I’ve played many MOBA’s and sunk thousands, upon thousands into them. SMITE firmly stands as one of my favorites and so it was with a great deal of excitement that I went into Paragon. Even this week I wrote about how much I was looking forward to it and yet only hours in, I’m already confused with my experience. You might think looking at the trailers for the game that it looks fast, frantic and exciting and yet it’s surprisingly slow. There’s no questioning its beauty but the core gameplay - that of laning against AI controlled minions whilst fighting opposing players doing the same - is at times, pedestrian.

For all intents and purposes Paragon plays almost exactly like SMITE, with the exception that there’s a Z axis to allow for aiming up and down. Everything else, such as three lanes, purchasing items and clearing minion waves and camps remains pretty much the same. That’s not a bad thing as SMITE is a wonderful game, but what sets the two apart is pacing and a sense of speed in combat. SMITE is snappy and quick and although matches can still last some time, it doesn’t ever feel slow. In contrast, Paragon has to offer some of the least satisfying third-person combat I’ve ever played at a pace that’s both frustrating and sleep inducing.

Even when you’ve unlocked all your skills, there’s still no mistaking the painstakingly slow basic attack speed and some skills that feel lacklustre. For the first few minutes as you level up, you’ll only have access to your basic attack. It’s the same in most MOBA’s (outside of Heroes of the Storm) and it becomes quickly apparent just how sluggish the pace of the game can be during this time. Slowly poking at oncoming minions that seemingly take an age to kill if you’re the only player in lane is never going to get the heart racing.

Twinblast - have you ever seen such a safe character design?

Considering the trailers would have you believe that Paragon is an epic exchange of heavy hitting attacks at frightening speed, it’s simply not the case until team fights take place mid to late game. While such a pace might suit some, in comparison to Gigantic, Battleborn, or SMITE, the game needs a dose of rocket-fuel (I'd say a 20% increase in movement speed) to inject some life into its movement and combat. Considering this is the studio behind the Unreal franchise, it's difficult to understand how they lost their oomph. Unreal was never slow.

When it comes to the selection of Heroes on offer, I have to say only a handful feel truly inspired. Twinblast, Sparrow, Kallari and Gadget have to be four of the most generic Heroes I’ve ever encountered in the many years I’ve been covering video games. They’re so drab and forgettable with skillsets that are neither original or fun that I’m amazed that they made it from the cutting room floor. If we take a look at Twinblast, on paper he’s very similar to McCree from Overwatch - which sounds great - but he looks pretty awful and feels incredibly safe. Even Gadget, a Hero I thought I’d love, just lacks character. Her appearance is largely fine, but why couldn’t we have had something like Bucket or E.M.E.T from Evolve? Heck, any of the Hunters from Evolve would have been a damn sight better than the majority here.

There's no mistaking the design quality of the Hunters in Evolve. 

The reason why I make this comparison is that for Heroes to be desirable, they have to not only look good but play well. But when you’ve a Hero (Sparrow) that’s literally a carbon copy of Artemis from SMITE - with the exception of an alternative, albeit worse, Ultimate ability - it’s very poor. Going back to Evolve, even though it isn’t a MOBA and forgetting how you feel about the game, it’s undeniable that Turtle Rock have done an incredible job at designing their Hunters to be unique and original. Bucket is a far greater version of Gadget and Lennox so much better than Howitzer. Why couldn’t Epic have gone about crafting more Heroes that not only looked good, but brought with them kits that you actually wanted to use?

You might be thinking at this point that it’s all grim for Paragon and while I do feel a little disappointed, there is some excellent stuff here. The map is brilliantly designed and the jungle particularly excellent. The stealth pads that lead onto lanes help both attacker and laner - they keep you on edge much more than I thought they would and are an exceptional addition. Its card system and the socketting of further upgrades into them is clever and easily understood though the random acquisition of cards does make me nervous. Paladins is a prime example of how randomness doesn’t have any place in a competitive setting. Finally, some of the Heroes are undeniably incredible. Gideon, Steel, Muriel and Grux highlight how Epic Games can design a set of aesthetically pleasing, and fun Heroes (I absolutely adore Grux)

Fortunately for Paragon, it’s still in the early stages of development and they have time to look at not only the pace of the game, but the intricacies of its combat and Heroes. At present, it seems physically impossible to outrun any melee Hero who is attacking you because they seemingly have an inherant speed advantage over ranged. Perhaps I'm mistaken but it's fairly easy for melee players to stick to you like glue and unless you happen to be one of a few Heroes who have an escape, you’re guaranteed to die. SMITE implemented heavy movement speed reductions when attacking for this very reason - irrespective of range or melee - and Epic Games surely have to do the same. 

Other than the above, if they just increase movement speed across the board, Epic Games will be halfway to where they need to be because the game is, unquestionably, so much fun. I’ll be spending as much time as possible in Paragon over the coming days to bring you further thoughts so stay tuned.

After many more hours of play, I've had even more to say about Paragon, this time - all good. Read my Further Impressions here.