Kingdom Rush

The whole setup and the ideas of the game are very good and also playing it is fun. But there are some drawbacks (at least in the Steam version that I own): * Difficulty can be rather unbalanced at times. Some scenarios can be real difficult and then the next scenario (with supposedly higher difficulty level) will be outrageously simple. * Ok, my Windows PC is not the newest one, but most games with much higher graphic demand work real good with it. But this game is ridiculous slow, when changing screens. Even when going back from a scenario to the overview or the entry screen, you wait and wait and wait and nothing seems to happen. At least, inside one scenario, the game shows no performance problem. Without these problems, it would be a clear 5star game for me. So, when you look for a colorful, funny and fun game with Fantasy-flair, this is a good place to look for. But be aware, that after a while, the game also can become a little tedious.

Kingdom Rush is a charming tower defense. It is characterized by four different tower types. Archers, mages, fighters that stand on the enemy path and can block enemy movement, and artillery that excels at area damage. The choice between archers and mages is made by the resistances of enemies. Ghost can only be damaged by magic, while demons have high magic resistances. You also take one hero into missions. These are not overpowered, but can be controlled freely and efficient placement can make a critical impact on the outcome of a mission. KR is not a deep complex strategy game. It is about finding a working combination of towers to block an endless stream of wolves, or simply have enough firepower to bring down one of the many bosses. The lack of complexity is mostly felt by the imbalance of towers. The Tesla x104 and the Crossbow Fort in the second game, Frontiers, are clearly most deadly. The Tesla towers are even so overpowered that you can win many missions without the need of other towers. KR and Frontiers are basically the same game. In KR your hero starts every mission at level one and level during the mission. I think this is more balanced approach compared to in between mission leveling in Frontiers, because it makes usage of heroes from the start of a mission more meaningful and depends less on mission grind. What both games do very well, and Frontiers even more than the first game, is the charming backgrounds and enemies. Wolves are cute and ferocious to your fighters. Bosses are funny while able to disintegrate any towering golem that blocks their path with a snap of their fingers. In missions you can find snow monsters frozen in an ice cave that you can free with a firestorm and then recruit. In other missions you are helped by troll eating plants, or a Frankenstein lab. By the end of both games I would have like some more variety of towers, but the variety of enemies and mission environments kept both games fresh and interesting.

It's hands down the best Tower Defense game I've ever played. (at least according to my personal preferences) It's very witty, full of funny popular culture little references all over the game. Great gameplay. It's just so much fun! Works flawlessly on Linux.

A game I didn't expect to like this much, yet now it is something I reinstall from time to time (same as FTL), and work my way through, completing every level and making sure the upgrade tree is filled, and every character fully upgraded before I uninstall again. For a long time I thought some of the bonus levels were impossible, but I have now completed them as well. This is a surprisingly addictive game, where short bursts of play become extended sessions. Charming.