Welcome to ParadiZe Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · February 29, 2024

Welcome to ParadiZe Review, Paradise isn’t exactly what you hoped for: it’s infested with zombies! Thankfully, you can control them. Capture them and teach them to farm or fight. They will help you defend our camp while you explore the world looking for… a new paradise.

Welcome to ParadiZe Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
12.15GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
Twelve preset characters to choose from.
Four save slots.
Two ways to play – online and offline.
Still art cutscenes and in-game interactions.
Humour throughout.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
Isometric view.
Action RPG gameplay.
Great voice work.
Open-world zombie survival game.
The gimmick is you can have zombies work for you through a hat with mind control.
Your zombie followers (called Zombots) can be tweaked to how they behave from healing you to fighting for you, you can put gear and weapons on them and give them brief orders.
Loot drops a lot from enemies and the world, it has rarity levels and durability.
Colorful characters to meet and work with.
Day and night cycle with different weather effects.
Good lighting model when using the torch.
Crafting can be done via the menu and materials are everywhere.
Earn exp and level up to put points into the skill tree.
Simple hack-and-slash combat that runs at a fast pace.
Repair parts of the world like bridges to open up new locations.
Discover named locations and trigger a post to enable fast travel.
Play how you want.
Pylons will continuously spawn zombies until destroyed and they have good materials.
Reset your skill points at any time.
Handy recycle all scrap/unwanted items in one go for materials option in your inventory.
Find points of interest and lore that are told via cutscenes.
Different zombot types like some with spiky armor that does damage by just touching you, zombot with trumpets will summon more, heavies, shooters, and all sorts.
You can move and heal at the same time.
Death means you lose a percentage of exp.
You can build and repair structures from houses to storage generators and walls. Enemies can attack and destroy your base especially if your generator has run out.
Pylons can be built and with these, they control your zombot and you can assign them tasks like collecting wood or foraging, etc.
Single-player allows you to pause the game.
You get so much control over Zombots and not just for being with you, you can adjust their behaviors when controlled by a pylon.
A whole lot of fun.
Clear mission briefings with markers showing on the map.
Areas have enemy levels shown so zombies don’t level with you.
At any time you can move your base structures around.
Hunt wild animals for resources.
Fund enemy Encampments and take them over.
The map fills in as you explore.
Find higher rarity items in chests found in encampments and hidden areas.
You can collect used arrows from enemies and the ground.
Put a saddle on a zombie and you can ride them!
Possible to just stay in an area and farm your level up.

Welcome to ParadiZe Review Cons:

Takes a while to get going.
Cannot remap controls.
At times the game just freezes for a few seconds, it happens a lot.
Not always the clearest direction.
The story is whatever.
A lot of man management starts to kick in as you have to set up Zombots then make sure you have fuel for the generator, then have enough crafting on you.
Doesn’t explain everything like having a map! Or that you can pick up items and not be able to use them and I’m guessing it’s because of level.
Doesn’t offer any camera control.
The game can suffer from too much loot/materials.
Has an annoying hot and cold mechanic that only kicks in in certain areas.
A lot of backtracking is needed on a majority of quests.
It’s an action RPG but if you have a more condensed and focused experience.
Not always sure when it was saved.