The Shell Part III: Paradiso (2025)
Innocent Grey, Shiravune
The coiling chains of obsession that began with The Shell now threaten to strangle Detective Reiji Tokisaka in the third and final entry in the trilogy. As old friends and foes rise up for one last confrontation, can anyone break the cycle—and can Reiji's heart ever be set free? (This version is the censored Steam release of The Shell Part III: Paradiso)
About the story
The year is Showa 33—or 1958, by the new calendar. It is an especially cold January, and amid the dour gray snow, a funeral is being held. A portrait of a girl's face sits there draped in snow, looking almost embarrassed and a little lonely... The imprisoned painter Shinzo Mamiya died a scant few weeks after the Blessed Congregation's crimes came to light. Detective Reiji Tokisaka has been recruited by his old friend Maris Stella to help sort through the man's belongings, but instead they find an unknown work in his studio: a one-winged angel with no arms. The work, which they name Exile Of Paradise, is as beautiful as it is sinister—and it resembles his infamous masterpiece Girl In Shell. A few more days later, a woman's corpse is found, modified in the manner depicted in Exile. She is identified as having formerly worked with Tomoyuki Masaki. There may be no one left who can cut the chain of obsession that began with Girl In Shell—nobody but one small girl. E quell'ossessione fa girare il sole e tutte le stelle.
Platforms
PCGenres
Adventure Point-and-click Visual NovelThemes
Drama Mystery ThrillerWebsites
13Languages: English and 3 more
| Interface | Audio | Subtitles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | |||
| English | |||
| Chinese (Simplified) | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) |
Critic Reviews
By Daniel Joseph
Reviewing The Shell Part III: Paradiso has been difficult. I’m so disappointed that it wasn’t able to live up to the high of The Shell Part II. This should have been a triumph, it should have been excellent, but it’s not. If you could somehow remove the context of the prior games, then The Shell Part III is an alright mystery visual novel with some gorgeous art and music. I can’t judge it on its own merits alone though, it has a legacy to live up to. I do think it is worth playing through The Shell Part III to see how this story comes to an end, and to get closure for its characters. That said, there is a voice in the back of my head that wonders if perhaps this game needed to exist at all. It does exist, and so this is the series’ conclusion, there’s no avoiding that. I just think maybe I would be happier living forever in the aftermath of The Shell Part II, even if it meant leaving some loose threads behind. Given that I’m wondering if things would be better had The Shell Part III never been created, I suppose I can’t recommend it, as sad as that makes me. I’ll always love The Shell, and The Shell Part II in particular is an experience that I’ll never forget, but I’ll also never forget the disappointment the series’s conclusion has left me with.
- 22 Jan, 2025
