We live in times of much hate and misconception; of much unjustified violence and rage. Instead of understanding the other, we want to erase them. Instead of looking at the darkness inside, we blame everyone and anyone for the lack of light. We live in difficult times. And in times like these, a game like Finding Paradise is nothing short of a wonder. But you know, I was afraid. I was afraid, I confess. Afraid of what kind of game this would turn out to be, afraid of how I would perceive it. Six years ago, maybe more, To The Moon made a huge impression on me. Better saying, it hit me like a battering ram, broke every single defense I had and left me completely exposed and vulnerable. To this day, when I hear “Everything’s Alright”, a lot of those same emotions come back. It is not only due to how well the story is written (fantastically well, I must say) but also due to my own personal experience that helped me relate so much with almost everything presented in To The Moon. Needless to say, it was one of the most important games I ever played, and one of most amazing works of art I ever experienced. But a lot of time passed. I grew older, a lot of hardships came and I am more cynical and bitter than six years ago. And tired. Much more tired. And while I did enjoy quite a lot A Bird’s Story, for me this game right here was the real deal. So yeah, I was afraid. Afraid that, in the end, I would not be able to live the same experience as before. That I had changed too much to care anymore. And I was partially right. It wasn’t the same experience as before. This time, it went beyond. While To The Moon will always have its’ place in my heart for being such a intimate and relatable story, Finding Paradise has a place in my very being. It is not just relatable, it is constructive, it fills us inside. This time I didn’t finish the game feeling vulnerable; instead I felt gratitude, I felt happy for who I am and who I was. The tears came, of course they came, but it wasn’t the desperate waterfall of before. They were warm, comforting. To me, Finding Paradise shows what kind of man Kan Gao is. He understands people, he is sensible and understands humans and their conflicts, their difficulties. Loneliness, regret, denial, trauma, fear, defense mechanisms, coping mechanisms, all the hardships that we constantly face on a deeper level within us are present in his simple games. Simple, but not simplistic. And the silly humor of his characters and their mannerisms, their personalities so well defined, brings us even closer to them. It helps us care about a bunch of pixels in such a way that so many huge developers, with their huge sums of money spent on mo-cap and thousands upon thousands of polygons per character, never seem to achieve. But most of all, Kan Gao was able to mature, was able to grow during this six years window between the two games. He didn’t just make a sequel that feels the same but with a different color. He made a game that stands on its’ own while building itself on top of his predecessor. While To The Moon main theme was “Who you really are”, Finding Paradise main theme is “What is really important”. Going from one theme to another, while keeping the soul of the games pure, intact, that is maturity, that is growth. More than that I cannot say. What I can say is this: As we dream and as we grow We have to learn to let things go But let the wonder never fade Though we’ve turned 10,000 pages Flying high or stuck below
Some games are about their story. Some games are about their gameplay. Deus Ex is about both. And sixteen years after its' release it is still a masterpiece. There is a connection, a beautifully crafted link between the way you play Deus Ex and the way you experience its' intriguing world. A connection that so many games today still struggle to achieve. Warren Spector has built not only a place for you to play, but also to think, to breathe, to live in. Because the world of Deus Ex is very much alive. Be it in the sewers of Paris, the streets of New York, a marketplace of Hong Kong, or so many other locations, there is always something mysterious going on, some conspiracy waiting to be discovered. And who are you, my dear player? You are J. C. Denton, the game changer, the revolution. The initials "JC" may not be really subtle, but they are very appropriate. Everyone is expecting something incredible from you. Some are anxious, some are afraid, but no one is indifferent. And they are right to feel like that, for the things you can do far exceed what anyone else can. Because you actually have choices. You can be a super-soldier who walks into the battlefield without fear; you can be the sneaky assassin who kills his victims before they are even aware of his presence; you can be a pacifist who doesn't kill (nearly) anyone; or a sociopathic murderer. All these choices, and much more, are available. It all depends on how you're going to augment yourself, what skills you will be good at and what weapons and equipment you will carry. Everything is a choice. You can even choose to feed the hungry children, if you believe in karma. I know I do. The title of the game refers to a common expression, "Deus Ex Machina", which means "God as a Machine". It lacks the machine part, though, because God here isn't inside the machine, is inside you. And in the end you shall walk the Earth like one. What kind of God will you be? It's up to you.
I could write and write about it, but there is only one thing you need to know: this is the best message about love EVER! Not only in games, but in every little thing! No work of art has expressed love as good as this game!
There is no need to say anything else.
