You wanna know how much I like tanks? I played this arcade title knowing fully well its inaccuracies might tick me off, yet somehow I enjoyed it enough to warrant a review of my experience within it. Simulators are fine and dandy, yet sometimes you just want some raw action without requiring a field guide to play. You might just want to point and shoot, watching things go boom! Lil’ Sherman is good at that while also providing adequate eye candy in colors far livelier than the sad ol’ shades of brown and grey one might notice in nearly all WW2-themed projects. As the Steam debut for Dabster Entertainment, I’d say they hit the ground running while dabbing at the same time.

No history lesson here, just pure arcade fun since you’re being thrown into the thick of it. Quite the alternate history in fact, as apparently the Jerries (Wehrmacht, if you’re feeling fancy) have invaded Switzerland for some reason. Neutrality AND the only place in Europe during WW2 where everyone stored their “questionably acquired goods”, no longer seem to carry much weight apparently. Regardless of that, Uncle Sam saves the day once again. Or does he? That’s up to you, since you’re the one coordinating this absurdly difficult front. As if the Swiss landscape wasn’t already challenging, the local supply infrastructure would quickly become a logistical nightmare for any invading force, since even the bridges and tunnels are rigged to blow-up at the push of some buttons and levers. Yet somehow the enemy still managed to swarm in large numbers, to the point at which it becomes comedy material.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2037735432

I fondly remember reading an old review for Blitzkrieg Anthology which describes the anachronistic late game phase for the Axis campaign with something around the line: “if Germany had so many heavy tanks operational in 1945, they would have won the war”. Yeah, they’ll throw nothing short of the (heavily armored) kitchen sink at you, while the last line of defense seems to be a glorified green fridge that’s cosplaying as a medium tank. The M4 Sherman may be the US Army’s most widely used tank (they built close to 50.000 of them, refrigerator factories worked around the clock) but it really didn’t hold a candle to a Panzer IV (nevermind Panthers or Tigers which used Shermans for “target practice”) or the constantly upgunned T-34. Fortunately for the M4, this is a fantasy setting. You’ll get plenty of upgrades which can be easily purchased in-game through natural progression.

Not the most eye-catching design, but it’s cheap and we can stack dozens of them on a single transport ship. I’m talking of the tank, not the game which is certainly better looking than many of its tower defense competitors on the Steam Store, by virtue of novelty at least. I get it, dev team went for the cartoon style and it suits both the subgenre and the somewhat lighthearted approach to a very bloody conflict. Of course it’s a Unity project, but you still won’t see me complaining. I never had performance or stability issues with this graphics engine in over four years since I’ve been testing it out in hundreds of indie games on Steam. Sure, those 4 maps are just reversed and rehashed off the same basic layout (no snow in sight, must have been a really hot Swiss summer), but at least the titular tank and its armored opponents are sufficiently diversified. I wish there was a way to disable the intrusive HUD, screenshots would look far better without all those stats and bars clogging the view.

Elevator music for a soundtrack or not, I was pleasantly surprised by the one-liners which act as voice acting in Lil’ Sherman. They’re actually shouted by your stereotypical drill sergeant, an element I found very welcoming. It certainly adds personality without torturing us with some terrible German accents (I’m looking at you, Man in the High Castle!) that would almost be considered war crimes in their own limited capacity. The opposing forces remain blissfully silent. Play some Rammstein in the background and you’re good to go.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2037735222

If Lil’ Sherman would have aimed for a modicum of historical accuracy, those Panzer VI Tigers would have run out of fuel and ammo far sooner than getting knocked-out by a handful of Shermans shooting at the same time. Instead you’ll get to blow them to smithereens in a few shots with a single Sherman, but definitely not a conventional turret. You can quickly upgrade to far bigger guns (we’re talking mobile howitzers here) and even cutting-edge missile barrage platforms. Indeed, I was further flabbergasted to notice that the “evil greys” were sporting tank designs that resembled M48 Pattons and even T-72s. Oh, the things arcade titles resort to in order to freshen up a batch and call it diversity. I will however give credit where it’s due, it would have been dreary to blow up the 753rd slightly bigger or smaller clone of a single tank design by the time I was done with the fourth and final map of the game. Don’t mistake their scarcity for an easy fight. It’s far from that and I couldn’t ask for anything better in terms of a challenge.

But here’s an idea, why not use “tanks” from the other Axis powers? Surely some Japanese or Italian tankettes would be worthy opponents for an M4 Sherman. Hell, even a machinegun-strapped tractor with shoddy plate welding (New Zealand’s Bob Semple design) could take on a Type 94 or an L3/35! Use your imagination, there are so many form factors that never get enough attention even as the butt of a joke in MMO tank sims. In all seriousness though, there is plenty of upgrading here to warrant a sustained playthrough. And you’re far from defenseless here, Lil’ Sherman’s a self-respecting tower defense at its heart. In the short time span you’re not being Zerg-swarmed, you can lay all sorts of traps and auxiliary platforms shooting at your foes while also acting as a buffer which absorbs damage instead of your tank. Victory requires a careful mix between mobility and strategic placement of those friendly structures, but that’s standard procedure, right? You must defend your very fragile base, an aspect that can end the game prematurely if you’re too focused on the offensive.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2040466166

A lil’ price for a fun game indeed. It was recently bundled, so quite a few players got to experience this amusing interpretation of a souped-up Sherman obliterating entire panzer divisions through sheer firepower and determination. Plenty more TD fans will join, I’m sure. You’ve got more reasons to enjoy it than not. Even crusty armchair generals such as myself need a well-deserved break from the hideous face of true warfare simulations. If you’re itching for an arcade tank experience minus tower defense elements, look no further than Panzer Elite. It’s on Steam and yes, there are green fridges in it as well!

+ Challenging enough.
+ Steam Achievements.
+ Pleasant graphics and sounds.
+ Adequately priced given its humorous gameplay.

- No Steam Trading Cards yet.
- Gets repetitive fairly fast.
- Anachronisms.

Rating 65/100

This article was submitted for Imperial Reviews through the generous contribution of the game’s developer and the Curator Connect program. Following my Curator Page, will help me keep publishing new reviews as soon as I can. I appreciate your support!

Liked the look of the Artwork, and the idea of upgrading a basic tank into something much more effective.
Where the game falls flat on its face is movement, combat and pretty much everything else. The playing area is restricted and movement is by WASD but its jerky and nowhere near as controlled as it needs to be. Your defence is partly armour, partly movement and line of sight. Which works OK till you are just swarmed by 3-5 opponents. To shoot its the right mouse button and you have to guess deflection.
So what happens is you kill three or four tanks then its game over and you go back to the workshop. Maybe you've enough for an upgrade and you find some of the upgrade are designed for specific missions and not really helpful.
All the while there's inane thematic shouting.
It all depends if you find the game funny, entertaining or in any way gripping.
I couldn't get past the first map. Don't think it comes even close to simulating a Sherman or armoured warfare.

UI and controls are really bad and counter-intuitive. Some fun but wasn't quite ready to be released.

if you search for a quick fun acion based tower defence game, lil' sherman is the right call for it. It is pretty simple and easy to get into. You can build turrets (ofc xD) to help you fight against the ongoing onslaught of the german tanks.

The game as such has a couple of in Battle upgrades as it has some upgrades for your tank in between battles in form of
3 Types of main guns
- Tank gun
- Shotgun
- Flak cannon

3 Types of Secondary weapons
- Mashine gun
- Twin rocket launcher
- Rocket pod (like the Calliope)

same goes for the shermans armor and engine.

There are 6 Different kinds of turrets/towers for you to place down and each one of them has different strongpoints so it is best to try them out and see how they do.

The campaign might be short with 4 lvls but each map brings a different kind of challlenge, if it is multiple attack directions or different kinds of enemys. After the campaign u still have the option to play the endless mode which are the same lvls as in the campaign but you fight until u die ^^

The controls are very easy. Every button you need is displayed on screen anyway and you have always the option to switch the type of tank control in real time which is a rly nice feature IMO

In total:
A Fun and nice Action Tower Defense game if you have little time to spare. It is definitely worth the price. It's weirdly addicting to gather the ressources in battle and place down lines of towers and mixing the different tower types to beat the enemy. It feels very statisfying

not very good ui, annoying to switch weapons, passive turrets are meh, animations and voice acting are meh

All I can say really is that this one took my by surprise. I reminds me almost of those games one would play in computer class.

The gameplay isn't as bad as others make it out to be at least for me. I was able to grasp it easily enough between upgrading my skill tree and switching between the different turrets in the game.

I can say with certainty the fun is in the endless mode. I feel like the lil campaign is there to get you used to the game with its 4 maps. Don't feel bad about the second level if it starts to kick you in the butt often, it's much easier for the last 2 levels.

Endless mode is where you get to have fun just wrecking other tanks and trying to outlast the enemy. Although I received the title for free, I can say whole heartedly I would have paid the original price had it been recommended before.

It is a simple game but has a good challenge and hits the right balance between being relaxing but still requiring some good gaming strategy.

Art style is fun. My only major gripe is that there isn't good feedback for when you get shot. Should add some camera shake or something because it's kind of hard to know if you are in the danger zone sometimes.

For the price this is an easy recommendation from me. You can easily kill a few weekends with this and return time and again for some casual fun.

This is such a great game! If you like tower defense, shooters, tanks, explosions and a bit of strategy then this game is for you. It has its challenging moments like trying to balance driving a tank with building guns and defenses for your base and saving up resources to improve your tank but it quickly becomes very addictive and fun. With a skill tree, tank upgrades such as armour and various guns and cannon there are lots of options to explore. I have to admit that my favorite part of the game is failing a level and being yelled at by my commanding officer. The graphics are excellent in a cartoon fun sort of way, the music is catchy and upbeat. The Dev's are a lovely bunch who have poured a lot of passion into the game and it really shows in their attention to detail and gameplay. 10/10

A deceptively 'cute' looking game that comes with some extensive strategy and action elements!

I liked it enough to do a quick look (curated gameplay and commentary) here: https://youtu.be/Su1iS7WhSgY

Were you able to beat my best? Let me know!

Best $5 bucks you can spend on a solid, challenging, action packed tower defense! I've been following the development of this game and I think all of Dabster Entertainment's hard work paid off. I intend to spend more time with lil' sherman but wanted to give my toot salute so that if you are looking to engage in rpg elements, upgrade not only your towers but your tank and grow a hatred toward mini tanks, get. this. now.