitely a different take on romance and I think it is worth checking out for the experience.

Paradigm Paradox Review
An Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary World
Mundane and easy to read, but an interesting spin on romance in a crowded field of otome games.
Pros
Unique twist on Romance
Cons
Predictable story
Main cast has mediocre designs
Support main character
3
Score