The new World of Tanks hero shooter is shockingly fun, and the beta is still up for a few days

I consider World of Tanks none of my business. Other than a brief window over a decade ago when I dabbled in Wargaming's treads-based shooter, the free-to-play oldie has otherwise turned me off with aggressively monetized progression that favors players with deep pockets.

So it's with skeptical eyes that I'm playing World of Tanks: Heat, a new hero shooter-adjacent spinoff of the original PvP tanker that's currently running a closed beta. It wasn't on my radar a week ago, but so far it's a blast.

I say "adjacent" because, while Heat has hero shooter trappings like abilities and ultimates, it's also got World of Tanks simulation stuff running under the hood. Location damage is modeled down to the individual armor plate, with impact angle, distance, and ammo penetration determining whether a shell glances off without making a scratch or immobilizes your tank entirely.

Still, Heat's tone is fantastical—the Steam page reveals that it takes place in an "alternate post-WW2 timeline shaped by rapid scientific progress and global cooperation." That sure does sound like a fantasy these days.

The promise of a leaner, faster, "instant action" take on World of Tanks' plodding face-offs was was backed up when I loaded into a 5v5 Kill Confirmed match (a mode straight out of Call of Duty) and pressed F to summon a Reinhardt-like energy shield in front of my tank. As an enemy tank drove circles around me in a futile attempt to outmaneuver my shield, a teammate sniped their fuel tank from a mile away, blowing them up instantly and collecting their dog tag.

Wargaming is bringing the, ahem, heat that I'm in the mood for these days—matches are short, modes are simple and recognizable, but the combat has a totally different rhythm than anything else I'm playing. Because you can't just leap around a corner or slide into cover, Heat is more about positioning and timing. You're going to take damage, but you can outplay other tanks by protecting critical components (fuel tanks, ammo bays, crew chambers), flanking, and making yourself the smallest possible target.

Again, that's all true if you've played World of Tanks any time in the last decade, but the limited match size, smaller arenas, and quick respawns of Heat give it a gladiatorial pace. It's a far cry from my dated memories of hiding in bushes and getting shelled by artillery tanks kilometers away. I'll pass on simulating being killed by an enemy I can't even see.

The words "critical hit" accompany a gratifying "ding" when you damage something important. Triggering my ultimate plays a cutscene where my "agent" Chopper calls in an artillery strike from inside the tank. Earlier I flanked a team by climbing up an aircraft carrier, then shot a guy while barrel-rolling off the side of the upper deck. My tank bounced 12 feet in the air and took zero damage from the fall. Heat is goofy—I like it so far.

There's also a whole progression system where you can level up tanks and equip different modifiers. I haven't messed with that yet, and most of it isn't present in the beta right now, so there's still time for Heat to muck it up by giving paid players the best tanks or something silly like that. Fingers crossed.

If you want to one-up my barrel roll, the Steam page has sign-ups for the closed beta running for a few more days..