Panzer knights

Girls und Panzer: Dream Tank Match replacement for PC.

There aren’t many single player tank shooting games. There are World of Tanks and War Thunder, but they are competitive games and are generally not fun but stressful as you barely last a full 60 seconds.

Therefore, I’ve wanted to play Girls und Panzer: Dream Tank Match which carters to a single player campaign. But it is not available for PC. It’s for Nintendo Switch and PS4. It was also released for Japan and Asia only.

Enter Panzer Knights, a surprising gem that may be actually better than Girls und Panzer: Dream Tank Match.

You take a control of a tank unit from Germany during World War 2 and relive the war from the losing side.

Come to think of it, it’s not common that you get to see WW2 from a Germany point of view. At start, all is well. Your side (Germany) is winning left and right. Moral is all time high.

That is until things start go downhill.

I’ve found this game surprisingly decent. I thought it was just a cheap copycat of Girls und Panzer Dream tank match, but it is an entirely different game.

First of all, unlike the GuP game where only female characters are present, Panzer Knights has an equal amount of male characters you may choose right from the start. Yes, you have to unlock some dudes but that applies to the female side as well.

So, if you dislike having a female avatar, you are free to choose a male right away from the start after a tutorial session is over.

As you go through missions, you gain points which you spend for a better tank.

You have a choice of almost all German tanks, plus some select soviet tanks in later games. Two more tanks are available via DLC.

What surprised me as I played the game was that the plot was adhering to historical accuracy. What I mean by that, no matter what you do, the Germans are going to lose. You are simply a mere tank commander and are watching your nation go downhill. Sadly, the game ends where it starts to go downhill.

My biggest issue with the game was failing missions because AI allies were itching to die. Basically, defensive missions were the worst kind. Thank God that defensive missions occur only in early game.

I’ve failed some defensive missions over, over, and over because I was not fast enough to destroy all incoming enemy tanks before they wipe out my allies.

Defensive missions pissed me off actually. You either need luck or a better tank to single-shot incoming tanks. You will get some points even if you fail a mission, so you will manage to get a better tank to get through such missions.

Eventually.

There is also an issue with performance. I have a laptop with 3050 and a desktop with 3060. I had no issues with 3060 at all but 3050 struggled with heavy grass.

Another issue is resolution where it maxes out at 1080p. Yes, you cannot set it higher than 1080p. For me, this works because I stick to 1080p, but there are those who go die hard on 1440p and higher. They will be greatly displeased.

The bottom line is that this game is a rough gem. It is surprisingly decent for the price I paid for which was 23 CAD.

What I like the most about the game was that in-game characters do not joke around. They are clearly aware of a fact that they are in a war, and everyone’s alert.

Some characters are all about the fatherland, glory, and honor. Some will question whether there is any ulterior motive behind this war. Some simply carry on orders.

So, if you like tank games, give this a shot. It’s surprisingly decent. It is, of course, not without its issues, but, at this price point, I can forgive most of it. Besides, have you seen an action tank game around as of late? There ain’t many.