Comparison

Explodey vs Pico Tanks

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Explodey

Pilot a fighter through exotic planets, battling enemies and solving puzzles to save the galaxy. Customize your ship with a variety of weapons and face challenging bosses. Engage in multiplayer battles with friends and unlock cosmetic hats.

Highlights
  • AAA side-scroller gameplay
  • Battle across 5 exotic planets
  • Customize fighter with diverse weaponry
  • Conquer ground and air units
  • Solve challenging puzzles
  • LAN multiplayer battles
  • Unlock cosmetic hats
Features
Read full description

The galaxy is in peril. Equipped with the latest weaponry, pilot your heavily armed fighter through 5 exotic planets to destroy the evil Dr Grag and save the Life Spark. Joining you on your journey is The Engineer, a silicon being capable of building anything you need. Unfortunately, he's also a bit of a jackass... ENGAGE THE ENEMY AND BLOW THEM TO BITS * AAA side scroller * Battle across 5 exotic planets * Conquer a large variety of ground and air units * Deliver precision strikes with an advanced dual joystick configuration * Solve challenging puzzles CUSTOMIZE YOUR FIGHTER WITH EXPLOSIVE WEAPONRY * 5 Ship Bodies - Each improving in destructive power as you progress * 5 Blasters - Normal, Spread, Heal, Cannon, and Sniper * 4 Rockets - Normal, Rapid Fire, Fire Ball, BIG ONE * 4 Bombs - Normal, Mini, Napalm, Fast Drop * 2 Special Weapons - Floating Mine, Shield BATTLE 5 CHALLENGING BOSSES * Battle The Ice Elemental, Mega Tank, Xenogiger, Zargbots, and Dr Grag - the evil mastermind who is holding the galaxy hostage * Recover each of 5 powerful crystals to re-ignite the Life Spark and save the galaxy * Follow along with a riveting story and cast of characters, including you (The Soldier), The Engineer, Dr Grag, and General Goat (The Leader of Resistance, Leader of The Knights of Galadorn, Defender of the Universe, and our pet). DESTROY YOUR FRIENDS IN MULTIPLAYER * Engage in LAN battles with friends. Show them who's boss by exploding them. INCREASE YOUR SOCIAL STATUS WITH HATS * Yeah, they don't do anything special except make you look awesome * Complete all levels and earn The General's Hat, complete with Cigar * Complete all achievements and earn The Mighty Beanie of Galderon. MAKE TRIPS TO THE TOILET LAST 4x LONGER * Forget sending email and browsing Instagram on the toilet - what a waste of time. Play Explodey for hours and hours and when your boss asks what's been going on, you can say EXPLODEY JERK. MORE INFO * Works with just the touch screen, but you can also use a gamepad (must be MFi compatible) * Headphones recommended to soak up the sound * The game is free to play the first world and to play LAN multiplayer. $2.99 unlocks the rest of the galaxy. You can also buy hats on the cheap or you can find them during missions. All proceeds go to tacos, coffee, the kids' college fund, and my next insane project. * iMessage stickers include a dancing engineer, for your dancing engineer convenience. Come chat on our Discord channel! https://discord.gg/7cRKNqD

About

Pico Tanks

Engage in fast-paced 3v3 tank battles with a focus on team strategy. Design and customize your own unique tanks with a vast array of weapons, abilities, and cosmetic options. Compete in various game modes and climb the leaderboards.

Highlights
  • 3v3 multiplayer battles
  • Team strategy focus
  • Tank customization
  • Multiple game modes
  • Weapon and ability selection
  • Cosmetic personalization
Features
Read full description

Pico Tanks is a fast-paced, energetic 3v3 tank brawler with a strong focus on team strategy. Design your own unique tank with thousands of possible gameplay-changing combinations. Group up with your friends and compete in spectacular 3v3 battles across multiple maps and game modes! Communicate with your team and overcome your enemies to claim victory in this team-focused real-time PvP battle arena. FIGHT IN CHAOTIC 3V3 GAME MODES Brawl in fast-paced action with friends or be matched with other players of a similar rank. Go head-to-head in intense real-time 3v3 battles with multiple modes available: ● Hold the Flag: Your team needs to capture the flag and hold onto it for the longest before time is up. ● Fetch the Cargo: One mighty tank in your team must grab the cargo before your opponents do and drag it to your base while the rest of the team defends. ● Team Deathmatch: Destroy the enemy tanks to score points for your team and win the battle. Attack your enemies, heal your allies, hide in the bushes, herd some sheep! Many more game modes will be added in future updates. DESIGN THE ULTIMATE TANK Design tanks to suit your style and your team’s tactics. You can also swap customizations during a battle to your advantage. Get crazy and creative designing your own tanks with oodles of customizations! ● Satisfying Weapons: Choose a weapon to suit your play-style. Like long-range? Perhaps the Sniper Rifle is perfect for you. Prefer short-range to get up close and personal? Try the Spud Launcher (it shoots the freshest potatoes). ● Load Up or Load Light: Choose a tank base with the stats you need to suit your weapon of choice. The more armored, the more abilities you can carry, or go light to zip through the battlefield. ● Power-Ups: Abilities are where it’s at. Deploy an airstrike to finish an opponent, or throw a repair pack at your friends. These can really decide a game! ● Personalize Your Look: Your tank deserves only the best in skins and toppers. Customize your tank with some character and expression. Tear up the battlefield with a Pizza skin and Rubber Ducky antenna topper, we won’t judge. Go crazy, show off, look awesome! PREPARE FOR MULTIPLAYER MAYHEM When the smoke has cleared, meet up with your team and adjust strategies to refine your skills. Upgrade your tanks, climb the scoreboards, and engage in a dynamic community. Unlock skins and toppers as you progress. Collect scrap metal to upgrade your tank bases, weapons, and abilities. New features, game modes, maps, and items will be added in future updates! Download Pico Tanks now for free and we will see you amongst the mayhem! Pico Tanks: Multiplayer Mayhem is free to download and play, but contains optional in-app purchases for some items using real money. Follow Pico Tanks on social media for news and updates Facebook.com/PicoTanks Twitter.com/PicoTanks Instagram.com/PicoTanks YouTube.com/PicoTanks Join the Pico Tanks community Reddit.com/r/PicoTanks Discord.gg/XBJRTb7 Awards and Recognition ● Winner - Gamer's Voice Award for Mobile Gaming, SXSW Gaming 2019 ● Finalist - Indie Prize Showcase, Casual Connect Europe 2019

Screenshots

Explodey4 screens
Pico Tanks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pico Tanks at 4.6 against Explodey's 3.9. Pico Tanks also leads on ratings volume (9.1K vs 9). Explodey's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Explodey sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Pico Tanks sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pico Tanks holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pico Tanks has 9.1K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Explodey's written reviews are positive against 58% of Pico Tanks's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Explodey ships an update every 3 days, Pico Tanks monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Explodey versus Pico Tanks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplodeyPico Tanks
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (9 ratings)4.6 (9.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better57.8% of reviews
Number of ratings99.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB1.3 GB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperYitYat StudiosPanda Arcade Pty Ltd

Customer experience

Explodey

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Pico Tanks

All ratings9,094 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews483 reviews
Positive57.8%
Neutral12.8%
Negative29.4%

Bugs and requests

Explodey

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Pico Tanks

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent crashes and disconnects
  • Matchmaking bugs
  • Incorrect/missing information in UI

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline/AI mode
  • More game modes
  • Ability to choose game modes
  • Clan/social features
  • Better progression system

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Explodey

One-time12
  • VR Goggles$0.99
  • Mohawk$0.99
  • Pirate Hat$0.99
Show 9 more
  • Plain Hat$0.99
  • Top Hat$0.99
  • Wizarding Hat$0.99
  • Hair Bow$0.99
  • Hard Hat$0.99
  • Elf Hat$0.99
  • Viking Hat$0.99
  • Cheese$0.99
  • Unlock All Worlds$2.99
7 purchases

Pico Tanks

One-time7
  • 100 Gems2 variants$1.99
  • Division 2 Pack$1.99
  • 280 Gems2 variants$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Special Offer (600 Gems)$4.99
  • 600 Gems2 variants$9.99
  • Special Offer (1300 Gems)$9.99
  • 1300 Gems$19.99

Questions

Is Explodey free?
Explodey is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pico Tanks free?
Pico Tanks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Explodey or Pico Tanks?
Pico Tanks is rated higher. Explodey averages 3.9 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Pico Tanks averages 4.6 from 9.1K ratings.
Do Explodey or Pico Tanks have ads?
Pico Tanks shows ads; Explodey does not.
Which is updated more often, Explodey or Pico Tanks?
Explodey ships an update every 3 days, and Pico Tanks monthly. Most recently, Explodey was updated on September 16, 2026 and Pico Tanks on October 14, 2026.

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