Paladins Review

Platform: OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Developer: Hi-Rez Studios
Genre: Online First-person Shooter
Release: 2016

“Like Overwatch but don’t want to spend money? Here’s Paladins!” That was my impression upon trying this game the first time around. Well, it’s hard to blame anyone who’s played Overwatch since launch for thinking the newly-released Paladins as a blatant rip-off. But if you’ll do enough research, Hi-Rez games stated they already had most of the questionable elements set since 2010 which predates Overwatch. But if we’re gonna go by that logic, Overwatch actually had its roots from Blizzard’s discarded project, Titan, in 2007.

Watch the trailer:

There’s probably no way to find out who copied what at this point, and I don’t care, but three things are certain: 1.) Even Overwatch is not entirely original on its own as it had ‘borrowed’ elements as well: from DoTA, to Team Fortress 2, Metal Gear, Ghandi, Jesse James, etc. 2.) Blizzard has had more than a year to sue but they didn’t (they did though on that Chinese game that totally and literally ripped off Overwatch) and 3.) Paladins is FREE for Christ’s sake. ‘Nuff said. Just think of Overwatch vs. Paladins as DoTA vs. LoL.

If you’re interested on the Overwatch vs. Paladins debate, check these links out: Forbes, Reddit, YouTube

Within a week of its release on Steam, the game had attracted 800,000 downloads according to Steam Spy and was one of the top 10 most popular games by concurrent users on the service. -Wikipedia

We’re still in beta so expect a lot of things to be improved, changed and added later on. Paladins currently has two modes be it when on competitive or just casual: Siege, where you need to capture a point for a certain amount of time to win; and Payload, where you need to successfully escort an item to its destination to win.

Similar to Overwatch (and TF2, and Battle Born, etc.), the game is hero-based. Meaning, each character to select from has their own skills, abilities and ultimate attacks. All current 18 heroes are categorized into Front Line, Damage, Support and Flank. They key here is to have a team where all the categories are covered, and have teammates who know what to do and how to use their heroes efficiently.

Overview of our 18 champions:

Instances using the matchmaking feature will always be 5 vs. 5, but you can also create or join custom games.

Unlike Overwatch, duplicate heroes are not allowed. Make sure to select your hero ASAP!

Paladins currently has 12 maps: 7 for Siege, 3 for Payload, 1 for Skirmish and 1 for Others.

At the start of the game you are given a minute to prepare.

Prepare what? This is where Paladins deviates from Overwatch. Here we have item boosts to level the playing field. You’re initially given 400 credits to spend, then you can earn more by accomplishing goals and killing enemies. There are 4-5 types of boosts per category, but you can only buy and upgrade one per category.

Another minor difference: you get to ride horses at the start! They only come in one size so it’s pretty funny to see the bigger-sized heroes ride on the poor thing.

Not sure if Overwatch has just hardened me as an FPS player, but I found it really easy to kill and win in Paladins. Viktor is OP as hell and Fernando is a pretty decent tank. I’ve almost always gotten Top Play (Play of the Game) when using those two.

Here’s what the post-battle interface looks like for Best in Class and Scores:

Level up your characters to get Loot Chests, which in turn will give you gold and cards. You can also buy them using real money, too. Level won’t matter though- it’s just a reflection of how much you play and it doesn’t have much of an impact in terms of advantage. So yeah, you can’t buy your wins here (which is good).

So about these cards- here’s another aspect Overwatch doesn’t have that takes the Paladins gameplay up a notch: Loadouts. You can customize your hero’s skills prior to any fight through them. Each player has a total of 16 unique cards, and you can equip a total of 5. Cards depend per hero, but they’re basically minor upgrades to the heroes and their skills. For example, lesser cooldown times, added damage on certain skills, more HP, faster ultimate charge, etc.

Where to spend your gold? For now we have aesthetic customization, but there isn’t much yet.

Anyway, overall, Paladins is a pretty fun game. I’ve spent about 10 hours and enjoyed every bit of it. What’s more, I was able to invite and play with friends who weren’t keen on spending for Overwatch! I guess with Overwatch and Paladins, I’ll get the best of both worlds.

DOWNLOAD PALADINS FOR FREE HERE!

RATING: 8.3/10