Paradise Killer's PlayStation and Xbox debut
Paradise Killer was maybe one of the most slept upon games of 2020. Profane, arcane, low-poly, and bizarre, the game wasn't just eccentric; its combination of open-world exploration and procedural investigation was one of the most justified and brilliant uses of either genre.
This past month, publisher Fellow Traveller and developer Kaizen Game Works announced Paradise Killer will now be making its way to PlayStation and Xbox, bringing with it a free update across all platforms that includes three new tracks by composer Barry “Epoch” Topping, new side quest rewards and collectibles, and a visual upgrade in the form of ray tracing for compatible devices. With its debut now upon us, we reached out to Kaizen Game Works creative director Oli Clarke Smith to hear more about what these changes mean for the base game, how the update looks and sounds, and--is that a teaser for a Paradise Killer sequel? Read on.
Game Developer: Paradise Killer is so beautiful; I can imagine its bright sunny setting benefits a lot from the addition of ray tracing. Can you tell me more about the decision to make such a substantial technical upgrade for the update? Were there any technical challenges associated with the upgrade? Any environments in the game that benefited from it the most?
Oli Clarke Smith: Thank you for saying so! I love the ray tracing in the update. The obvious thing you notice first is the reflections on the marble obelisks and floors. The reflections are crystal clear and really striking. The lighting is more subtle but once you notice it is hard to go back. The lighting colors are richer and more realistically react to the environment. I’m not big on realism in games, I prefer an otherworldly approach to game worlds, but in
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