Paradise Lost, but sadly not quite found

It looks similar but there is no "Metro" action to be found here

The hit TV show "The Last Man on Earth" was hilarious, the thought that you could do anything you wanted in a post-apocalyptic world from bowling with sport cars, to creating your own museum with items "liberated" from the Smithsonian tickled me. Paradise Lost is not such a comedy, but an opposite bleak view of an alternative ending to WWII, there are no laughs to be found here.

With the Nazis quickly losing the war, they decide, like the good little psychos they are, to commit mutual self-destruction, launching a number of nukes directly onto Berlin, Germany and the surrounding countries. Luckily for them, they have already set up secret bunkers throughout Poland and the fatherland to lay up and prepare for when the radiation reduces and they can get back to stomping around and generally being the world's baddest (and maddest) bad guys.

Entering one of these bunkers is where you begin. As the 12-year old Polish boy, Szymon, you have left the safety of your own bunker after the death of your mother to find a man, that could potentially be your father, hiding in one of these bunkers underground.

The atmosphere hits you straight away and screams that this is a one of those "emotional" walking simulators in the same reign as What Remains of Edith Finch or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. First person view, check. Atmospheric background sounds, check. Character reflecting on important life decisions and the environment, check. Fun interactive puzzles and smooth animations... This is where Paradise Lost falls down a bit. This is Polish developers, PolyAmorous Games, first full release with the dream to release more games under the "Last Story on Earth" franchise.

Only four more levels to go... up or down?

You can tell it's their first. The story is extremely linear (it IS a walking simulator), the gameplay is simple (walk here, pull this, look at that), the story is... predictable, but enjoyable. However, my biggest gripe wasn't the game world (more about that soon), the gameplay or the story, but the roughness around the edges.

Animations are a bit jerky and repetitive, I mean, if all I'm doing is walking surely we can have more than one "drop down from this ledge" animation or at least make them more interactive. Some items went missing on my playthrough, luckily they weren't progression related but still. The voice acting is good but missing the same emotion from the writing. I could go on, but it makes it sound as if I didn't enjoy it and I did.

Now onto the real hero of the game and the reason for it's current "mostly positive" reviews, the environment. It is gorgeous and oozing with character. High vaulted ceilings disappearing into darkness, Aryan architecture menacingly surrounding you, pipes and cables winding there way off down dripping tunnels and more. This is why you'll play this game. But again, it all felt a little flat. I admit that the environment artist/s Regin Moller and Adrianna Zalewska have done a brilliant job, but I would've have liked a bit more content in the levels, more to read, more moments like the train carriages (I won't spoil it but just have a look around each one), and more... stuff!

I'm not even going to mention the endless argument that is the walking speed of the main character (I'm surprised no one has put the option to change the walking speed in a walking simulator yet!), I didn't find it too bad, though I kept my finger pressed down on the "run" button for most of my time with the game. And the ending was disappointing, but I should keep myself in check as this is only meant to be the first chapter.

Overall though I enjoyed my time with Paradise Lost and I'm looking forward to seeing what the studio can bring us next.

Paradise Lost is available now on Steam