On the surface Panzer Paladin ‘appears’ to be a bit like Blaster Master meets Castlevania. As the player, you pilot a mighty suit of armor known as Grit. As Grit, you can slash, bash and thrust your way through hordes of enemies. At any moment you can eject from your mech and take control of Flame, the Paladin’s tiny yet tenacious Squire pilot. While Flame’s move-set is limited, she wields an effective electric whip that she can use to take out enemies from a safe distance and latch onto conveniently placed hooks to traverse dangerous terrain and reach hidden areas. So yes, at a passing glance, Tribute Games’ latest title does look a lot like a wondrous union of two iconic video game franchises. It looks and feels better than the Nintendo Entertainment System’s most iconic platformers. Once you take control of Grit however, those comparisons rapidly begin to fade away and Panzer Paladin forges its own unique identity that is easily one of 2020’s most entertaining video game experiences.
As Grit and Flame, you embark on a mission to thwart the malevolent machinations of an entity known as Ravenous and his demon horde army. Right away, Panzer Paladin is already telling a more compelling story than most video games released in 2020. What, you think Ellie’s quest for revenge in The Last of Us Part II is interesting – because it isn’t. Panzer Paladin’s has got robots vs. demons, technology vs. the occult, metal vs. monster. In all seriousness though I was genuinely surprised by how much effort was put into the game’s storytelling. Each scene is strikingly hand-drawn to perfection with some of the most impressive pixel art you’ll ever see. There are some distinct anime vibes dripping throughout each cutscene. For instance, a shot of Flame standing tall and determined beside Grit while clenching her fist feels like it was torn right out of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The incredible amount of care put into its presentation drips through the game’s gameplay mechanics and core design and as well.
Grit is a fairly versatile mech. When taking control of the game’s leading Paladin, you have a number of techniques at your disposal. These range from the basics such as Attack and Jump, to moves with a bit more flair such as Rising Attack, Downward Attack, Backstep, and Throw. The Rising Attack is not only great for taking out enemies from above, but it also acts as a Double Jump and extends your initial leap by a noticeable amount. The Downward Attack, which honestly behaves exactly like Link’s from the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, is executed in similar fashion: by pressing Down + Attack while jumping. If you come across a string of enemies – and believe me, you will – you can cut through them in an instant. Backstep functions a lot like Alucard’s similar move from Castlevania: from Symphony of the Night; it’s a simple dodge-like maneuver that quickly darts you backward and out of harm’s way, on land or in the air. I should also mention that you will unlock additional techniques as you make your way through the game’s many stages, such as Parry. The game’s basic mechanics are tweaked to perfection, handle with extreme precision, and get the job done – for the most part. The true gameplay hook of Panzer Paladin lies in its weapon selection and spells. Oh – did I not mention that there is magic in this game? Let’s start with the weapons themselves, because they aren’t as simple as they seem.
As you punch your way through the demon horde, enemies will drop a variety of weapons from basic swords, daggers, and spears, to less conventional arms like clubs, iron pipes and hockey sticks. Yes – giant hockey sticks. While you can only equip 4, you are able to stash more weapons in your inventory and swap freely between your equipment using the Left/Right bumper. You can slash and smash enemies with your weapons or you can throw them at demons from afar for a long-distance attack. Each weapon has its own set of stats: Durability, Burden, Damage, Type, and Spell. While categories such as ‘Durability’ or ‘Damage’ are straightforward, ‘Burden,’ ‘Type,’ and ‘Spell’ offer some unique and engaging elements. ‘Type’ is something of a weapon’s category. For example, edged weapons will likely be labeled as ‘Cut’ and weapons such as clubs and hammers will be lumped under ‘Impact’. It’s always smart to keep one of each weapon type with you at all times. Occasionally you’ll come across a block with a specific weapon type branded on it and only that specific type will be able to break through it. The ‘Burden’ stat tallies towards your overall Spirit Burden, a number that you’ll want to keep fairly low. Your Spirit Burden is a number that is calculated by adding all of the Burden of each individual weapon in your inventory. The higher your Spirit Burden, the more vulnerable you become and the quicker your weapons will degrade. Fortunately you can do something with all those weapons you’ve been stockpiling along the way. For starters, you can take your unwanted weapons and spend them in the Laboratory to upgrade your mech’s health bar. You can also ‘break’ weapons and cast a powerful magic Spell. Oh yeah, now here is where it gets good.
Each weapon has its own Spell attached to it. These spells can range from offensive techniques such as a screen-clearing Thunder Spell that kills everything in sight, to temporary buffs such as Attack-Up, and Defense-Up. There are also healing spells such as Absorb that siphons a bit of health from every enemy on-screen to replenish yours – a lot like Alucard’s Soul Steal. There’s even a spell that makes your mech sprout angelic wings and allows you to actually Double-Jump. Activating these spells is as simple as holding down the Left + Right Trigger buttons simultaneously. Once activated, the weapon will shatter and the spell will be cast. Knowing when and where to use these spells adds an unexpected layer of depth to Panzer Paladin’s gameplay. It’s all about finding the right balance and keeping a handful of essentials without overburdening yourself. Buffs can also stack so keep that in mind when your sifting through inventory and looking to jack up your mech.
Presentation wise, Tribute Games’ absolutely nailed it. I expect no less from the team that brought us visual splendors such as Flinthook and Mercenary Kings. Your quest to stop Ravenous will take Grit and Flame all over the world across 17 unique stages. After the game’s brief intro/tutorial level, you are free to tackle the game’s stages in any order – Mega Man style. Each stage is beautifully drawn and teeming with an insane amount of detail. The visuals in Panzer Paladin shows just how far pixel art has come from the traditional 8-bit days and towers over its contemporaries in style. This especially shines through in the boss fights, which are comprised of a bestiary of all your favorite mythical creatures. One moment you’ll be setting off to Greece to take out Medusa herself, the next you’ll be landing in Egypt to fight the ferocious Anubis. Things can get pretty dicey if you aren’t prepared, so making use of everything you have is always recommended. A special note should be made for Panzer Paladin’s soundtrack. Most of the time when I play one of these retro-inspired games, the chiptune score seems to be hit or miss. I can cite a recent example in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2. While the game is phenomenal (it had me hooked for an entire weekend), the soundtrack was a little lacking. But in Panzer Paladin every track rocks. There is never a dull beat. This game is the complete package and believe it or not, it gets better.
Looking at Panzer Paladin, I knew I was in for one incredibly fun ride. It ticks all my boxes and it ticks them hard. What I wasn’t expecting however was to spend so much time in Blacksmith which is one of several extra modes. Blacksmith is something really special and it adds a cute online mechanic to an otherwise single-player offline experience. In this mode you can put your artistic talents and creativity to a bit of use and draw a weapon sprite of your own. You can then further customize your creation by giving it a name and distributing points among a myriad of stats ranging from Damage and Speed (which measures the rapidness of a weapons strike), to Throw Damage. These can even be used to alter the spell imbued in the weapon. What makes this mode so fun is that your finished creations are automatically uploaded online. Every time you reach a stage’s halfway point, a helper character will appear and toss you a random weapon created in Blacksmith Mode, be it your own or from players across the globe. While I instinctively wanted to create the infamous Penetrator from Saints Row: The Third, I decided to make the Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts. Because let’s face it, this thing is going to get slammed by penises of all shapes and sizes when word starts to spread. It’s what we do. The only drawback is the limited color palette so don’t expect diverse selection.
Panzer Paladin by Tribute Games is a must-have. If it was stripped down to its nuts and bolts and released as a straight-up 2D action platformer without any of the mechanics that separate it from countless other titles in the genre, then Panzer Paladin would still remain as a must-have title; it’s just that good. It doesn’t drastically reinvent the genre, but it doesn’t play it safe either. It’s fresh and innovative while paying tribute to the games that I and most gamers grew up with.
