Five rules before the first shot: the safety briefing, honestly reviewed

Verdict in brief: Tank Avenger’s safety briefing isn’t an annoying mandatory pop-up — it’s one of the most considered opening sequences we’ve seen in a mixed-reality game. It appears every time you start, it costs a few seconds, and it shows its rules on a mini diorama. For families it’s a genuine plus. For regular players it becomes routine soon enough, and that’s fine.

What the briefing shows

Once you launch, a big title appears: SAFETY FIRST, with “BEFORE YOU DEPLOY • A QUICK LOOK AROUND” beneath it. A console headed “CHECK YOUR ROOM” lists five rules, each with a crossed-out pictogram:

1. No pets in the room. Cats and dogs can’t see the battle, and you can’t see them.
2. Nothing on the floor. Cables, toys, shoes and bags have to go.
3. Keep your distance from furniture. Tables, shelves, stairs, windows and glass aren’t part of the game.
4. Nobody else in the play area.
5. Stay on the glowing tiles. Never walk backwards blind, mind your head, take a break if you feel dizzy.

The diorama beside it

The real trick sits next to the console. A holographic living room rotates on a turntable and plays the rules on a loop of about eleven seconds. A dog made of blocks trots out. Scattered objects float away. Exclusion rings pulse around the sofa and table. A person leaves the play area. At the end, the floor turns green.

Each rule lights up as its scene plays. That’s clever. Children and casual players won’t read five lines of text. A short animation, they’ll watch.

What’s happening in the background

The briefing isn’t a dead waiting screen. While it runs, the game scans the room. The scan status sits in the corner. It turns green once the room is ready, with a note that floor setup comes next.

The ALL CLEAR • LET’S GO button becomes active after about 1.4 seconds, once all the rules have been shown. The game waits for that click. Below it there’s small print: you play at your own risk, and the full notice lives under SETTINGS > INFO.

Does it help on day one?

Yes, for three reasons.

First, it fits how the game plays. Tank Avenger is played standing and walking. You circle a diorama on the floor and crouch down. Later you swing the controller through drone cables and throw a nuke out of the play area. Trip over a charging cable doing that and you’ve got a real problem.

Second, it names the right hazards. Pets and housemates are a real risk in mixed reality, because you’re focused on a scene on the floor. The rule about not walking backwards blind is exactly the one you need when circling the fortress.

Third, it explains the tile system. Rule five sets up the Recon screen, where you pick out the glowing tiles.

Does it grate from day two?

A little. The briefing appears on every start, not just the first. The game doesn’t describe an option to switch it off. Play three evenings in a row and you’ll be clicking LET’S GO fast.

But the time lost is small. The button goes live after roughly a second and a half, and the room scan runs in parallel anyway. Net, you lose almost nothing. And the repetition has a point: the room is different every day. Yesterday there was no bag on the floor. Today there is.

What’s missing

• No mention of lighting in the five rules, even though mixed reality needs a well-lit room.
• No short version for experienced players.
• English only. Young children will need help reading, and the diorama only partly makes up for that.

Tip for families

Use the briefing as a shared check. An adult walks through the five points in the actual room before the child presses LET’S GO. Tank Avenger is PEGI 7, and younger players in particular forget that the sofa is behind them. More on age ratings and requirements is on the store page.

What to watch next

It’ll be interesting to see whether future updates bring a shortened briefing for returning players. That’s a wish, not an announcement. Until then, the advice stands: don’t just read the rules, check them.

Verdict

The safety briefing is helpful on day one, routine by day ten, and never a real annoyance. It shows the game takes its own space requirements seriously. For a game where you walk around a battlefield, that’s exactly right.