For a side-scrolling Doujin action game, "Gel-Tank" (aka Nantai Todoroki wa Gel-Tank) is a well-balanced specimen. Produced by what generally appears to be a solo developer at Technodot, the game wears its inspirations on its sleeves but does just enough of its own things to warrant respect and admiration. The game is highly nostalgic from its sound to its presentation and feels like a lost gem from the 16-bit or early 32-bit era, which is what they were going for, so congrats.
First and foremost, if you've glossed over other reviews, you will see the game is compared quite a bit to "Metal Slug", and that comparison can't be understated; a lot of the animations, effects and vehicle designs were greatly influenced by MS but the game is more restrained in terms of the level designs and Arcade influences (no timer, more generous amount of power-ups, much lower degree of difficulty, etc.). Gel-Tank has a more relaxed and adventurous tone with a smidgen of exploration and almost feels like a hodgepodge of various console games of the 8-bit and 16-bit era... a little "Blaster Master" with the ability to disembark your tank and go off the beaten path for the occasional goody, a little "Rocket Knight Adventure" with the goofy enemy shenanigans and fixed periodic enemy waves, a little "Kirby Super Star" (Great Cave Offensive) with the mid-level banter, a little inventory management with skills and skill slots (you choose the game, lol), things of that nature. The plot is even simplistic and campy: a lone creature of the "Gel" species is hunted by the "Human Kingdom Army" and narrowly escapes while finding a legendary "Tank Suit" in the process that is powered by an advanced A.I., Eia. Needing power to fight back and save itself and others, the Gel and A.I. work together to take the land back from the Army... but is everything as it seems?
The game has few modern conveniences and even goes out of its way to replicate the feeling of games of a bygone era by including almost a dozen CRT filters just for fun, but the game feels like a polished work that does the classics justice. The graphics are nice and each level is slightly varied either by theme or design, but you could say that the game has a "bargain Metal Slug" look to it overall and the game is kinda lacking in terms of enemy variety. However, seeing as the game was done by basically one guy and with the Unity engine no less, I'd still consider that a compliment. The sound effects are nice and punchy and the soundtrack is also unexpectedly GREAT with a lot of bangers, though I don't believe all of the music is original (for example, the third stage of the first region plays "Shizuka" from Ninja Brain's "Assassination" album). Even so, I have no major complaints with how the game looks or sounds.
The gameplay is pretty straightforward for the most part... just shoot everything that moves. In the beginning, your performance during the game's tutorial will dictate what difficulty you start with (though you can change it in the options). The player's tank has a rotating turret which will require you to move around to aim properly; the turret locks by default when the button is held, but this can be disabled in the options as well. Different power-ups can be picked up which also have different advantages and restrictions and the player can rescue "POWs" who will aid you on your quest if you collect enough of them. A cool but underutilized mechanic also comes with our gelly hero... they can leave the safety of the tank to climb walls, and explore some areas for secrets, but it is not used nearly enough nor to great effect and is executed just enough that you know it's a feature that exists. A few things that do spice things up though are "skills", "combos" and "large vehicles". Skills can be purchased from the shop that do a fairly large variety of things and are worth exploring, though the game won't pose much of a challenge outside of Expert difficulty if you indulge in them (as Expert disables skills). Combos are achieved by destroying just about anything without getting hit; higher combos generate more jewels from enemies which can be used to buy skills from the shop, and you can be inside a large vehicle and get hit and still maintain your combo, so the conditions are lax. Large vehicles are vehicles your gel and tank can both board and function in much the same way as they do in Metal Slug. Large vehicles can run over most enemies as well. It's worth noting that unlike Marco and company, your gel has no default close-quarters knifing abilities, though they won't get hurt by touching enemies (most large vehicles can still hurt though).
The last thing of merit to mention is that the game was recently translated into multiple languages, one of which is English. The developer translated it themselves using ChatGPT and says that the quality is terrible, but as a native speaker, I think they did a good job with the English translation -- it has personality and few noteworthy errors in which to speak of. While I could say more about Gel-Tank as a whole, it would really start digging into the particulars, so I'll wrap things up. The game lasts a few hours and is a fun romp while it lasts, but it's a little on the pricey side. If you've got deep pockets, then give it a go by all means. If not, then $5-10$ seems fair. I hope more of Technodot's games make their way to Steam and I will keep an eye on them from here on out.
