Paladins

i used to play this game with my brother, and I would die a lot cuz I never found out how to use the power ups and never found a character I liked. i would also get really mad cuz my brother was a lot better than me, and I stopped playing afterwards. also overwatch 2 but before overwatch 2 was real

It's like a really poor attempt at an Overwatch clone. I wouldn't even recommend using up your bandwidth installing this.

unironically like this game more then what it wanted to be

I struggle to view Paladins as anything other than a joke or a laughingstock. I still adore the attempts made by Hi-Rez to claim Paladins was an original idea, and something that they came up with. "Just a coincidence!"

And yet here we are, and of course it's got a fucking battle royale mode. Just about as boring and knockoff-ish as you can get with a game very similar to Overwatch. The game genuinely feels as if I was just playing bootleg versions of all the characters from Overwatch, which is not a very good sign if I already view that game as a fair bit underwhelming. I guess if you have literally no way to get Overwatch, this serves a somewhat adequate substitute for that junky fix after watching all that Twitch. However, it really doesn't bring anything at all to the table. It completely scourges off pre-existing ideas from other hero shooters, mainly Overwatch, to make quite possibly the most dollar store equivalent to the game. And laughably so, honestly.

I guess if you love Overwatch but have not much money to spare for it, it's better than nothing else. But God damn do I really, really just yawn at this absolute pile of shit.

Note: Review reflects content up to the Sun and Moon update. I played this for a little while in the summer of 2018, and returned during the Io/Summer update.

I am an Overwatch player of nearly 3 years and previously a TF2 player, and even as much as I love those games, it's nice to take a break and try something else out. Paladins has always had a reputation as the "Overwatch rip-off" and no matter how hard they try to differentiate their game from Overwatch, I don't think Paladins will ever step out from the shadows of the Blizzard esport giant.

It's easily understandable why the comparison is made from the first moments you play the game -- it's an objective based hero team shooter, with ultimate abilities and eerily similar champions to Overwatch's heroes. Fernando is Reinhardt with a flamethrower. Makoa is Roadhog with a Winston bubble. Androxus's old nickname is "McReaper" for basically being a mobile variant of McCree with Reaper's looks. Ash looks very similar to Zarya. Drogoz is basically Pharah. And the list goes on.

However, over time Hi-Rez (now specifically Evil Mojo) has really drastically improved the game and added new champions to the point to where it has a lot going for it that Overwatch doesn't. Paladins is a deceptively deep game, and one that has gotten better and better over time.

First, the MOBA-like buying system is one of the best ideas this game puts forward. The buying system adds a layer of depth and balance that other games in the genre lacks. The loadout system allows you to tailor your playstyle to your needs, and to counter the enemy team's champions or patch up your team's deficiencies. Watching what your enemy is buying and what loadout they're running and responding accordingly is part of the greater back and forth this game really nails.

As for new Champions, Evil Mojo's latest Champions put the earlier designs to shame, both artistically and in gameplay. Imani is the closest thing to playing a mage in an FPS I've ever played, and artistically they nailed the aesthetic. Atlus is a time-traveling Tank with time-manipulation skills similar to Tracer from Overwatch. Io is a bow-wielding healer, similar to the Hunter archetype with a Fox you summon and place around the map and a bow for long-range damage. The champions they're putting out are getting more and more original and impressive with each champion, which bodes well for the longevity of the game.

This game solves a lot of problems that Overwatch has. You don't NEED team coordination to succeed, but it helps. You don't NEED healing except to support your tank -- your health regenerates out of combat after a set amount of time, and also many champions have self-healing abilities and loadouts. Supports feel very powerful and do a lot of damage, so you never feel at the mercy of your team playing support. Every class in the game feels like an FPS, and playing classes other than Damage and Flank doesn't feel like a chore.

Lastly, the free to play aspect of the game never gets in the way of your experience. There over 40 champions in the game, and you get to play about 1/4th of them for free to start. By playing the game and completing quests, you earn in-game currency very quickly to earn new champions and buy cosmetic items. It would be a long grind to get all 40+ champions in the game, but I know people who have never paid a cent for the game and they have all the content they want. It's not pay to win either.

tl;dr
Paladins is a great alternative to Overwatch, with a lot of nice differences that make the game a unique and fun experience for long-time fans of Overwatch and TF2. If you have never played a hero-shooter and it seems interesting to you, I strongly recommend you give it a go. It's a great time.