Developer: Joy Brick
Publisher: PQube
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Panzer Knights: Commander’s Edition – Review
If the name Panzer Knights rings a bell, it’s probably because the game launched in 2021 on PC. The game has been met with reasonable success, but we reckon most (potential) players didn’t expect the game to get a second lease on life via an updated console release. This is exactly the case, however, as the game returns with the Commander’s Edition for next-gen consoles. While we missed Panzer Knights the first time round, we were quite curious to see how this one held up five years after its initial release. While some elements were interesting, we weren’t blown away by this one.
Story
While there is something akin to a story that’s presented in a visual novel-like style, it does feel rather disjointed. In Panzer Knights: Commander’s Edition, you’ll be playing through several battles from the Second World War, albeit from the German side of the fence. Obviously, things aren’t extremely realistic, as your German Panzer unit will mainly consist of cute anime girls. We did like the bit of flavor text here and there, and some characters do feel like they’re more than a hollow shell, but ultimately, the story wasn’t the selling point here at all.
Graphics
Graphically, Panzer Knights: Commander’s Edition is not much to write home about. The game looks extremely dated, except for the anime-styled characters we see during dialogues. The actual gameplay, however, looks more like something you would see on PlayStation 2. The tanks all have unique designs based on their real-life counterparts, which look reasonably nice, albeit without too many details or textures. The draw distance in the game is horrendous, and while we understand this also has to do with field of vision, it just doesn’t look smooth or realistic. Things just pop into existence, and if you move ever so slightly, they disappear again. Even with the poor visuals, performance wasn’t always that great either, as we noticed frequent stutters and frame drops during more hectic battles. This is something that truly should not happen when playing a game that should not even come close to pushing our PS5 to the limit.
Sound
The sound design is also rather bare-bones. You’ll have some background music playing at times, and the sound effects are decent, but that’s about it. The soundtrack is extremely limited and only plays at certain intervals or when something is actually happening in-game. There is no voice acting, except for the things your characters shout out in Japanese while attacking enemies or calling in support. It’s really the bare minimum here.
Gameplay
Panzer Knights: Commander’s Edition is a game that’s all about tank warfare, with anime-styled characters in the lead. You’ll be playing through battles of World War II from the viewpoint of a German panzer unit. This means that you’ll be playing as the bad guys, but truth be told, as stated above, the story feels like an afterthought. You’ll just be playing mission after mission, with no checkpoints in the actual missions. You’ll have to take out the opposition and complete objectives to progress. It’s a fairly straightforward affair, but the game shows a lot of cracks mere minutes into the gameplay.
Truth be told, it’s often not much more than just picking a mission and playing through it to progress. You’ll choose a tank and the crew, and you’re good to go. Some tanks will have room for more crew members, while others may be more nimble but only have fewer slots. The crew members provide bonuses, but these are often negligible. Especially when you pick some of the additional tanks that are included in the Commander’s Edition, you don’t need to put much thought into your choices. Some of these tanks can take hits from enemies without ever even being damaged, making the battles a bit one-sided. The opposite is also true, however, as taking a weaker tank might make some of the missions simply too hard at times. In the missions themselves, you will have to pay attention to the objectives and your enemies. You might need to take your time to recover or to call in support, or you might need to change ammo types on the fly to deal more damage. Some tactical insight is good, but ultimately, the game never makes things overly complex.
The controls feel a bit janky with a controller. The tanks drive awkwardly, and it does take some time to get used to the firing mechanics. Your cannon rotates separately, much like a real-life tank, but you’ll also have to take into account your second reticle. Only when the second reticle lines up with the first one will you be able to shoot at where you’re aiming. We didn’t really mind this mechanic, and it did force us to slow down now and then to think things through.
Conclusion
Panzer Knights: Commander’s Edition does have some charm, but for the most part, it does feel like a trove of missed opportunities. We loved the concept, but the execution was extremely flawed due to the overpowered DLC tanks, the awkward controls, the lackluster visuals, and the overall lack of a structured narrative. Even so, there is certainly an audience for games such as this, and if you can pick it up in a sale, you could still do worse.
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