Paratopic Image
Metascore
  1. First Review
  2. Second Review
  3. Third Review
  4. Fourth Review

No score yet - based on 3 Critic Reviews Awaiting 1 more review What's this?

User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 25 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: As an assassin prepares for her kill, a man is strong-armed into smuggling contraband VHS tapes over the border, and a young girl finds the rusted remnants of illicit industry deep in a dark forest. Paratopic is a short but dynamic and detailed 30-50 minute game.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 13, 2019
    80
    An experiment developed with virtually non-existent budget and a very specific intention: to expose players to an unpredictable, disturbing nightmare born in a mind consumed by fever. [12/2018, p.77]
  2. Mar 28, 2018
    80
    Paratopic‘s unique approach to storytelling and its unsettling content come together in a lo-fi, short experience that left me wanting more of this world and this story. But seriously, don’t watch the tapes.
  3. Mar 6, 2019
    75
    Paratopic is a lo-fi horror game that represents golden PS1 era with its style, graphics and ability to complete it in one sitting.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.
  1. Apr 29, 2018
    Paratopic is an unsettling experience that’s so atmospheric it’s stifling — a staticky, nicotine-stained take on cinematic video games.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 10
  2. Negative: 5 out of 10
  1. Oct 14, 2019
    8
    Gripping atmosphere and an unforgettable art style. This game is short but the experience I had was worth more than what I paid. It's a uniqueGripping atmosphere and an unforgettable art style. This game is short but the experience I had was worth more than what I paid. It's a unique walking sim with some exploration elements and a mysterious story that's told in a very interesting way. A clear David Lynch influence can be seen in the games narrative and pacing, minus the overbearing pretentiousness. Throughout the game there's lots of beautiful settings and bizarre characters to interact with, apart from some driving sequences which drag on for too long, this game is perfect in terms of what it tries to achieve. It's best to go in blind, but just know there's no save feature so the game must be completed in one sitting (which I think is a great idea anyways). For those who are easily spooked don't worry, there's only one moment that's close to a jump scare and its not that bad. I recommend this game to anyone looking for a good horror game or an overall unique experience. By no means a traditional video game or narrative, so if walking sims or story heavy games aren't your thing, maybe pass on this one. Expand
  2. Oct 26, 2021
    8
    Bizzare, surreal, and vivid experience giving strong Lynchian vibes, crafted with an astonishingly deep understanding of suspense and uncanny.Bizzare, surreal, and vivid experience giving strong Lynchian vibes, crafted with an astonishingly deep understanding of suspense and uncanny. This is the closest equivalent of an art-house short film I've ever played. Expand
  3. Nov 3, 2022
    8
    El Paratopic es una experiencia.
    Es un juego bueno pero corto.
    Se supone que es un juego de terror o de miedo, la vedad es que no. Tómatelo
    El Paratopic es una experiencia.
    Es un juego bueno pero corto.
    Se supone que es un juego de terror o de miedo, la vedad es que no. Tómatelo como un Fire whatch pero mas siniestro y muchísimo mas corto (dura como 1 hora)
    No tengo que decir nada más.
    Me ha encantado. Muy recomendado. El diseño artístico me parece precioso. Es una pena que el juego este solo en ingles, pero es un ingles fácil de entender y se puede auto traducir de forma muy cómoda con una herramienta que se obtiene de internet. La música también me parece que esta muy bien empleada.
    Recomendaría este juego a cualquier persona que le gusten las aventuras gráficas, los gráficos de PSX, los juegos con ambiente turbio y quiera pasarse una hora y media interesante.
    Otros aspecto a destacar puede ser que el juego por su estilo artístico, funciona bien en cualquier ordenador sencillo.
    Expand
  4. Apr 2, 2022
    3
    Only 40 minutes long. Waited for it to get fun but it never got there. Seems to be going for "it doesn't have to be fun because it's so ARTSY"
  5. Jul 31, 2022
    0
    Unbelievable that this piece of crap gets any positive reviews. This is not a game, nor a walking simulator. Boring and ugly. Only positiveUnbelievable that this piece of crap gets any positive reviews. This is not a game, nor a walking simulator. Boring and ugly. Only positive remark I can make is that it is short. Expand
  6. May 9, 2021
    0
    DO NOT BUY. It's a complete waste of money. Boring walking simulator. Game has tons of glitches and a bad story with a writer who has no ideaDO NOT BUY. It's a complete waste of money. Boring walking simulator. Game has tons of glitches and a bad story with a writer who has no idea what they're doing. The game would highly benefit from someone who actually understands storytelling and how to write a GOOD story. This game is completely awful. DO NOT BUY Expand
  7. Jun 7, 2019
    0
    Paralogic is a surrealistic walking simulator. The story is told out of order, with the end coming at the start, and then the rest of the plotParalogic is a surrealistic walking simulator. The story is told out of order, with the end coming at the start, and then the rest of the plot showing how you got there. It’s a truly strange piece, and nothing in the story is really explained to the player. There’s a few NPCs, but none of them are particularly forthcoming in terms of the plot, and while there are dialogue trees, what little roleplaying you do is pretty limited and had no obvious consequences.

    It’s really hard to describe Paralogic as anything other than “borderline incoherent”; there are some mysterious tapes you’ve been hired to take somewhere, and you’re not supposed to watch them or else bad things™ happen. There isn’t really much more to Paralogic than that; there is no significant “gameplay” to speak of, and no challenges. You skip between various locations and events, and it isn’t even always clear when in the plot a particular event is happening, or even if you’re playing the same character in some of the scenes. There are a small number of low-fi locations, and the overall low fidelity of the graphics of Paralogic is played up deliberately to make the whole thing feel even stranger and more disconnected.

    I didn’t really ultimately feel like I engaged with this; I basically played it because I got it in the Humble Monthly and it was supposedly pretty short, which it was - despite the ostensible 2 hours of playtime Steam says I spent on this, it was really closer to 30-40 minutes. There’s some achievements for doing some random things during the story, and none of them felt really important or significant.

    On the whole, it’s hard for me to really say anything terribly positive about this piece. Paralogic felt like it was weird for the sake of being weird, and it didn’t feel like it had any sort of point to it. I never connected with it.
    Expand

See all 10 User Reviews