It’s hard for a roguelike to truly stand out these days. Many follow the footsteps of Dark Souls, Hades or Hollow Knight pretty closely. TankHead eschews these comparisons by placing you in control of a drone crossing a barren landscape, crossing War Thunder with Ghost in the Shell, and it’s out now.
The backdrop of TankHead is pretty desolate, even by roguelike standards. In a post-apocalyptic future, a large stretch of land has been made uninhabitable by humans. So, in order to scavenge, survivors use robots they control mentally – known as Needles – to gather resources, scope out the area and take out others.
The protagonist, Whitaker, is using a Needle to find out more about Highpoint City, his destination that’s somewhere beyond the no man’s land. But plenty of other machines are stalking around, filling the air with tension.
The action game looks fairly relentless, going by the launch trailer. The other drones come in all shapes and sizes, and you’ll need to be strategic about your approach since you’re definitely not the biggest or strongest. Clean kills are preferable, because your loot comes from what’s still usable on the metal corpse, so dogfights are a last resort.
You can see shades of Cyberpunk 2077, especially in the salvaging and constant modding, and nods toward World of Tanks and other war games that focus on vehicles. Gameplay involves being conscious of your own armor and weakpoints alongside your offensive capabilities, a balancing act that may take some getting used to.
TankHead is out now on the Epic Games Store. Our lists of the best new PC games and best upcoming PC games will let you know of any other trinkets worth seeking out.
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