Defender's Quest

If you love tower defense games you must buy this. The game is well balanced, the UI is expertly designed with everything logically laid out, the tutorial mode is really well done, the music is good, the graphics are basic but functional, everything runs smoothly and the gameplay is sublime. I like that everything is so well presented and easy to understand. When you hit enemies, you see the amount you are deducting from their HP. I like that you can level particular skills. I like that you can buy equipment and it shows you the effect of the upgrade before purchasing. I like that you can undo skill assignments. I like that you can customize characters. And .... loot. I like that you can pause in battle and issue commands. This is VERY similar to Crystal Defenders, but where that game was punishing, had strange difficulty spikes and oppressive DRM (must have an active net connection), this game, thanks to more transparent RPG and levelling dynamics, never feels unfair - and is contains no DRM or IAP. There is a story, and it seems fairly basic but it is not important to the main game loop and you are able to disable all the story elements if you wish. I decided to watch the cutscenes as they are not too invasive or time consuming. I LOVE this game. I can't recommend this highly enough. My best purchase this year.

Found this game from a recommendation from Newgrounds. I like tower defense games, even though most of them are samey on concept and design, even those that change their mechanic's feel samey to me. What makes this one more different than any of the other games? One word, writting. We actually have world building in this game, we get to understand why everything is what it is, and it's explained why we are playing this game as a TD format. You may think well why not Defense Grid or Orc's must Die? They have good stories, and to that I say they do have stories, but I think they have better presentation. This one just nails it out of the park when it comes to story development. I won't go over the story to keep from spoiling it, the game-play is... well if you played a TD you know how it goes. If not it's basically you have a grid in which has three points, one is the roads where the creeps come from, the core in which your trying to prevent the creeps from getting too, and then you have spaces where you can play towers (people) to try to kill the creeps from reaching the core. The creeps come in waves, you can upgrade towers, and your core has powers also. And for those who are used to TD's, you can also acquire armors and weapons for more damage and defense, and there is also a challenge mode . A steller game from start to finish, not to mention probably the first License and Terms Agreement that I could actually understand (weird to talk about, in which why I'm talking about it here since is so amazing that they did that). Not sure if I would say this be your first TD, but give it a whirl if your tired of other TD that are all the same.

I play through this game again every year or two. It's super relaxing to just sit back and watch your characters fight back hordes of undead, and then getting to choose exactly how they get stronger. The NG+ content also offers some really cool specialization. It's everything I love about Tower Defense games, with the XP system of a simple RPG added in. Highly recommend!

I'm not proud to admit I spent almost 80 hours on this game in a short amount of time, and into the + mode. I bought it on Steam quite a few months ago and was thoroughly impressed with the depth of the stats, skill tree's, and gameplay. If you enjoy tower defense and RPG's, then look no further. Charming writing, excellent old school graphics, and so many ways to beat a map. I can't wait for the sequel.

Defender's Quest combines the classic tower defense formula with RPG elements in a way that feels both classic and fresh at the same time. Because it works within the established TD formula, it's familiar and accessible. Because it replaces towers with hired heroes who level up, learn new active and passive skills, and equip new gear, it's offbeat and original. The art is both childlike and gritty. The story, the game's weakest point, is still functional and effective, and the simple characters are fun and relatable. It's a little short, but there's replay value both in beating older missions on higher difficulties and in starting a new adventure with new hero builds. Overall, a charming and unique hybrid of the Tower Defense and RPG genres.