Artisan TD
- July 22, 2024
- 4rtisans
- 11h median play time
Get on SteamIn Artisan TD, join the Artisan's Guild to conquer the Archipelago of Chaos, building tower mazes to free corrupted magical warriors' souls and defeating 4 primordial TITANS with a wide range of actions and upgradable towers. Experience 30 unique maps, vanquish specific minions, and manage a small economy, all with handcrafted passion and precision. Playable with a controller and optimized for large screens and 4K.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Beautiful graphics and charming art style that enhance the gameplay experience.
- Challenging gameplay that requires strategic thinking and planning, especially on higher difficulties.
- The ability to restart from any previous wave allows for experimentation and optimization of strategies.
- The game feels more like a puzzle than a traditional tower defense, with limited strategies and one optimal solution for each level.
- Difficulty spikes can be frustrating, especially as the game progresses, leading to repetitive trial and error.
- Lack of meta progression and upgrades makes the gameplay feel restrictive and less rewarding.
- gameplay58 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its engaging mechanics, strategic depth, and beautiful graphics, with many players appreciating the intuitive maze-building and tower mechanics. However, some critiques highlight a lack of customization and upgrade options, leading to a linear experience that can feel restrictive. Overall, while the game offers a solid challenge and unique ideas, it may frustrate players seeking more dynamic gameplay elements.
“Gameplay and graphics are both well done without sacrificing one for the other.”
“Very engaging gameplay with a nice difficulty curve!”
“The gameplay mechanics are both intuitive and strategic, making each game unique and exciting.”
“Most tower defense games try to get too clever and have lots of complications that cause it to ultimately be broken, usually by being too easy, or by having mobile-game/grind mechanics.”
“The presence of the ability to retry a level from any wave is a great inclusion, but it is unfortunately a required mechanic of the game for you to trial and error your way to finding the developer's exact intended build pattern, instead of the quality of life feature it would otherwise be.”
“Completing missions with no lives lost gives you nothing, and there are no points to make your units better, etc. what you see on screen is what you have, so there's no way to develop strategies according to your preferred gameplay.”
- graphics50 mentions
- 66 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beauty, charm, and attention to detail, often compared to classic titles like Warcraft 3. Many players appreciate the unique art style that enhances the overall experience, although some note that the darker levels can detract from visibility. Overall, the visuals are considered a highlight, complementing the gameplay without overshadowing it.
“Very good take on a tower defense genre, with charming graphics and great selection of maps, towers, and units.”
“The fantastical universe is beautifully crafted, with stunning graphics and meticulous attention to detail.”
“With enchanting graphics and an immersive soundtrack, this game draws you into a fantastical universe where every decision matters.”
“Instead of levels, we have boards, and the fantasy-inspired aesthetics are a mere throwback to the game’s Blizzard-inspired roots, as there is very little lore and pretty much no story or dialogue.”
“If you have a background in graphic design, you’ll notice a few glaring details: the fonts are divorced and suggest conflicting notions, gothic lettering for menu items, while the header glides over all with its unrelated stone age aesthetic.”
“The art style is pale and uninspired; all towers are unrecognizable. Flash games from over 15 years ago did this better.”
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with minimal lore and no driving narrative, leading to a gameplay experience that feels more like a series of puzzles than a cohesive journey. While some players appreciate the game mechanics, they express a desire for a more developed storyline to enhance the overall experience. The lack of narrative elements results in a focus on strategy and execution rather than character or plot development.
“Another nice thing is that not all missions have the same towers available, so sometimes you will have to find workarounds for not having your heavy hitter or dedicated anti-air.”
“This makes the game basically a puzzle in which you're constantly resetting the mission to yet again try a new tower position till you find the one the developers wanted.”
“If this game had a little more storyline - and it does have some story elements, which I like - it'd be close to being on par with Defense Grid.”
“Instead of levels, we have boards, and the fantasy-inspired aesthetics are a mere throwback to the game’s Blizzard-inspired roots, as there is very little lore and pretty much no story or dialogue.”
“As there’s no story or driving narrative, your setting will be defined by its design and form.”
- music11 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its chill and fitting quality, enhancing the overall experience without being annoying. While some reviews highlight the soundtrack's depth and immersive qualities, others find it somewhat basic compared to other titles in the genre. Overall, the combination of good music and appealing graphics contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
“The music is chill and fitting.”
“With enchanting graphics and an immersive soundtrack, this game draws you into a fantastical universe where every decision matters.”
“I really love the work you've done in all domains (gameplay, visuals, and music).”
“The soundtrack is a Jack Sparrow rip-off and winning is unrewarding, as there is nothing you get outside of the level, except the progress to the next level.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting high resource usage even on high-end systems, leading to performance issues and crashes. While the studio is actively working on addressing these problems, the current state hampers the overall experience, despite the game's potential and enjoyable mechanics.
“If it solves its optimization issues and overhauls its UX, Artisan TD has the potential to become a storefront gem.”
“Amazing tower defense with the possibility of making your own optimized path on every map.”
“The highest difficulty is extremely hard; it has been made to perfectly fit the most optimized way to do it.”
“What’s less tight is the game’s optimization: even with a high-end rig, you’ll find that the resource usage is unreasonably high for the number and complexity of assets onscreen.”
“Finally, there are performance issues which include game crashes, as many reviewers have noted.”
“The game looks nice and is enjoyable to play for the first 4 levels, but you don't get more than 3 different towers and no matter what GPU you have, it runs at 100% performance.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with many users noting its overly simplistic mechanics and limited upgrade options. While some players appreciate its classic tower defense elements, the absence of diverse strategies and upgrades significantly diminishes the incentive to replay. Adjustments to tower and mob balance could potentially enhance the game's replay value.
“Others manage to have lots of different upgrade options and different variants, which offers higher replayability.”
“I think with the right adjustments to tower and mob balance, the game would be immediately more playable.”
“Overly simple and not much replay value.”
“Great classical tower defense game with zero replayability.”
“Towers have no real upgrade (3 levels + 1 mega upgrade for 1 tower per map) so there's not much replayability or things to try.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is minimal, with some players appreciating the challenge without excessive frustration. The option to restart specific waves enhances the experience, preventing the gameplay from becoming tedious. Overall, the game offers a balanced approach to difficulty without heavy reliance on grinding.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The ability to pick which wave you can restart with is a good addition; otherwise, the puzzles would be tedious.”
“It is challenging but not to the point of grinding frustration.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent crashes and numerous bugs, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the lack of reliability significantly detracts from gameplay enjoyment.
“Being forced to find the same layout repeatedly, combined with how buggy it is, is a hard miss.”
“A buggy mess that crashes regularly.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviewers noted that character development suffers from a lack of distinctiveness among enemies, making it difficult to differentiate them during gameplay. While acknowledging the limitations of pixel design, they suggest that improved character design could enhance clarity and player experience.
“It took a long time to be able to distinguish between some of the enemies. I know there's limited pixels to design on such a limited space, but better character design would allow for easier distinguishability.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with any of the characters.”
“I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful choices in character progression; it felt like my decisions didn't really matter.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by a diverse range of towers and enemy types, contributing to a relaxed and enjoyable gaming experience.
“The game features a wide variety of towers, different types of enemies, and a wonderfully chilled atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is immersive, drawing you into the game's world with its unique design and sound.”
“Every level has its own distinct vibe, creating a captivating atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
