Paradox Error (2021)

Developer: Nerd Games
Publisher: Eastasiasoft
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genres: Platform
Where to get it: Nintendo eShop

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this Watch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

A fast-paced, surreal platformer where glitches and UI elements become part of the gameplay, requiring quick thinking to navigate its self-aware, minimalist world.

minimalistsurrealself-awareglitchyexperimentalintentionally brokenfast-paced

About

Paradox Error is a surreal take on the scrolling platformer format, combining minimalistic black-and-white presentation with self-aware, fourth wall breaking design. Glitches are intentionally integrated, allowing the player to cheat death, open new areas by triggering bugs or leap off of UI elements as if they’re part of the stage. The title screen’s main menu acts as a respawn hub, cursors may appear as enemies or helpful guides, graphical errors obscure parts of the screen and the player’s character explodes into pixels upon death. To survive, you’ll have to quickly identify which portions of the screen can be reached, which pixels can be touched and which ones are simply background art. Adapt as gameplay suddenly shifts to a different perspective or requires interaction with a glitched object to proceed. At its core, Paradox Error is an ever-changing environmental puzzle where you’re expected to die repeatedly and use those failures to inform further attempts, until the goal is eventually within reach. Decidedly hardcore in difficulty but fair enough to encourage repeated play, this is an exercise in trial-and-error, where determination becomes its own reward.

Screenshots

More games like this

More by Nerd Games

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.