When comparing Paladins vs The Escapists 2, the Slant community recommends Paladins for most people. In the question“What are the best low-spec PC games?” Paladins is ranked 82nd while The Escapists 2 is ranked 85th. The most important reason people chose Paladins is:
Paladins currently has 22 characters available to play, and those span 4 different roles. It should also be noted that brand new players will start off with 7 characters and need to play to acquire gold in order to unlock new ones.
Specs
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Pros
Pro An expansive roster of characters
Paladins currently has 22 characters available to play, and those span 4 different roles. It should also be noted that brand new players will start off with 7 characters and need to play to acquire gold in order to unlock new ones.
Pro Free to play
Everything that affects gameplay in Paladins can be unlocked simply by playing.However, there are cosmetic items available for purchase if you'd like to support the developers.
Pro Runs well on nearly any system
Paladins isn't a very resource-heavy game, which means it can be enjoyed by pretty much everyone.
Pro Great community
Every online game has some amount of toxicity, but Paladins has a relatively supportive community of players.
Pro Fast-paced and full of action
Paladins is a fast-paced first person shooter. Games are over pretty quickly, and queue times are short, so you can make the most out of your play time.
Pro Well balanced strength of characters
All champions in paladins are powerful and well balanced up to a point. Each character has their role in the games, and therefore, relies on tactics and champion picks in the game to win. If a champion, however, feels quite overpowered or weak, new patches will adjust him/her to a better choice for players.
Pro You can customize characters to fit your particular play style
Paladins has a system in place called "Card Mastery." Essentially, a player can spend their gold (or gems, if you choose to put money into it) on cards which will buff your character in specific ways in-game. These cards can radically change how characters are played, even allowing them to fit other roles in some situations.
There are also "Burn Cards," which allow the player to make themselves stronger or even counteract opponents' strategies. These are limited in used, but very powerful.
Pro Team based gameplay
Pro Encourages experimentation and creativity
There is no right or wrong way to do anything, and it's entirely a risk vs reward scenario for anything you want to try. You are only limited by your creativity in escaping, as each prison has almost endless possibilities and encourages the player to make the best use of their inventory and be creative in handling every situation.
Bed sheets can be used to cover cell windows from the prying eyes of guards, desks can be moved to reach out of reach vents, crafted tools can be used for various purposes such as breaking through walls or doors, and shovels can be used to dig holes. You can try to sneak around guards, or opt to hide in vents until they're out of sight. If you're feeling especially brave, you can even attempt to fight the guards and take their keys allowing easier access around the prison.
Pro Good balance of game systems make for a rewarding simulation
Taking action in the game uses up your stamina, so you'll still have to make time for things like eating and sleeping if you want to have energy for things like digging through walls, fighting other inmates, or cutting through vents and gates.
Items such as shovels and cutters have limited durability, so they can't be used endlessly. Raw materials can be found around the prison to craft items, or you can buy items from fences using money earned by running fetch quests for other inmates. No matter how you acquire them, crafting materials and finished goods are limited so you'll have to use your items wisely.
Time is an important factor that has to be managed too, with certain activities having to be done at certain times. This limits the amount of time you have to roam the prison, since you have to show up for meal times and roll calls. Free time can be used to craft, roam the prison to determine the guard patterns, or finally put your ultimate escape plan into action.
Juggling each and every one of the various aspects of the game results in a very deep and rewarding simulation experience.
Pro Solid progression of difficulty
The difficulty increases as you progress, with each prison becoming just a little more intricate and more challenging to escape from than the previous. The prisons themselves get more complex with more obstacles to overcome such as tougher guards which results in more ways things can go wrong. The progress feels good and natural, as you're always building on what you learned in previous prisons to escape from the newest one.
Pro Great pixel art style for retro fans
If you enjoy a more retro style, then this game is pure eye candy. Simple but charming, the pixel art is colorful, with the sprites having a nice variety in animations when they're shoveling, searching, running around, fighting, or partaking in any kind of activity that would require movement. The tile sets for the game world are nicely detailed, colored and shaded. You won't get tired of looking at the same tiles over and over due to the sheer amount and variety of the art assets created for the game.
Pro Lots of replayability
No two games will play out alike. Each prison is an open sandbox, so it's definitely not a linear experience with a defined escape blueprint. Prisons can be replayed over and over to beat your previous time, measured in how many in-game days it took you to escape, which leaves plenty of room for trying new things on each successive playthrough.
Pro Co-Op multiplayer mode adds a new depth to gameplay
Working together creates a whole new experience with loads of possibilities. In co-op mode, you play with up to 3 teammates either online or locally as you work towards escaping the prison together. This adds a whole new dynamic to gameplay as working together creates experiences that just aren't possible when playing solo. Someone could distract the guards, while another searches rooms for crafting materials. One player could run around collecting items, while another scopes out the guard's patrol patterns. Some can complete quests to collect money while others are working on digging tunnels.
Pro A couple of alternative prisons add a change of scenery
Tired of bricks, cold floors, and cement cells? For those who want a change of scenery, there is a prison set in the wild west, and even a futuristic space prison. This adds a little bit of variety to the look of the game while keeping the same gameplay mechanics. It's a nice touch and gives your eyes a break from staring at the same tilesets over and over.
Cons
Con The most recent patch makes it feel a little bit pay-to-win
With the recent patch, gold prices shot up on characters and cards, but the rewards you get for playing did not. Because of that, the gems you can buy with real money are simply the easiest option, even for people with a lot of play time.
Con Characters are not well balanced
Characters range from being highly underpowered to wildly overpowered.
Con Overwatch clone
Basically a free-to-play, less skillful Overwatch clone.
Con Still in Beta
Paladins is not a perfect game due to its constant lags and bugs and has to heavily rely on new patches to fix them.
Con In-game cards nullify characters
Cards like Cauterize and Wrecker completely nullify all tanks and healers halfway through the game, and it consistutes a battle of who gets the max first.
Con Community sucks
Con Getting caught by guards can be overly punishing
It's frustrating when you spend several hours grinding quests for other inmates, collecting items, crafting, and carefully planning your escape, only to get caught by guards and lose all your items or killed. This effectively means you have to start over, wasting hours of your own time and days of in-game time.
Con Can feel grindy at times
Running around doing fetch quests for other inmates, or searching for crafting materials for hours on end can get stale after a while.
Con Tutorial doesn't cover much
The tutorial will only walk you through the barest of basics, resulting in the player having to learn the game's various mechanics on their own.