Panzer Knights
- May 19, 2021
- 樂磚Joy Brick
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam"Panzer Knights" is a strategic action game where you lead a platoon of tank crewmates in epic battles from the Battle of France to the Eastern Front. Command detailed, fully-armed tanks and work with skilled soldiers to defeat enemies. Choose crewmates with qualities that suit your strategy as you fight for supremacy in intense tank combat. This is not a game for the faint-hearted, as campaigns are challenging and victory requires cunning and skill.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique blend of anime aesthetics and WWII tank combat, appealing to fans of both genres.
- Gameplay is engaging, with a variety of tanks and crew members to unlock and upgrade, providing a sense of progression.
- The story offers a fresh perspective by focusing on the German side of WWII, with characters that have distinct personalities and backstories.
- The AI is poorly designed, often leading to frustrating gameplay where allies get stuck or fail to engage effectively.
- The game suffers from performance issues, including frame drops and graphical glitches, particularly in areas with dense foliage.
- The translation and localization are lacking, with numerous grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that detracts from the overall experience.
- story359 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story, which follows a German tank crew during World War II, is generally considered mediocre and lacks depth, with many reviewers noting its simplistic and repetitive mission structure. While some appreciate the historical context and character interactions, others criticize the writing quality, dialogue inconsistencies, and the abrupt ending that leaves many narrative threads unresolved. Overall, the story is seen as a missed opportunity for greater complexity and engagement, with calls for more missions and character development to enhance the experience.
“That's the game at its core; all the missions are connected to an overall narrative that attempts to retell the events of WWII through the lens of the Germans.”
“The story is historically accurate in general with an anime character twist.”
“The story follows the second Panzer division, showing battles this division participated in.”
“The story is historically accurate in general with anime character twists.”
“The story/career is terrible, terribly written, the characters are flat, unlikable, and boring. You will skip most of the cutscenes; it is extremely shallow and rushes along, ignoring several huge and important parts of WWII tank warfare.”
“The story is kind of there, but not really.”
- gameplay116 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Gameplay in this title is a mixed bag, with many players noting a blend of arcade and simulation elements reminiscent of "World of Tanks" and "War Thunder." While the tank combat mechanics are generally enjoyable and the art style is appealing, issues such as frame drops, imprecise aiming, and repetitive mission structures detract from the overall experience. Despite its potential and fun moments, the game suffers from various technical and design flaws that hinder its enjoyment.
“A fun 10 hours of gameplay, could be more if you can create your own scenarios.”
“The tank combat is actually surprisingly well developed and mechanically sound.”
“Overall gameplay is good and entertaining, still requires several fixes regarding aiming (turret and gun traverse tend to shake intermittently to the sides).”
“Gameplay feels like I'm crawling through molasses and there are regular frame drops.”
“However, there are various gameplay issues that make combat not enjoyable and frustrating at times.”
“Gameplay is pretty arcade, and more or less a single player version of World of Tanks with an anime look.”
- graphics86 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique anime-inspired art style and well-modeled tank designs, while others criticize the overall quality, describing environmental graphics as poor and reminiscent of older consoles. Many users note issues such as graphical glitches, pop-in effects, and limited resolution options, which detract from the experience. Overall, the aesthetic appeals to fans of the genre, but the execution leaves much to be desired, particularly in terms of environmental detail and optimization.
“The art style is amazing and the level design is well thought out.”
“Graphics: not amazing, but pretty good.”
“The graphics are very charming and the environments are destructible, which makes it quite realistic.”
“Gameplay is meh, the graphics of the environment look like dog doo doo.”
“Crappy graphics: don't let the screenshots fool you, the in-game graphics are not that good, and the max resolution is 1920x1080, looking terrible on my 2k screen.”
“Has almost no graphics settings, doesn't support 1440p, and is a stuttery mess on an RX 580 despite looking like a mobile game complete with extreme pop-in and trees that look fresh out of the PS2 era.”
- optimization44 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 52 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including low frame rates and lag during intense scenes with numerous assets on screen. Even high-end systems struggle to maintain stable performance, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some users note that the game runs smoothly under certain conditions, the consensus is that it requires substantial optimization improvements to reach its full potential.
“Performance was smooth on a low spec machine and the only bug I encountered was missing tanks in Operation Barbarossa 3 (or perhaps 2).”
“A fun tank-sim game which I think requires a few more months to maybe a year of optimization before it becomes a true masterpiece.”
“As an arcade sim, there's nothing too elaborate to each tank's performance, but the sliders for each characteristic don't lie either.”
“There is no 1440p setting, for example, and the performance is also not very good.”
“The game is clearly not optimized at all and runs very poorly, even on a high-end computer (~15-30fps on some maps).”
“Poorly optimized graphics, low fps even with low resolution (yeah I know it's still in early access), I won't ask for a refund because I hope the developers fix it.”
- music26 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been widely criticized for being generic, repetitive, and unmemorable, with many players noting the use of stock music and poor sound mixing. Reviewers expressed frustration over the lack of variety and intensity in the soundtrack, often finding it annoying or forgettable, leading some to prefer playing with alternative music instead. Overall, the sound design fails to enhance the gaming experience, leaving much to be desired.
“It's enjoyable, but the music needs work as it's repetitive and grating.”
“The soundtrack I heard wasn't awful, but it sounds like modern generic royalty-free music instead of using some actual WWII music.”
“Sound is nice, although I never actually listened to the soundtrack - at least it's not annoying.”
“It's lacking in some areas, like it uses stock music, has numerous misspellings and translation errors...”
“- the sound is terrible, all of it, the soundtrack is both generic and bad, the sound mixing is bad, some stuff is too loud, some too quiet, the ambience in campaign menu is tied to the music volume slider for whatever reason, and so on.”
“In fact, the game is pretty silent, the sound effects are nice but otherwise you barely hear any background music.”
- grinding19 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game features a significant amount of grinding, particularly in the mid-game where players must replay missions to earn medals for better tanks. While some players find the grinding manageable and the missions enjoyable, others criticize it as tedious and less rewarding compared to similar games like World of Tanks and War Thunder. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the challenge while others feel it detracts from the overall experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“4/10 very grindy gameplay loop to unlock additional tanks, dumb AI, and pretty poor graphics, with everything popping in and out of view suddenly with no gradient.”
“An excellent game that could be a lot better; the base game is great but it becomes a little grindy mid-game as you cannot pass the missions starting from mission 3 onwards with the starter tanks, so you have to replay previous missions to grind medals to buy better tanks.”
“Sure, you get some medals depending on when you died, which enables you to buy a better tank and/or upgrade your crew, but it can get very tedious.”
- stability16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- -12 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and various graphical glitches that can hinder gameplay. While some players experience minor issues, others find the game nearly unplayable due to bugs and poor optimization, particularly in mission design and AI behavior. Overall, the game is described as buggy and unpolished, leading to a frustrating experience for some, though a few still find enjoyment in its chaotic nature.
“The game was completely bug-free during my time with it, which is impressive for an early access title.”
“I experienced no crashes or major glitches, making for a smooth gameplay experience.”
“The stability of the game allowed me to fully immerse myself without worrying about technical issues.”
“The game really doesn't close; it more like freezes and crashes, that's how you exit.”
“Gameplay: buggy, barely playable.”
“The game is buggy, prone to crashes or getting stuck.”
- humor10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of absurdity and charm, with players finding amusement in the quirky animations of historical figures and the game's awkward physics and AI. The English translation adds to the comedic experience, offering moments that range from sad to hilariously confusing, particularly in the interactions between crew members. Overall, while the humor can be hit or miss, many players appreciate its entertaining and often ridiculous nature.
“Hilariously bad physics and AI.”
“The English translation is sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious.”
“Happy to say I think it's incredibly funny!”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 44 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is largely criticized, with many users noting that it offers minimal value after the initial playthrough due to predictable mission layouts and simple achievements. While some players find enjoyment in experimenting with different crew members and tank controls, the lack of dynamic elements and memorable moments significantly limits the incentive to replay.
“I feel that it has great replay value and is just a great game to play after a long day's work.”
“- Randomized side missions for replayability.”
“There's some replay value because you can unlock stuff by playing missions with different crew members, and it's fun to control a tank.”
“Almost no replay value; you can unlock the partner-pair bonuses your first time playing a mission, and only a few of the tanks are actually worth getting.”
“No replayability and not that deep of a game.”
“There's no dynamic spawning, so after a couple of playthroughs of a mission, you know where the enemy tanks are going to be, and this is going to limit replayability if not addressed.”
- character development8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is noted for its appealing character designs and voice acting during combat, enhancing the visual experience. However, many users express disappointment over the lack of backstories and deeper character development, feeling that the crew members are underutilized and lack emotional connection, reducing them to mere visuals rather than integral parts of the gameplay. Overall, while the game excels in aesthetics, it falls short in providing meaningful character narratives.
“Fantastic game with a lot of potential, fun gameplay, nice models, and cool character design.”
“The character designs are very good.”
“It would be interesting for the story to finish a bit later so not only could we see more tanks but maybe more character developments for the crew-mates.”
“It would be interesting for the story to finish a bit later so we could see more character development for the crew-mates.”
“There's also no backstories or character development that makes you care in any way about your crew; they're little more than just pictures to add to your crew slots for no apparent reason, just like all the other tank games out there unfortunately.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional impact of the game is diminished by the simplistic enemy AI, which leads to predictable and unengaging encounters, ultimately failing to evoke a deeper connection or tension during gameplay.
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy has been criticized as exploitative, with players feeling that the value of the content does not justify the prices charged, labeling it as a "cash grab."
“The monetization feels like a cash grab; the waifus are F tier and not worth the $25 or even the $20 I paid.”
“The in-game purchases are overpriced and make it hard to enjoy the game without spending a fortune.”
“It seems like the developers prioritize profit over player experience, making it frustrating to progress without spending money.”
