I am writing this review because the game has surprised me, and I was saddened not to see other reviews. So, I want to help the developer move forward with his work because, in my opinion, the game could become something big. Palladium is fast, frenetic, challenging, and hardcore. Considering it was developed by just one person, the result is remarkable, especially considering some ideas I have rarely (or never) seen in this genre of video games, like interconnected levels and enormous amount of enemies on-screen. The gameplay is simple but effective: run, shoot, and jump. If you stop, you lose. It's easy to learn but difficult to master, and that's what makes it cool. Surviving the massive waves of enemies is satisfying, and the level of enjoyment is similar to what I experienced while playing doom eternal. I also really liked the possibility to upgrade weapons and explore the levels in search of skill points to purchase these upgrades. Playing in hard mode, it took me just over 5 ...
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About This Game
The most prominent features of Palladium are:
- 10 interconnected levels plus the tutorial one for about 4 and a half hours of gameplay.
- 12 different enemies in the current early access content.
- 6 different weapon variants in early access content: 2 variants of pistols, 2 of shotguns, an SMG and a grenade launcher.
- Frantic action and fights: both in terms of "ordinary" fights while exploring the levels and in confined arenas that pose an higher challenge to the player
- No hitscans: the game is all about movement, dodging and evading threats and bullets
- Exploration and secret hunting: secrets are not hidden in a random wall that you have to click. Their presence is hinted by visual and audio clues. Some secrets require a specific weapon to unlock or to beat a (simple) platforming section or hunt for switches (that are well visible but placed out of sight).
- Power ups and weapon variants: each weapon has power ups and variants that can be found and unlocked
- Interconnected levels: the player will need to traverse parts of explored levels to progress through the game. Once a level has been cleared, enemies will appear in limited numbers but it won't be a walk simulation
- 3D level map and global map to not get lost in the abovementioned interconnected levels.
- A lot of gibbing!: total and partial gibbing effects for each enemy.
- Autosaves, bunny hopping and key rebind (no controller support right now)
Power ups are acquirable by exploring different paths or paying attention to the surroundings, graphical clues will give away the presence of a secret in the area and most of the time the player must solve a light platforming section, a quick switch-hunt or a short maze to reach the power up. Such power ups are used to modify the behaviour of the weapons and enhance the player movement capabilities.
The player is free to move back and forth between levels and areas as s/he will often find a closed path that requires a key, a tool or a powerup in order to be unlocked.
The action takes place in a dystopian world inspired by 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 and the narrative of the levels is expanded by tomes of lore scattered through the levels.
The whole experience is framed by a magnificent soundtrack composed specifically for each level, that dynamically changes in the most tense situations. The soundtrack was composed by Giordano Aisa, who joined the development of Palladium with his music and his passion for boomer shooters.
Last but not least, if anyone did not notice from the screenshots, the whole point of the game is to simply paint the level red.
Screenshots
User Reviews
(Will update as I go along) So far palladium is proving to be a polished, well-made, solo-developed project and most importantly super fun shooter that doesn't just draw from shooters from the past but actively expands upon them. So far my one bit of feedback is that the UI needs a bit of polishing, but even with slightly hard to navigate UI this game is still an absolute blast to play, and the developer has been very active regarding fixes, quality of life improvements and more!
I thought this was a little indie game but since the beginning you can clearly see the effort that was put into that. The game plays like a mix between doom and quake: you have a lot of freedom of movement and using such options are necessary to survive what may seem a quite hardcore game. I personally like the visuals but they may appear a bit barebone even if they work great with this unique artstyle. Blood and gibs are detailed and unique to each enemy (and also exaggerated). I really appreciated that some of the secrets need a bit of platforming, a nice change of pace from time to time to take a break from the carnage that makes for the rest of the game. Tiny details like that right number of bullets shown on the weapon or the fact that enemies of the same type have different “models” make me want to recommend it.
Nice game. right away you understand the level of difficulty and frenzy, very frenetic. considering the work done by a single independent developer I think it's a title to keep an eye on and support.
Awesome! Great and immersive game experience!!!!
Surprisingly good, with satisfying weapons and fun enemies to fight (though they are a bit basic and rely on numbers over intelligence). World/level design is also good and not confusing from what I've played so far. Only real downside I have to say about it is the prevalent striped shadows distract from the otherwise unique art.
System Requirements
Minimum
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Dual Core 2.8 Ghz
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1050M (laptop graphics card)
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- VR Support: No
- Additional Notes: Mouse, keyboard are strongly recommended for the intended experience. Headphones are advised. As levels are added to the game, disk space requirements will change. It will almost surely remain under 10 GB.
FAQ
How much does Palladium cost?
Palladium costs $9.99.
What are the system requirements for Palladium?
Minimum: Minimum: OS: Windows 10 Processor: Dual Core 2.8 Ghz Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: 1050M (laptop graphics card) DirectX: Version 10 Storage: 3 GB available space VR Support: No Additional Notes: Mouse, keyboard are strongly recommended for the intended experience. Headphones are advised. As levels are added to the game, disk space requirements will change. It will almost surely remain under 10 GB.
What platforms is Palladium available on?
Palladium is available on Windows PC.
Is Palladium worth buying?
Palladium has 100% positive reviews from 13 players.
When was Palladium released?
Palladium was released on Jul 31, 2023.
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