Back in the simple days, video games required very little to impress the players. Few people cared about the visuals, and it was all about gameplay and high replayability because multiplayer and long game hours were not a thing. One of the best handhelds that we got early in the days of gaming was Gameboy which received multiple variants further improving upon the base console. With the first generation launching in 1989 and the final generation ending production in 2003, few people expect new games to come on the Gameboy today however there is one developer that is still bringing ports to Gameboy even today. That publisher is none other than Incube8 Games and this is our review of their Gameboy release of the flash title IndestructoTank!
IndestructoTank! started its journey as a flash game and with just one developer, Antony Lavelle, behind it, it was a great game. Incube8 Games is known for porting many games to Gameboy and their latest release is the amazing IndestructoTank! marking its official debut on the console scene. IndestructoTank! is a side-scrolling bouncing game where you must bounce and destroy enemies and keep that combo going for highscores. You step in the shoes of Dirk Danger who is driving the APC-type tank called IndestructoTank and you must bounce from enemy to enemy to gain more scores and get multipliers the longer you stay in the air.
IndestructoTank! is basically a side-runner where the screen keeps moving and you have to be quick with your fingers in order to score big. You start off at the ground and when your jump is charged, you press A to start jumping to hit enemies and then try to bounce from one enemy to another in order to build a combo meter. If you land on the ground and stay there for long, you will lose your combo and you will have to wait until your jump is charged again before jumping into the air again. While it might appear like one, IndestructoTank! is not about reaching the maximum distance rather, it emphasizes the high score based on the number of enemies that you destroy in the game rather than the amount of distance you cover in each run. There is also a fuel gauge so your run ends abruptly if you run out of fuel.
You start off with a few enemies however as you progress in the game, you can upgrade the enemies after covering certain distance milestones which increased their chances of appearing on the screen, and more enemies on the screen mean more jumping and higher combos ultimately. You have a variety of enemies to upgrade such as helicopters, choppers, fighter jets, and Miners that travel on the ground rather than the air. As you continue to progress more in the level and upgrade the enemies, they appear more and more on the screen which leads to a game screen always filled with enemies. This way, you can keep on bouncing on the enemies and even their missiles and bombs which keeps you high in the air for longer resulting in higher combos and higher scores.
The gameplay is extremely addictive and is also really easy to play. You will take a little time getting used to the controls but once you have mastered the jump and your left and right movement, you will be bouncing non-stop on your enemies. This high score chasing and addictive gameplay keep you coming back for more because this was the beauty of the classic games. Even if they were really short, they were highly addictive, and thus they had a great replayability factor. If you want more challenge from the default mode, you can turn on the Hard mode as well which really punishes you and reminds you that old generations of video games were really hard.
While IndestructoTank! might be an endless side-scrolling game, there is actually an end to the game which happens when you max out all of the enemies on the upgrade screen. This might take some time depending on your skill level in the game however it is totally possible, and you can even make this a speedrunning challenge for yourself if you want. The ending is only unlocked once you fully upgrade all of the upgrade types and if you take your time with the game, you will take a much longer time when compared with other people.
IndestructoTank! reminds me of the good old Gameboy days when we used to play video games for fun and not for competition. I have nothing against competitive titles as I play Apex Legends a lot but sometimes you just want to kick back and have some nonsense fun, and this is where IndestructoTank! and similar titles come into action. It does have the potential of becoming a competitive game if you decide to become a speedrunner but if that is not your goal, then you can IndestructoTank! a chill game and take your time with it as you fling from enemy to enemy raking in high score.
Final Verdict:
If you love playing retro games or just want a cool-looking side-scrolling runner to spend some time in, IndestructoTank! should be on your playlist. If you do not have a working Gameboy with you, you can play it on an emulator on a PC as well. IndestructoTank! also received a physical release so if you love collecting physical games then you can add it to your collection as well. It is a win-win in every situation because IndestructoTank! delivers solid gameplay and a brilliant art style. It is certainly a throwback to a golden era of gaming.
Final Score: 8.5/10
