War of the Human Tanks is a story driven strategy game with a gameplay reminiscent of Battleship and Chess, featuring a story of war, loyalty, sacrifice and human shaped tanks.
The game places players on a top-down grid, challenging them to deploy their "human tanks" - humanoid mecha units - across the battlefield. Drawing inspiration from the classic game of Battleship, the enemy's positions remain initially hidden, forcing players to strategically maneuver and search to locate and eliminate the opposition.
Unlike traditional turn-based strategy games, this title features a real-time combat system. Players must issue orders to their units in real-time, as the enemy tanks are also moving and acting independently. This creates a fast-paced, reactive gameplay experience, where players constantly assess the battlefield and make split-second tactical decisions.
Between missions, players can research and unlock new tank types, as well as equip various modules that enhance their unit's capabilities. This allows players to tailor their forces to suit the challenges of each battle, offering a high degree of strategic depth.
The game utilizes a fog of war mechanic, obscuring the locations of enemy units until they are scouted or engaged. Carefully maneuvering scout units becomes a crucial part of the strategy, as players must balance the risk of exposing their forces to gain vital information about the enemy's positioning and movements.
In this game, most units can be destroyed in a single hit, leading to a high degree of unit expendability. This creates a gameplay dynamic where players must be willing to sacrifice their human tanks in pursuit of victory, leading to tense and often bittersweet moments as beloved characters are lost in battle.
The game's story-driven nature, with multiple branching paths and endings, means that player decisions and performance in battle directly impact the narrative. Losing certain key battles can lead to alternative storylines and outcomes, encouraging replayability and a deeper investment in the game's events.