Paladins: Champions of the Realm Review

It’s easy to discount Paladins. It has been the butt of so many TOTALLY NOT OVERWATCH jokes and YouTube videos that eventually you form an ‘opinion by association’ simply by way of osmosis. You aren’t sure how you formed this outlook, but somehow you did.

I know this; because I did it.

So when offered the opportunity to actually get involved and form a proper opinion, I figured I owed it to the masses to share it.

(I know it’s a free-to-play game, technically nothing was stopping me – shaddap)

Here is an example of me missing a key ability at an inopportune moment

Paladins is what I have come to describe as an ‘ability-based shooter’, in the same vein as titles such as Overwatch or the long-doomed Battleborn. Pick from a range of colourful characters with unique strengths, weaknesses, abilities and gameplay hooks in the hope of helping lead your team to victory – or perhaps dismal defeat – because god damn it nobody on your team knows how to play and it’s everyone’s fault but your own. It’s a concept that has become so well established, all it takes is a single paragraph (much like the one you are reading) to sum it up.

So what makes Paladins different?

When in doubt, use more gun

I need to be diplomatic with how I communicate this, because it can easily come across as dismissive – but the truth is, Paladins really doesn’t do a lot to be different. The visual style is aggressively same-y to its cartoonesque predecessors, basic muscle memory from games of a similar calibre can carry even a novice to being halfway decent in battle – even the monetisation of the game is the usual spread of cosmetic-driven lootboxes and in-game currencies.

Hear me out however, because the few things it does do different are enough to give the game a hook that sinks in deep enough to keep me coming back.

Tweak your Character to appeal to your strengths (or prop up your weaknesses, in my case)

Within Paladins, a unique hook to each character is the utilisation of ‘Cards’. These Cards, functioning a little like exterior items in a MOBA, serve to tweak and customise a character’s playstyle in unique ways to appeal to the individual gamer. Equipping particular Cards can wholly change a character’s abilities in interesting ways, shifting power from one aspect to another, offering a surprisingly rich depth to the moment-to-moment gameplay within Paladins. In a title like Overwatch, your expectation of a recognised character entirely boils down to a player’s skill level in that character – you know what they are capable of, but is that player any good at it? In contrast, with Paladins your first encounter with a hero in a game has a measure of trepidation to it. You have a rough idea what they are packing ability-wise, but the specifics are a mystery until you observe and perhaps cop it to the face.

This became abundantly clear when I played Makoa (designated as a tank character), who is the established ‘guy with a hook’ persona that exists within every ability-driven game. So, as a tank, I played – I put every effort I could into protecting the weaker members of my team, using damage blocking shields and hooks to disrupt dangerous flankers. My team showed their appreciation by eating shit and running around like bratty children, losing in a commanding fashion a few times. I was enjoying playing Makoa, and I was not far off from levelling him up to gain a cosmetic item, so I turned to Makoa’s Talents & Cards to figure out what I was going to do to stay enthusiastic about this losing streak. It became immediately apparent that there was an opportunity to play my shelled-friend a great deal more offensively – upon hooking someone, my next fired shot would do more damage to them? Sure, why not.

Even a stale concept such as generic deathmatch is elevated by a little creative map design and the odd disgruntled treeman, or ice witch.

Next game, I decided the best defence was a good offense. The best crowd control status I could apply to flanking enemies was death. For a few games, it worked a treat! I applauded this avenue to invigorate my experience with a character, rather than reservedly accepting that my skill level perhaps wasn’t there, and I should shelve the character until I had sufficiently improved. It inspired me to go back and try other characters in new ways, after my initial impressions had been lacklustre. I had a level of consternation when I first delved into the Cards system, assuming it to perhaps be a ham-fisted MOBA-style mechanic that I didn’t want to deal with in a shooting game, but it served to prove otherwise.

A giant humanoid turtle, riding a cybernetic panther, assaulting a castle – All this and more await you in PALADINS

Paladins also seems to employ a level of madness when it comes to characters and abilities within the game. At the time of this review, the newest character Furia employs a set of abilities that include seeking missiles, an orbital laser that will stun everything in its path, a friendly heal and a sword that is actually a freaking shotgun. Did I mention that she is visually represented as an angel? This kind of unrestrained craziness provides an amazing spin on the overall vibe of the game, as some of the characters within the game are just too colourful to ignore. When a new character appears within Overwatch, it feels so meticulously designed that on some level it can feel a little …clinical. Furia as a character feels like an enthusiastic child built her, and I love it.

Furia, Wielder of the SHOTGUNBLADE (original weapon do not steal)

This does however leave the game feeling a little rough on some edges, but it’s negligible. Any irksome areas are quickly forgotten as you head back into the madness that is the broad range of game modes within Paladins’ play menus. They may not be inspired or life changing, but they are serviceable and well carried by the characters within the game. Even a stale concept such as generic deathmatch is elevated by a little creative map design and the odd disgruntled treeman, or ice witch.

Final Thoughts

Paladins feels a little like junk food – perhaps a little messy, but overall satisfying, and sometimes you just crave it. Furthermore, as a free to play title you really have nothing to lose by giving it a crack. There is a lot of charm to be discovered within the game, and the ‘Overwatch Rip-off’ stigma is quite easy to forget once you get to the true meat of the matter and find your own personal groove. Maybe because it’s effectively ‘the other guy’ when it comes to hero-based shooters, but my experiences with the community has revealed an altogether laid back, and friendly group of people who are happy to show a newbie the ropes – something I feel would be hard to discover in Overwatch in 2018.

Hopefully I’ll see you in the ‘Realm of Paladins’ soon.

Reviewed on PC  |  Review code supplied by publisher

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