What do giant robots need? I didn't know the answer until yesterday when I first played Panzer Paladin, but now it seems obvious. Of course! Giant robots need a hockey stick to hit people with.
Panzer Paladin is one of those faux-8-bit throwbacks that exists to remind you that faux-8-bit throwbacks can be great. It's a chummy muddle of influences - you can do a bounce attack move that reminds me of Duck Tales (and by extension Shovel Knight) and you can tackle stages in any order like Mega Man. That said, it's never just its influences. This game has hooked me in deep. It's special.
So you're a giant mech wandering around scrolling levels and smacking people about. You can use your fists if you really have to, but it's much better to collect special melee weapons that litter the landscape and use those instead. Besides giving you extra reach they tie into a neat system. Each weapon can be destroyed to utilise its specific spell - a boost in durability perhaps, or a magic attack that's just called THUNDER in all-caps, and earns those all-caps. But then you won't have the weapon anymore! Also, weapons break after a while if you use then to, you know, hit people with. So it's a trade.