AOD: Art Of Defense

About

AOD: Art Of Defense is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by Sateda and was released on December 1, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

AOD is a new gameplay in the traditional tower defence genre. You must protect your base from waves of approaching enemies. Build and improve your towers and units and destroy your enemies in any way you can. Don't be weak, destroy them all, show who's in charge!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 139 reviews

graphics5 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

Great tower defense game with a lot of content and enjoyable gameplay.
Visually appealing graphics and smooth performance, even on older computers.
Can be played for free without needing to spend money to progress, making it accessible.

Achievements are broken and do not work, which is frustrating for completionists.
The game is no longer supported by developers, leading to issues with in-game purchases and bugs.
Progression can hit a paywall, making it difficult to advance without spending money.

story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The story aspect of the game is described as a blend of joy and sorrow, with themes of love and loss woven into the narrative. However, many users find the overall story to be flimsy and lacking depth, often feeling disconnected from the characters and their motivations, as the gameplay primarily revolves around repetitive missions and resource gathering rather than a compelling narrative. While some players appreciate the emotional undertones, they express a desire for a more substantial and engaging storyline.
- “Embrace both the joy and the sorrow, for they intertwine to create a fuller story.”
- “She became a storyteller in her village, weaving tales that reflected both the beauty of love and the bittersweet nature of loss.”
- “Very hard to pick up but an awesome story.”
- “Dislike: the story should have been more developed; you're just conquering tiles and trying to keep your health at 100% each play.”
- “Sadly, the story feels like all freemium games...”
- “Although you might connect to the characters and relate, their stories are floating in a storyless bubble about gathering bits and pieces of something before the big bad wolf gets it first, so you must fight off thousands of suicidal foes.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
33%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their smoothness and appealing art style, with well-sized sprites that enhance visibility during gameplay. While many users appreciate the visuals as a standout feature, some note issues with optimization leading to lag on less powerful systems. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, reminiscent of classic titles, though there are calls for further improvements in performance.
- “Graphically, the game is very good and the sprites are a nice size so that we can easily see what is happening on screen, while there are no serious glitches or frame slowdowns with the animations when much action is happening.”
- “This is an excellent old school tower defense game, with terrific graphics and original tower design.”
- “The art style is what makes it stand out from other games (reminds me of Command and Conquer / Dune 2000).”
- “The only issue is the graphics are not optimized.”
- “Very laggy for non-intensive graphics.”
- “"Because iPhones don't need graphics tweaks, why should PC?" thought the greedy mobile developers. As tower defense games go, this is a shallow experience, but this was never designed as a serious game for gamers; it's a cash harvesting hustle aimed at mobile players.”
monetization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating that it isn't overly greedy compared to typical free-to-play titles, while others criticize it for being a cash grab with broken in-game purchases. Many users note the presence of microtransactions, which can enhance early gameplay but may become redundant later on, and while some players report being able to enjoy the game without spending money, others feel that progress is hindered by the monetization model. Overall, the game's approach to monetization seems to vary significantly in player experience.
- “Latter stages I'm sure the cost of microtransactions and what they provide will be redundant as the cost to reward ratio will be worthless, but early game it can be a real benefit.”
- “Lots of microtransactions thrown at you, but you can successfully play (if you're skilled) mostly free-to-play for many hours, maybe forever.”
- “Yes, there's microtransactions, but they are clearly labeled, and I'm having a blast without them.”
- “Aod: Art of Defense is a pay-to-play mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a nasty, greedy cash grab from morally void mobile app developers.”
- “Minimum effort and maximum monetization.”
- “I got about a half hour out of this game before progress was blocked by microtransactions.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay is primarily a simplistic tower defense experience that relies on basic screen tapping and features static images, but it is marred by time/paywalls requiring real money for progression. While some players appreciate the depth of content and engaging mechanics, others criticize the ineffectiveness of upgrades and technical issues that can lead to lost progress. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some finding it fun and engrossing, while others feel frustrated by its monetization and bugs.
- “But what it does do is deliver that tower defense gameplay you love with a depth of content rarely seen.”
- “This game really has a fun and engrossing gameplay.”
- “Rich gameplay, interesting progression, responsive developer.”
- “Gameplay consists of basic screen tapping to do simplistic tower defense gameplay on a backdrop of static images, where you will quickly find you're time/paygated and must buy in-game currency with real-world money to progress.”
- “With a lot of those upgrades being completely useless, as their effect on gameplay is so minuscule that you won't even notice it 99.99% of the time.”
- “I liked this game but after losing a few days of gameplay/progress due to a bug with the saves, I cannot recommend this game.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
80%
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability with no significant glitches or frame rate issues during intense action sequences. However, some users have reported minor bugs related to Steam achievements, indicating that while the gameplay is smooth, there are occasional inconsistencies in achievement tracking.
- “The game feels bug-free and offers a solid progression system.”
- “I haven't encountered any crashes or major issues, which makes for a smooth experience.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive, allowing me to focus on gameplay without interruptions.”
- “Steam achievements seem a bit buggy; for example, I got the level 70 character achievement, but didn't receive the level 20 one.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game; while some find light grinding rewarding and essential for progression, others view it as tedious, especially due to the lack of options for farming resources or replaying levels for rewards. Overall, grinding can enhance the experience for some, but it may frustrate others who seek more flexibility in resource acquisition.
- “Grinding for gold bars can be tedious as hell (well, unless this is the first freemium game you play).”
- “There's no reason to farm in this game, which is bad (want to replay previously completed levels to make some gold? Nope, you just can't).”
- “Made it way past level 100 before I couldn't progress further, and then after some grinding I was able to do it, and that felt great.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users generally find the game to have great replay value, indicating that it offers enough content and variety to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “Great replay value, at least for me.”
- “The game offers so many different paths and choices that I find myself coming back for more.”
- “Each playthrough feels unique, thanks to the variety of characters and storylines.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is initially engaging, providing laughs for about an hour, but may not sustain its comedic appeal over a longer playtime.
- “The humor in this game had me laughing for an entire hour!”
- “I couldn't stop chuckling at the witty dialogue and hilarious situations.”
- “The comedic timing and clever jokes made every moment enjoyable.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is characterized by cute sound effects and an engaging background score that players find enjoyable and fitting for the overall experience.
- “The cute sounds and background music are fantastic!”