Panzer Hearts Demo

War is never a good solution when it comes to the human lives that are lost in the process, yet there were hundreds of wars throughout human history. Some of the greatest empires were created through warmongering and aggression, which is why the trend still hasn’t gone away. Naturally, there are all sorts of tales from the soldiers telling us how gruesome the violence can be.

Panzer Hearts is a role-playing game in which you play as a young soldier trying to serve his country and make his parents proud. The game is designed to feel like an adventure and a journey, but there is some romance in there as well, which should make the experience even more enjoyable. On the other hand, the theme is quite depressing and even terrifying sometimes.

As such, it all revolves around Bastian, a young soldier ready to serve his Empire in the war. However, he gets wounded in a battle, which makes him unfit for combat. His commander decides to put him to work in a tank factory, so he could still be part of the war effort. Speaking of which, the whole thing is a reimagining of the second World War, except that the countries are not the same.

Since it’s pretty difficult to stay positive about war the older you get, Bastian realizes that he may not be as patriotic as he thinks, given the fact that the Empire he serves does not appear to be very well-intentioned. On top of that, he also falls in love over the course of the story, and you get a say in many of these events, thanks to the choice system that allows you to change the plot.

In terms of graphics, the character artwork is a bit simple and even funny-looking, but that’s not a huge issue in this case. The backgrounds are lovely and quite detailed, not to mention moody and atmospheric. The music helps a lot with the atmosphere as well, even if the demo at hand does not contain too many songs at the moment.

It’s nice to see more serious themes in visual novels, and Panzer Hearts can really make you think about what war means. The choice system appears to be quite intricate, so multiple playthroughs should be a blast.