Firing the cannon is for chumps: anyone who is a true gamer knows that attacking in a tank comes from smashing with your treads, spinning the barrel, and engaging the boost! That is the premise of SLAM TANK, developed by Next Stage Inc. When AI decides to threaten humanity, you answer the call to deal as much damage as possible to their forces with your battle-tank.
A demo for the game is available via October 2026's Steam Next Fest, occurring between 10/19 and 10/26. Play the demo (and thousands more) while you have the chance!
IS SLAM Tank worth playing?
In short? Yes.
Oh, you want something longer?
How about "Yesssssss". But also, it's complicated (more on that later).
The central idea of this game is phenomenally goofy, but the demo ain't long so it's worth a peek at it yourself. As you drive forward through the given level, you can smash through walls, storage containers, explosives; even your enemies as you head to the next combat arena. It's incredibly satisfying to boost through a stage, grinding around turns and scattering pixels to the wind beneath your treads. The soundtrack blasting tunes is very enjoyable, as well, so there's no shortage of adrenaline-inducing moments even in a downturn.
Once engaged in a conflict, combat has almost a soulslike feel where you can light attack, heavy attack, dodge, parry, and use skills to battle the AI. Proper timing of your boosts allows you to dash through a red-colored attack from an AI-driven bulldozer or dump truck, keeping you constantly moving and slamming (but alas, no shooting or blasting). It feels silly, but it's just good fun in the end, and the creativity on display is something else. I especially enjoyed the train-boss at the demo's end; if all the bosses are as entertaining as that one, SLAM TANK will be an absolute blast to play (no pun intended, because...you know...you don't use the cannon).
The damage you deal and the enemies you smash are turned into a score via the money accruing in the top-right, the AI forces' total billable losses mounting up as you wage a one-tank war on them. I assume "Leverage" is a combo meter of some kind, but I never saw it go down so maybe it just builds as you do well? Or maybe I'm just so good it never went down...
Why is my recommendation "complicated", you may ask yourself, if I have nothing but positive things to say about its fun-factor? The complications arise from your opinions on AI content.
Ironically, despite the premise of the story being a war against AI, SLAM TANK relies on AI in its development. Steam does not allow for hiding the use of Generative AI on its platform; as such, a warning on the bottom of the game's Steam Page says this: "Generative AI-assisted tools were used during development to assist with programming tasks and to create or refine selected 3D models. All AI-assisted code and 3D assets were reviewed, edited, tested, and integrated by the development team. AI-assisted tools were also used for selected Steam marketing artwork. The game does not generate content with AI during gameplay and does not connect to an external AI service."
If that's a problem for you, best head for the exit. It's a shame, 'cause the game is super fun, but if you have a hard stance on this stuff, it is what it is. For what it's worth, I tend to frown on it as well, but I didn't notice until after I played the demo and went looking for an image for the thumbnail - that's when I saw the clamoring against the game's AI usage online. I am ashamed to admit the sheer fun I had may allow me to overlook the AI and Wishlist it anyway. I'm not a super-hardliner against such things, if they're used within reason.
SLAM TANK does not currently have a release date, but you can find the demo during the Steam Next Fest here.
Are you interested in SLAM TANK? Did you play any other cool demos during October's Next Fest? Let us know in the comments below!
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