D.O.T. Defence

About

D.O.T. Defence is a single player and multiplayer real-time strategy game with warfare and comedy themes. It was developed by Rattleaxe Games and was released on April 15, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Welcome to the frontlines of D.O.T. Defence! Build towers, muster armies, and conquer the map. Fight local matches in 1v1, 2v2, or free-for-all battles against friends and AI-controlled bots. Victory comes with the last HQ standing!

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94%

Audience ScoreBased on 52 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

D.O.T. Defence features a unique blend of tower defense and RTS mechanics, making it engaging and accessible for both newcomers and seasoned players.
The game boasts a charming art style, catchy soundtrack, and a variety of game modes, including local multiplayer, which enhances its replayability and social experience.
Players appreciate the strategic depth and fast-paced gameplay, with matches designed to be short and intense, making it perfect for quick gaming sessions.

Some players have noted issues with the pacing and flow of gameplay, which can lead to a lack of engagement, especially in the early stages.
The game currently lacks online multiplayer options and features like control remapping, which some players find limiting.
There are concerns about the difficulty curve, with some missions feeling either too easy or too hard, potentially affecting long-term replayability.

gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
53%
14%
The gameplay of Defence is a well-crafted blend of tower defense and autobattler mechanics, offering fast-paced, engaging experiences for both casual and veteran players. Its strategic depth, intuitive UI, and appealing pixel-art aesthetic make it accessible while still providing meaningful choices, though some reviewers noted that expanding unit variety could enhance long-term engagement. Overall, the game is praised for its addictive nature, clever mechanics, and vibrant visuals, making it a standout in the real-time strategy genre.
- “The core gameplay revolves around defending your headquarters by strategically deploying units from carefully positioned towers and spawners, using the placement of said spawners to overwhelm enemy areas with enough units to take it over.”
- “This balance between ease of entry and meaningful strategic choices helps keep the gameplay engaging, as players constantly adapt to changing battlefield conditions and the moves of their opponents.”
- “Defence instantly hooks you with its fast-paced blend of tower defense and action RTS gameplay.”
- “The pacing kept getting interrupted, and the gameplay didn’t flow in a way that pulled me in.”
- “Furthermore, although the game offers a solid roster of towers and commanders, expanding the variety of units and abilities could enhance strategic diversity and keep the gameplay feeling fresh longer.”
- “Defence is a minimalist strategy game with fast-paced gameplay, eye-pleasing visuals, and low system requirements.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The story mode is praised for its engaging and intricate design, offering multiple solutions to puzzles and introducing players to various units and factions through diverse missions. While the campaign features enjoyable challenges and a playful tone, some players note that it can become repetitive over time, potentially affecting long-term replayability. Overall, the narrative experience is seen as a strong point, especially with the potential for future expansions.
- “Has a really fun and extensive story mode with levels that unfold like a puzzle box!”
- “I like the playful tone, intuitive controls, and the mission variety.”
- “Just when you think you’ve figured things out, a new mission or enemy type changes the equation.”
- “✖ might feel repetitive – with missions becoming easier, long-term challenge and replayability take a hit.”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
23%
33%
The game's graphics are highly praised for their clean, colorful pixel-art aesthetic that combines nostalgia with modern design, making it visually engaging for both newcomers and seasoned players. The art style, along with fun sound effects, contributes to a distinctive and immersive experience, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the gameplay. Overall, the visuals are described as eye-pleasing and well-suited for a minimalist strategy game.
- “This approach, supported by a clean, readable pixel-art aesthetic and an intuitive UI, makes the game highly engaging for newcomers while offering enough strategic variety and gameplay depth to satisfy seasoned strategy enthusiasts.”
- “The first thing that grabbed me was the art style—clean, colorful, and distinctive.”
- “Defence embraces a pixel-art aesthetic that combines nostalgia with modern design sensibilities.”
- “Defence is a minimalist strategy game with fast-paced gameplay, eye-pleasing visuals, and low system requirements.”
- “The first thing that grabbed me was the art style—clean, colourful, and distinctive.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers significant replayability through its diverse towers, commanders, and multiple game modes, including a campaign, defense mode, and skirmish/multiplayer options. Players appreciate the variety and humor, which enhance the experience, although some note that missions can become repetitive over time, potentially diminishing long-term challenge. Overall, the potential for custom content could further extend replayability.
- “The inclusion of multiple towers and commanders, each with unique abilities, adds variety and replayability, encouraging experimentation with different tactics.”
- “In addition, the game has numerous buildings and commanders to unlock, which offers more variety and replayability later. There are 3 game modes: the main campaign, which teaches you as you play with new units and abilities while offering unique challenges; the defense mode, where you must hold off against waves of enemies using limited resources; and my personal favorite, the skirmish/multiplayer mode, which can be played solo for those who would rather surround themselves with robots than real people.”
- “I would say the game is absolutely worth the asking price with the potential it has, and if a workshop is added later for custom skirmish maps, the game will have basically unlimited replayability.”
- “The campaign was surprisingly deep and challenging, and I love how replayable the wave defense/skirmish modes are.”
- “✖ might feel repetitive – with missions becoming easier, long-term challenge and replayability take a hit.”
- “In addition, the game has numerous buildings and commanders to unlock which offers more variety and replayability later. There are 3 game modes: the main campaign which teaches you as you play with new units and abilities, the defense mode where you must hold off against waves of enemies using limited resources, and the skirmish/multiplayer mode which can be played solo for those who would rather surround themselves with robots than real people.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in Line War has received high praise for its killer soundtrack, which enhances the game's personality and overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the nostalgic yet fresh blend reminiscent of 90s RTS games, contributing to the game's engaging atmosphere and gameplay.
- “Line War's pathing mechanic, massive army control, a killer soundtrack (literally sitting at the menu thinking 'no way this is going to be a bad game with music like this'), a personality of its own seeping through my screen, it's got it all.”
- “Banger soundtrack, fun jokes, excellent gameplay.”
- “Graphics and music are incredible, a nice mix of nostalgic for 90's RTS/Advance Wars, but newer and fresher!”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is described as hit or miss, but it offers a refreshing lightheartedness and replayability, enhanced by its meme-inspired elements, such as the amusing soyjack loading screen. Overall, players appreciate the fun and quirky comedic touches throughout the game.
- “The game's humor is a little hit and miss, but it's a breath of fresh air to have a lighthearted, fun, and replayable game with a meme quality to it. For goodness' sake, the developers made the initial loading screen the soyjack pointing at the menu; that's just hilarious.”
- “The humor in this game is genuinely funny and adds a unique charm that keeps you engaged. The witty dialogue and clever references make every interaction enjoyable.”
- “I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously. The jokes are clever and often catch you off guard, making for some truly laugh-out-loud moments.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users indicate that not all early access games suffer from significant stability issues, suggesting that some titles can launch with a relatively stable experience.
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and server issues that ruined the experience.”
- “There are too many bugs that disrupt gameplay and hinder progress.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences performance drops during high unit production, indicating room for optimization, especially since the user's PC can handle more complex strategy games without issues. Despite these stutters, the overall gameplay remains functional.
- “I still see performance drops when producing a lot of units.”
- “To its credit, the game still plays quite well even when things are getting a bit stuttery, but my PC is able to handle much more complex strategy games with much higher unit counts without so much as a whisper, so I feel like there's optimization to be done.”