Artificial Defense

About

Artificial Defense is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Thiemo Bolder, ONEMANGAMES and was released on June 1, 2016. It received positive reviews from players.

"Artificial Defense" is a unique game that combines elements of RTS, Tower Defense, and Orbital Shooter genres. Your mission is to defend your Operation System from intruding creeps using an arsenal of 21 offense weapons and 21 defense towers. As you progress, you can earn RAM to upgrade your arsenal and hardware levels, starting from an analog punch-tape system and evolving to a quantum AI. The game features 49 challenges across 7 servers and an original soundtrack to complement your gameplay.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 140 reviews

gameplay21 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of tower defense and orbital shooter mechanics, providing a fresh take on the genre.
The graphics and music are well-designed, creating an engaging atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
The progression system allows for satisfying upgrades and challenges, keeping players invested in improving their skills and strategies.

The controls can be unintuitive and may require time to adjust, leading to frustration during gameplay.
The game can feel grindy, especially when upgrades are strictly better versions of previous ones, making progression feel artificial.
Some players may find the gameplay repetitive, as the core mechanics do not significantly change throughout the game.

gameplay
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
66%
4%
The gameplay of the game is a blend of tower defense, orbital shooter, and RTS mechanics, offering a unique experience that can be both engaging and challenging. While some players appreciate the smooth mechanics and visual design, others criticize the obfuscation of controls and the steep learning curve, which can detract from enjoyment. Overall, the game features a variety of modes and mechanics that encourage strategic play, though the execution may frustrate some players due to its complexity and pacing.
- “The gameplay is addicting and difficult with many options of gameplay.”
- “Artificial Defense is a very cool, compact tower defense game with a unique style and dynamic gameplay!”
- “By combining top-down orbital shooter mechanics, tower defense, and RTS elements, this game is pretty unique.”
- “New mechanics mostly just add more pain points to the gameplay.”
- “The developers deliberately obfuscated what should be straightforward controls and gameplay, for no apparent reason other than to try to fit into their weird electropop theme.”
- “It took what felt like 30-45 minutes to really adapt to the game and its interface and understanding all of the mechanics, which in reality are really simple, but they're explained so abruptly it's hard to take it all in.”
music
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
39%
5%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its catchy and engaging electronic tracks, which complement the gameplay and visuals effectively. Many players appreciate the high quality of the soundtrack, noting its ability to enhance the gaming experience without becoming repetitive or annoying. Overall, the combination of great music and stylish graphics contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout feature for many reviewers.
- “The music is very catchy and the graphics are smooth.”
- “Great tower defense game with a great soundtrack!!”
- “The music fits the game like a glove!”
- “While the sound can use some variety, the soundtracks that come with the game are pretty upbeat and nice to hear.”
- “That said, if you get stuck on a level for a while, they can get quite irritating because the music just goes on a loop.”
- “What else would you expect than repetitive electronic music?”
graphics
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
60%
7%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their smoothness, minimalistic design, and unique aesthetic, effectively blending 3D elements with a clean, digital look. Many reviewers highlight the visuals as stylish and well-suited to the game's theme, contributing positively to the overall experience, while some note that although the graphics are not groundbreaking, they are functional and visually appealing. Overall, the combination of crisp graphics and engaging music enhances the gameplay, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The graphics are crisp and clean with a nice feel to them.”
- “The visuals are clean, crisp, and vibrant; the music is strong, and the menus are all quite sleek.”
- “The graphics, game mechanics, and the flow between levels are great.”
- “If you are looking for an action game with very poor graphics and poor controls with only a few tower defense elements, then this may be the game for you.”
- “The graphics aren't incredible, but they're functional and fit the theme of the game (since it takes place in a computer).”
- “The graphics are serviceable, but they aren't anything noteworthy.”
story
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
82%
9%
The game's story is minimal, revolving around defending a computer system from intruders, which some players find simplistic but fitting for the gameplay. While the narrative lacks depth, the variety of missions and objectives keeps the experience engaging, allowing for strategic gameplay and upgrades without the need for a complex storyline. Overall, the focus is more on gameplay mechanics than on a compelling narrative, which many players appreciate.
- “The attempt at a story is room for huge props considering the game could have easily gone without any explanation at all - you're just there to kill stuff and that's it.”
- “The background story is in a computer system, where you have to battle against hordes of intruders. It's not a completely new story, but it matches the game style, which is good.”
- “Each mission has a slightly different set of objectives (don't use this weapon or structure, gain this much RAM, conquer this structure, etc.), so despite there being only a few maps, each mission still feels different.”
- “The plot is simplicity in itself, simply defend a computer against corruption.”
- “The game's story is... well, nonexistent.”
- “And nobody misses said story.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overly tedious and frustrating, particularly when it comes to upgrading gear and defeating numerous enemies with limited weaponry. While some appreciate the concept and music, many feel that the grind detracts from the overall enjoyment, making it difficult to stay engaged. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback, overshadowing the game's unique features.
- “Good concept and music, but I wasn't able to finish it as it felt a bit too grindy by the end.”
- “Quite grindy if you're stuck on some levels and you just have to do your best before you fail to get as much money as possible to upgrade your current gear.”
- “Maybe when you upgrade everything this game would be amazing, I just don't want to go through the grind and not enjoy it along the way. I'm okay with grinding when it's done right.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The game boasts strong replayability, featuring seven unique board levels with diverse missions and adjustable difficulty settings that enhance the challenge. Players appreciate the vast array of gameplay styles and a robust reward and upgrade system, contributing to an experience that feels infinitely replayable.
- “The game features 7 different board levels, each with 7 distinct missions and various completion criteria, along with 3 difficulty levels that increase the number and speed of enemies, adding challenge and replayability to the game.”
- “Due to its enormous amount of possible gamestyles and fantastic reward and upgrade systems, the game offers a lot of replayability.”
- “Infinite replayability!”
- “The game features 7 different board levels, each with 7 distinct missions that have various completion criteria, but the lack of significant changes in gameplay makes it feel repetitive after a few runs.”
- “While the game offers a variety of gamestyles and a fantastic reward and upgrade system, the core gameplay loop becomes stale quickly, diminishing its replayability.”
- “Despite the multiple difficulty levels, the game fails to provide enough incentive to replay missions, leading to a lack of long-term engagement.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is praised for its strong performance and well-designed user interface, contributing to a smooth overall experience.
- “What I also like is the UI; it is very well thought out, and the performance is also very good!”
- “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the game to run efficiently, making it accessible to a wider audience.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a clean interface and a humorous DJ character that adds charm to the experience. Players appreciate the lighthearted and easy-to-follow tutorials, which effectively introduce the game's mechanics with a touch of humor.
- “The interface is clean, and the DJ is funny!”
- “This is in part thanks to the somewhat humorous but very easy-to-play tutorials that teach you the basics.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that achieving stability in games is a significant challenge for developers, as they strive to create an enjoyable experience that is also largely free of bugs while catering to varying player skill levels.
- “As a game developer and an avid gamer, I know the challenges of creating a game that is fun, relatively bug-free, and still presents a challenge for every player.”