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Black Paradox

Black Paradox Game Cover
76%Game Brain Score
story, music
grinding, replayability
75% User Score Based on 163 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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Black Paradox Game Cover

About

Black Paradox is a single player and multiplayer casual shooter game. It was developed by Fantastico Studio and was released on May 2, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Black Paradox" is a fast-paced, retro-style shoot 'em up game. As the bounty hunter Black Paradox, players travel through space and time, battling against challenging enemies and bosses. With upgradable ships, special powers, and a synth-wave soundtrack, it offers a intense and immersive experience for fans of the genre.

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Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
Black Paradox screenshot
+2
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75%
Audience ScoreBased on 163 reviews
story22 positive mentions
grinding16 negative mentions
  • The game features a solid audio design and beautiful pixel art that captures a nostalgic 80s aesthetic.
  • Gameplay becomes more enjoyable as players progress and unlock upgrades, providing a sense of accomplishment.
  • The game offers a variety of weapons and upgrades, allowing for different playstyles and strategies.
  • The controls are often described as slippery and imprecise, making it difficult to navigate through enemy attacks.
  • The game has a steep difficulty curve, especially at the beginning, which can lead to frustration and repetitive grinding.
  • Many players have criticized the RNG-based weapon pickups and upgrade system, which can feel unbalanced and lead to inconsistent gameplay experiences.
  • story
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews reflect a mixed reception regarding the story aspect, with some praising its intriguing and unique narrative, particularly highlighting its creepy and gory elements, while others criticize it for being slow-paced or lacking depth compared to previous works. Notably, the story includes sensitive themes such as suicide, which some reviewers found compelling yet cautionary. Overall, it appears that while the story has its merits, it may not resonate with all fans of the genre.

    • “I don't want to say too much and spoil it, suffice it to say the story is creepy, gory, and will please fans of his past works.”
    • “In usual Ito fashion, the story takes twists and turns that you won't expect, and ends in a way that will stick with you for a long time.”
    • “The title itself holds the essence of the story, where the plot unfolds into a surreal and bizarre narrative.”
    • “✅ This game has no story.”
    • “Story and characters were boring.”
    • “Story was pretty dumb compared to his other works.”
  • music
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its incredible quality, catchy synthwave style, and ability to enhance the overall gaming experience. The soundtrack is often described as a standout feature, complementing the vibrant pixel art and retro aesthetic, making it a significant draw for players. Overall, the combination of engaging music and visuals contributes to the game's addictive nature and replayability.

    • “The music is incredible, and I'm probably going to listen to this soundtrack a bunch going forward.”
    • “The soundtrack is absolutely banging too and it gets a lot of extra plays from us on Spotify.”
    • “Beautifully designed, ingenious concept, and a retro soundtrack that just makes the game experience even more enjoyable and immersive.”
    • “A word of warning: the full soundtrack does not seem to be included in the Steam release, but you can find it on Bandcamp.”
    • “I do find that I am not paying too much attention to the music when I am playing, because playing this game requires my absolute attention.”
    • “The music is digitally synthesized and maintains a good tempo for the duration of the game.”
  • graphics
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are a polarizing topic among users, with many praising the vibrant retro pixel art and 80s-inspired aesthetic, complemented by a strong synthwave soundtrack. However, some critics argue that the graphics feel outdated and lack polish, with complaints about a distracting screen filter and repetitive visuals. Overall, while the nostalgic style appeals to many, it also faces criticism for not meeting modern standards.

    • “The graphics are nicely pixeled, the gameplay is smooth, and the soundtrack is really good.”
    • “The graphics style and gameplay are great, very 80s action movie - ala Mad Max and Terminator.”
    • “It's presented with a heavy retrowave aesthetic in the vein of games like Kill to Collect or Neon Chrome, with bright and striking colors, a slight haze effect that makes things glow, flying rocket cars, and of course, a kicking synthwave soundtrack.”
    • “Apparently not just the visuals and audio throw you back to the 80s, but also the level of programming.”
    • “Couple that with lazy 2D retro pixel graphics (seriously, hire an artist, the game came out in 2018, pixel graphics were superseded by 3D graphics decades beforehand), repetitive gameplay, and a seriously ugly screen filter that you can't turn off, and we have the kind of complete abomination that zoomer baristas think will free them from their day jobs at Starbucks.”
    • “This is really just a fairly mediocre and uninteresting shoot'em'up with a decent, if not overused, aesthetic.”
  • gameplay
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of appealing retro aesthetics and engaging mechanics, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of depth due to poorly implemented upgrade systems and a reliance on luck in roguelike elements. While the visuals and soundtrack are praised, many players find the core gameplay experience grindy and basic, with upgrades failing to significantly enhance variety or engagement. Overall, the game presents a paradox of style over substance, leaving players wanting a more satisfying and meaningful gameplay experience.

    • “The graphics are nicely pixeled, the gameplay is smooth, and the soundtrack is really good.”
    • “The gameplay has a retro look and feel, with you being able to carry two different weapons at any time.”
    • “But there's much more to it than the 80s vibe: the mechanics are fun, there's a bucketload of different weapons you can pick up, and they all play really well. While it is difficult enough to be fun, it never gets frustrating.”
    • “Overall the game sounds and looks amazing, and it's a pity that the shoot 'em up mechanics are not well understood and implemented.”
    • “However, the roguelike part affects the gameplay too much; some runs are not even a matter of skill, just luck with your weapons and drones.”
    • “Cons: the gameplay is very basic, repetitive, and for a game that you need to replay over and over again, the power-ups don't add a lot of variety to how you play the game.”
  • grinding
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively repetitive and time-consuming, often requiring several hours of effort to feel adequately powered for progression. While some appreciate the core mechanics and art style, many feel that the grind detracts from overall enjoyment, making the early game particularly tedious. The upgrade system is criticized for its randomness and high costs, further contributing to the grindy experience.

    • “Fun game but takes way too much grinding; it feels like to level up to where you can really get anywhere in the game.”
    • “The grinding is insanely repetitive.”
    • “It needs at least 3 hours of grinding before you stop feeling deeply under-powered and can get past the 3rd level.”
  • replayability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its high replayability, offering a wealth of content including diverse weapons, enemies, and bosses, along with customizable ship designs that enhance the experience. Players appreciate the scaling difficulty and engaging music, making it a hidden gem worth revisiting multiple times.

    • “Infinitely replayable.”
    • “Bottom line: a hidden gem of a game, with huge replayability, great graphics and ship designs, fun music, and difficulty scaling up to your desires (depending on your ship's build in the garage).”
    • “Tons of weapons, enemies, bosses, upgrades, and replayability.”
    • “The game has tons of weapons, enemies, bosses, and upgrades, but the replayability feels lacking.”
    • “While there are many weapons and upgrades, I found the replayability to be quite limited.”
    • “Despite the variety of content, the game doesn't offer enough incentive for replayability.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game effectively blends challenging gameplay with a humorous experience, featuring a mix of good horror elements and dark humor that keeps players entertained.

    • “The game is hard to hit but funny to play.”
    • “Good horror but also very funny dark humor.”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    While the character designs are praised for their cool aesthetics, there is little mention of depth or growth in character development, suggesting that visual appeal may overshadow narrative progression.

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80%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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12h Median play time
12h Average play time
16h Main story
28h Completionist
12-12h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Black Paradox is a casual shooter game.

Black Paradox is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

The main story can be completed in around 16 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 28 hours to finish. On average players spend around 12 hours playing Black Paradox.

Black Paradox was released on May 2, 2019.

Black Paradox was developed by Fantastico Studio.

Black Paradox has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Black Paradox is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Steredenn, Time Wasters, Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, Neon Abyss and others.