The Outerhaven’s Panzer Paladin Review – Tribute Games finest

I know there’s already been more than enough pixel art/retro games released over the past few years. Perhaps too many for you to count, I’m right there with you. That said, Panzer Paladin isn’t your run of the mill pixel art game. Tribute Games took bits from the past games and incorporated them into Panzer Paladin to make the game feel fresh. Action-platformer fans, this is a love letter to the genre and one that needs to be played.

Game Name: Panzer Paladin
Platform(s):  PC (Reviewed), Switch
Publisher(s): Tribute Games
Developer(s):  Tribute Games
Release Date:  July 21st, 2020

Earth is under attack, and it’s up to you and your giant mecha, who goes by the name of Grit, to fend off the attack and save the world. However, you won’t be going in guns blazing because there aren’t any guns in this game. Nope, you’ll have to do battle with weapons called “Spirit Weapons” that you steal from the enemy and use against them.

Gameplay in Panzer Paladin is mostly handled by you dishing out damage, jumping over danger, dodging attacks, and even deflect hits using a shield that’s permanently attached to you. It sounds simple enough, but it goes beyond that. Using the shield, you’ll be able to block most attacks, even low attacks, and you’ll find enemies that can do the same, which introduces a stand-off of sorts. You can perform a jumping upward attack or bust out your best Scrooge McDuck (or Shovel Knight) impression and bounce off enemies’ heads using weapons. 

You’ll be able to venture outside of your mecha to either locate hidden items, reach areas the mecha can’t fit through, or even when your precious armored pal takes too much damage and is rendered useless in battle. When the latter happens, you’ll either have to tough it out and fend for yourself until you either die or find a way to get Grit back into the action. Thankfully you aren’t defenseless as you have access to a fairly powerful laser whip that does respectable damage. I was able to finish off a few bosses using this weapon. 

Once you’ve beaten the introduction level, you’re sent to the stage select, and it’s here that the real game begins. Looking very similar to something from Mega Man and  Street Fighter, you’re free to play the stages in any order you’d like. Unlike Mega Man, there’s no specific order based on your weapons. You choose which stage you want to play, and away you go. However, I found it easier tackling certain stages once I had more experience under my belt.

Within the game is a robust item/weapon system that you’ll miss out on the best bits of the game if you ignore it. You’ll also likely have a tough time trying to finish the game as well. There are several weapons; swords, clubs, hammers, wands, maces, and more. Each weapon has its own special attribute that you can use by breaking it and unleashing the power.

Some of those are defensive, and some boost attack power or weapon durability; others possess healing qualities and others that I won’t spoil. In addition to that, each weapon has a durability meter. Use a specific weapon too much, and it will break with a visual indication. Meaning you’ll lose out on whatever special power it had. Which will force you to think about how you go about playing. Do you keep using it and risk breaking the item or do you break it manually and take advantage of the hidden power. Do you toss it at an enemy as you get one final use out of it?

There’s an inventory system that assists you by taking excess weapons and storing them for later. For example, if you die over and over, the game will provide you with a store weapon; that way, you aren’t left defenseless. Ran out of weapons? No big deal, pause the game and select from the countless other weapons in your inventory. It’s a mini-game within the game as you manage your weapons, taking advantage of what works best in a situation, and even cheering boss encounters by stockpiling certain weapons and making those encounters trivial.

Of course, what good is a mecha if you can’t upgrade it? I dunno, but in Panzer Paladin, you’ll be able to upgrade to your heart’s content as long as you’ve gathered enough spirit weapons (which you will). 

There’s a lot more going on than what I touched on, but I don’t want to spoil everything. You’ll have to play the game to find out for yourself.

As with most retro-themed games, Panzer Paladin ends far too soon, and I clocked in about 4-5 hours before the ride was over. Thankfully, once you run through the game, there’s still plenty of stuff to do with several other modes; Blacksmith and Speedrun. The Blacksmith mode lets you design weapons of your own and upload them to the internet. Once uploaded, these weapons will be made available online to other players whenever they encounter a certain character whose role is similar to Proto Man from the Mega Man/Rock Man series. I’ve seen several user-created weapons during my time with the game, including a hamburger weapon and even one that looks like an old-school Casio keyboard. Once the game is officially released, I’m sure that we’ll see tons of other off-the-wall weapons, to which I’m looking forward to that.

While the speedrun mode is for those who love rushing through the game as quickly as possible, while I don’t normally do speedruns, I’ve been trying to get a respectable time. There’s also a remixed version of the story mode, which becomes available after beating the game. It’s small touches like this that can extend a game’s life and make sure that players will revisit the title for days to come.

Ending this review without mentioning the pixel art and level design would be a crime, and I don’t need the police coming after me. Sure, it’s pixel art, but it’s well-done pixel art. While it looks like something the Nintendo Entertainment System could do, it simply couldn’t unless it was set on fire going down a hill. There’s so much going on here that I found myself pausing the game from time to time in both the foreground and background. As the game takes place in different areas of the world, the levels you play through are influenced. For example, in the USA, the level occurs in what looks to be a futuristic New York, complete with subways, while the medieval level takes place in a castle, complete with dragons.

Verdict

Panzer Paladin has a lot going for it, despite its retro appearance. A deep combat/weapon system, engaging gameplay, and tons of influences from games we’ve enjoyed in the past (or still do). I have just one concern, and that’s the difficulty. Now, I’m not saying the game is hard, and I found the challenge reminiscent of, say, Mega Man, Castlevania, or even Shovel Knight. It’s fun, it has the right amount of challenge, and I love it. I fear some may find this as “Too Hard” and dismiss the game. Sure, there’s a difficulty select (Easy, Normal, Hard), but the easy is, well…. too easy.

If you can overlook the retro graphics, the gameplay will grab you and won’t let go even after you’ve stopped playing the game. Of all of the Tribute Games released thus far, Panzer Paladin shows the developer’s growth and sits as their best title to date. 

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