About Recoil
Recoil was one of those late-’90s PC gems that slipped under the radar but still manages to stick in your memory. You jump into the driver’s seat of one of several futuristic tanks, each decked out with a distinct look and loadout. Right from the start, the game makes you feel like you’re in an action movie, tearing through rocky terrains and neon-lit cityscapes while dodging enemy fire and turrets.
What really hooks you is the mission variety. One minute you’re on a stealth recon run gathering intel, the next you’re in a full-blown assault trying to take out a heavily defended base. Each level throws new challenges at you—environmental hazards, air strikes, even crazy boss encounters that test your reflexes and your tank’s capabilities. It never gets stale because you’re constantly juggling strategy with all-out carnage.
On top of that, there’s a surprisingly deep upgrade system. You earn credits for completing objectives and racking up kills, then spend them on beefing up armor, boosting speed, or unlocking new weapons like plasma cannons and guided missiles. Fine-tuning your rig becomes its own mini-game, and swapping parts around keeps you crafting the perfect war machine for your style.
Even though Recoil’s graphics feel a bit dated today, there’s a charm in its chunky polygons and pixelated explosions. It never tried to be a hardcore sim—more like an arcade blast with a bit of strategy sprinkled on top. For anyone who grew up before every game had photoreal textures, it’s a fun reminder of a time when gameplay ruled and you could load up split-screen rounds with a friend for some simple, teeth-grinding tank battles.