Paragon Evolved Demo

The first-person shooter genre is quite malleable and easy to blend with other elements, which is why it is also one of the most popular genres on the market. However, any kind of mix requires some measurements and careful planning, otherwise the ingredients won’t provide the players with the desired experience and no amount of shiny new mechanics can convince them otherwise.

Paragon Evolved is quite the weird little experiment, since it features a more unorthodox approach when it comes to the visual style and the gameplay itself, considering the fact that it emphasizes on survival an awful lot. One might even call it a tower defense attempt, since the enemies come in waves and they see to follow certain linear paths through the levels, not to mention the fact that you must kill all of them in order to unlock the next wave.

Story-wise, there is not much going on, other than the aforementioned colorful enemies, which seem to appear out of nowhere and have the singular purpose of killing you. Because your purpose appears to be similar, the gimmick works for a while, as long as you do not get easily bored by repetitive gameplay mechanics and the same kind of enemies running toward you for long stretches of time.

The artificial intelligence governing the enemy soldiers is quite decent, which is definitely good news, given the fact that they are the only distraction in the game. You might get frustrated because they always seem to hit you dead on regardless of distance, but the experience is that much more intense when you have to fight for your life and hide if things go sour on you.

Although the level design is unusually colorful and neon signs seem to have replaced everything but the air itself, the graphics are quite nice. The multitude of available weapons are nicely modeled and every enemy type looks different, which reduces boredom levels every now and again. The level design itself is not worthy of any prizes and you might often find yourself stuck in the tight environments, but you can get over it after the adrenaline starts pumping.

All things considered, Paragon Evolved fails to impress at almost every level, although it still remains rather playable, weirdly. In case you have nothing better to do and you do not mind repeating the same task a few dozen times, then the game can keep you entertained for an hour or two.