Off the AppStore: Grow the Gigaturtle!

• Help a turtle achieve its full potential through tapping and growing
• Fight your way through rocks and much tougher opponents to earn evolutionary cells
• Evolve new attacks and body parts to become the fabled Gigaturtle

Welcome to Off The AppStore, a weekly feature with a twist. Namely, that while these - as with all the games we cover here - are games that you can play on your phone, they're ones that operate outside of the realms of the big two ways to play: The Google Play Store and the Apple AppStore.

That means that there might be a bit of work required in downloading alternative AppStores or APKs, or that the games can simply be played in your phone browser. We'll make sure to detail that for each game though. Anyway, read on to find a new game or experience to play Off The AppStore.

Despite all the Super Mario propaganda to the contrary, turtles are awesome. They were neighbours with dinosaurs, and they're still going strong after all these millions of years. It may have something to do with the fact that they carry the equivalents of a suit of armour and a housing unit with them at all times, despite being quite peaceful creatures. Still, no one ever said that turtles were completely harmless. In fact, there are multiple species of turtles that have been known to bite with such force that you could say goodbye to all your fingers and toes if you cross the wrong one. ArtyomDev may be bringing us such a turtle and challenging us to raise it in Gigaturtle.

You have been given the responsibility of watching over a small green turtle (or perhaps a tortoise, since it seems to be land-based). The turtle is locked in a deadly "survival of the fittest" situation where it must grow stronger if it hopes to overcome the onslaught of obstacles and dangers in its path. To start off, it'll work on defeating inanimate objects like rocks and benches to increase its resilience and gain fighting experience. However, all of this experience is cultivated within its body, in its cells.

By tapping the turtle and its target, you can simultaneously keep the turtle healthy while making the opponent unhealthy. The more you fight and tap, the more cells the turtle will earn. These cells are the key to unlocking the turtle's true potential. It'll start to grow new appendages and learn new abilities that it will use automatically to support your tapping power. These can include spikes and acid spit, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The more cells the turtle earns, the closer it gets to true evolution and the road to becoming the fabled Gigaturtle that will rule all.

Gigaturtle is a 2D pixel-art idle tap game about helping a turtle grow and evolve as its opponents get bigger, tougher, and more alive. Tapping is the primary source of strength for attacking and healing, and it must be done consistently to earn the cells you need. Every cell is a building block in evolution for this turtle. But remember, evolution occurs over thousands, if not millions, of years, so don't be shell-shocked if it takes a while.

Gigaturtle is available to download and play from its itch.io page!