Patlabor: The Case Files is Clunky as All Hell—And That's The Point
The game itself is mecha piloting levels bookended by visual novel-style cutscenes and narration. What I played corresponded to episode 2 (the training camp battles) and episodes 10 and 11 (the fight against the Brocken labors). The cutscenes were fully voiced and loosely set the stage/tied up any loose ends. It was great to hear the classic cast back in their old roles—and that's probably this game's biggest selling point.
As for the actual mecha piloting, it's terrible—the furthest possible thing from the word “fun” one would likely imagine. The Patlabor lumbers around the cramped battlefield—and it can't move too much anyway lest it run out of battery. Making it even face its target is a chore—and all target lock does is make sure you hit the opposing mecha when you attack it. It doesn't actually turn you towards your opponent and the camera itself must be manually controlled at all times.
For combat you can punch, draw your revolver (which has only six shots), or equip your stun baton to fight. Melee combat has light and strong attacks—though light attacks are just a laboriously slow three-hit combo while the strong attack is just a running shoulder check. If you just try to spam attacks you will lose every fight. The opposing mecha will block and then unleash a combo of their own.
The trick to combat is to play defensively and patiently. When the enemy attacks, either perfect guard or perfect doge and follow up with a heavy attack. It takes forever and is mind-numbingly boring but it won me every fight in the demo with ease.
But while the game is a tedious chore to play, part of me recognizes that that is likely the point. Patlabors have always treated as heavy machinery more than the kind of mecha seen in other anime. They are slow, awkward, and tend to be barely able to do the job they were created for. A fun, fluid combat system would make for a much more enjoyable game to play… but it wouldn't feel like Patlabor either.
So as a piece of nostalgia bait, Patlabor: The Case Files's TGS demo does its job well. But is it a fun demo? No. Not it is not.
Patlabor: The Case Files was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on September 17, 2026.
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