Battle Ranch
- February 1, 2015
- Playboom
- 15h median play time
Battle Ranch is not a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination, but it provides little unique to add to the Tower Defence formula, let alone the established kings of the genre.
Battle Ranch is a single-player strategy and tower defense game, where you manage a farm and defend it from hordes of enemy pigs across 200 levels. Its humor and addictive gameplay may keep you engaged, but the grinding and less-than-stellar soundtrack may be a drawback for some. Your goal is to protect your crops and expand your farm, while also upgrading your towers and tactics to fend off the increasingly challenging waves of pig enemies.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game offers a lot of content with over 200 levels and multiple game modes, providing hours of gameplay.
- It features a unique twist on the tower defense genre by incorporating mutant plants and resource management.
- The game is inexpensive, making it a low-risk option for fans of the genre.
- The game is widely regarded as a cheap and poorly executed clone of Plants vs. Zombies, lacking originality.
- It suffers from performance issues, including low frame rates and lengthy loading times, which detract from the gameplay experience.
- Many players find the gameplay to be slow and tedious, with a lack of engaging mechanics compared to its inspiration.
- graphics49 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the colorful and charming cartoonish style, while others criticize the low quality, poor optimization, and lack of graphical options. Many users report issues such as low frame rates, graphical glitches, and a general amateurish appearance, leading to a consensus that the visuals are subpar, especially when compared to similar titles. Overall, while some find the graphics acceptable for the game's price, the majority feel they detract from the overall experience.
“The graphics are colorful and charming, with a cartoonish style that adds to the game's lighthearted atmosphere.”
“I know how hard it is to make a successful video game or web project or piece of software; this is a work of art and it deserves the credit due for any extremely difficult craft that comes out great.”
“Great graphics!!!”
“L tried to love this game, but this stable 16-18 fps (completely not optimized), boringness (maybe it's because everything is so slow and easy?) and graphics (low quality) just irritate me.”
“The graphics are ugly, music/sounds are bad and gameplay mechanics are horrible!”
“Probably ported mobile game, running at 720p, no graphical options whatsoever and everything locked nicely at 18 fps... don't touch it.”
- gameplay48 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Battle Ranch" is largely seen as a derivative and less engaging version of "Plants vs. Zombies," featuring similar mechanics but lacking the challenge and polish of the original. While it attempts to introduce new elements like watering and fertilizing plants, these often feel tedious and detract from the overall strategy, leading to a frustrating and slow-paced experience. Many players find the gameplay repetitive and boring, with poor documentation and erratic animations further diminishing enjoyment.
“This game is a fusion between farming and tower defense gameplay by way of time-critical puzzle mechanics, depicting the long-standing, roughly historically accurate war between hogs and vegetables in a war over the player’s ranch.”
“The gameplay has its own charm which makes it different from Plants vs. Zombies.”
“It's okay; it's Plants vs. Zombies with enough different things here and there, bonus stages and whatnot, different things to grow and get currency for to buy defenses and some extras to squeeze a lot more gameplay out of it.”
“Now if you don't care about this game being a cheap ripoff, that's fine, but the gameplay portion is arguably excruciating; it's beyond boring to the point of being upset with yourself that you committed to this grind of a game.”
“Sadly, most of these mechanics are more annoying than actually fun; they add unnecessary tasks that take away from the strategy of the game.”
“The gameplay gets boring fast because it's too easy.”
- story25 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it unoriginal and lacking depth, often describing it as boring or poorly executed. While some appreciated the attempt at a narrative involving Viking wild boars invading, they felt disconnected from the characters and plot. Despite the main storyline's simplicity, players noted that the game offers various modes and challenges that can extend gameplay beyond the story itself.
“The background story is that Viking wild boars are invading some land, and there is no one to defend it but vegetables.”
“Thrilling storyline with breathtaking twists!!!”
“The story mode has 50 levels divided into five seasons (the regular ones + unpredictable) plus a couple of special levels for each season.”
“It can get boring easily once you finish the main storyline.”
“It's quite unoriginal and it has a small 'story' that's just hilariously bad and uninteresting.”
“Lacks oomph - what I mean by this is I'm not connected to the story, or the units.”
- music21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many users describing it as bland, repetitive, and poorly fitting the game's seasonal themes. While some acknowledge a few decent tracks, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack lacks inspiration and quality, with issues like bad looping and choppy sound effects further detracting from the experience.
“I know how hard it is to make a successful video game or web project or piece of software, graphics, visual art, video editing, music composition, you name it; this is a work of art and it deserves the credit due for any extremely difficult craft that comes out great.”
“The music is alright, and you can tell they took heavy inspiration from PVZ on that as well.”
“Nice game with beautiful music.”
“The music is bland.”
“Music is quite boring, and the art style is nothing to write home about either.”
“Music is repetitive.”
- humor13 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as inconsistent, with some players finding it amusing due to funny graphics and quirky character designs, while others criticize it as dry and unoriginal. While the game features humorous elements like comical plants and boar characters, many reviewers feel that the overall comedic impact is lacking, with some even labeling the storyline as "hilariously bad." Overall, the humor is seen as a mixed bag, appealing to some but falling flat for others.
“Funny game.”
“Has a lot of missions and game modes, the plants look and play quite funny, the attacking boars have some nice skills and unique sounds, and you are busy quite some time beating the game.”
“Plants have all the funny stuff about the worlds, and the zombies characterized, the costumes for the plants and scenery and everything, while battle ranch have simple characters (seems to be viking boars, I found it comic) and what changes is the weapons and armor.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often comparing it unfavorably to similar titles like Plants vs. Zombies. Achievements require significant effort, and the lack of a replay feature adds to the frustration, as players must replay entire levels to correct missed opportunities. While some enjoy the farming mechanics and the option to automate tasks with a gnome, many feel that the overall grinding detracts from the enjoyment of the game.
“A clone of Plants vs. Zombies, except more tedious.”
“I've already given it a tedious hour of my life, and I don't trust it with any more.”
“Getting some of the achievements requires a lot of grinding; the micro-management feels a bit tedious, and a lack of a replay feature means if you miss getting a gold star on one level, you need to replay the entire game again.”
- stability6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, graphical glitches, and occasional freezing during level transitions. Players have reported that these problems severely impact gameplay, making it difficult to enjoy the experience.
“The game is buggy and will freeze on you sometimes when trying to load a new level.”
“There are a couple of graphical glitches.”
“Buggy and laggy.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from poor optimization, featuring outdated graphics reminiscent of the mid-90s and subpar performance that feels inadequate even for older hardware like the Pentium-133. Overall, these issues significantly detract from the gaming experience.
“Poor optimization.”
“That explains everything: the idea was stolen from PVZ, the graphics are crappy enough for the mid-90s, and the performance is lousy, reminiscent of the time when a Pentium 133 was considered high-end.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by colorful and charming graphics, featuring a cartoonish style that contributes to its lighthearted feel.
“The graphics are colorful and charming, with a cartoonish style that adds to the game's lighthearted atmosphere.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the lack of convenient controls, noting that the absence of hotkeys and the inability to pause the game can detract from the emotional experience, making it difficult to fully engage with the game's narrative and moments.
