Defend the Rook

Defend the Rook is a rogue-like tactics game that’s challenging enough to make you earn your victories while keeping you ready to try again when it beats you. If you like strategy games, this entry is worth adding to your Switch library.

77%Game Brain Score

gameplay, replayability

story, stability

78% User Score Based on 182 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

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About

Defend the Rook is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by One Up Plus and was released on October 26, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Defend the Rook" is a challenging tower defense game that requires strategic planning and quick thinking. Protect the rook at all costs by placing towers and using abilities to fend off waves of relentless enemies. With procedurally generated levels, each playthrough offers a unique experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 182 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

story8 negative mentions

Defend the Rook offers a unique blend of turn-based strategy and roguelite elements, providing a variety of upgrades and tactical choices that keep gameplay engaging.
The game features a smooth user interface and enjoyable mechanics, making it easy to pick up and play while still offering depth for strategic planning.
Players appreciate the high replay value due to randomized upgrades and the ability to experiment with different builds and strategies throughout multiple runs.

Many players find the game lacks depth and becomes repetitive after a few runs, with limited content and a simplistic campaign structure that doesn't evolve significantly.
The difficulty scaling is inconsistent, with some players reporting that the game is too easy, especially in the early ascension levels, leading to a lack of challenge.
There are complaints about balancing issues, particularly regarding the randomness of upgrades and spells, which can lead to frustrating experiences when luck plays a larger role than strategy.

gameplay
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The gameplay is characterized by a high level of challenge and strategic depth, set on a chessboard with procedurally generated elements where players must defeat waves of enemies while protecting the rook. While the core gameplay loop is solid and offers a blend of turn-based combat and tower defense mechanics, some players feel it lacks sufficient content and build diversity to sustain long-term engagement. Overall, the game provides a smooth experience with interesting mechanics, though it may not fully explore its potential.
- “The game design and gameplay loop in this game are freaking amazing.”
- “Turn-based roguelike that when you really get into the flow of the gameplay, plays almost as slick as real-time.”
- “Characters and the gameplay have loads of different attacks with perks and upgrades to unlock, together with procedurally generated battles makes for lots of replayability.”
- “It's a shame that the core gameplay loop hasn't been explored more carefully, as I had really high hopes after the first run.”
- “I've completed the storyline after my first run, and the variations in the gameplay aren't different enough to feel worth exploring.”
- “Currently, 'Defend the Rook' has neither a journey experience nor a gameplay experience.”
story
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
72%
16%
The game's story is generally considered weak and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting its bland writing and repetitive nature across multiple playthroughs. While it provides a basic fantasy context for the gameplay, it fails to engage players or offer meaningful progression, leading to a sense of frustration with its cyclical narrative. Overall, the story serves more as a backdrop to the strategic elements rather than a compelling reason to play.
- “It’s a quick and simple story that adds some fun fantasy context to a strategic board game.”
- “The story serves the gameplay, and I think it does so well.”
- “I'm on the 5th or sixth playthrough and while cyclical in nature, each playthrough is different in pretty meaningful ways, and the story actually jives with the fact that you are playing in a sort of trapped time loop.”
- “The story isn't a saving grace either as it's so bland and badly written that you can pretty much discard it.”
- “Unfortunately, this game fails to deliver a sense of strong story progression.”
- “It's not a very important point in the game, but the story is terrible and made even more terrible that you will repeat it, and its 'plot twist', every game.”
replayability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
27%
17%
The game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the high replay value due to unlockables and procedurally generated content, others feel that it diminishes significantly after reaching certain milestones, limiting long-term engagement. Overall, it offers fun gameplay and interesting lore, but lacks depth for sustained replayability beyond a few playthroughs.
- “Totally worth it, high replay value with unlockables.”
- “Really good... better than expected... very replayable.”
- “Characters and the gameplay have loads of different attacks with perks and upgrades to unlock, together with procedurally generated battles, making for lots of replayability.”
- “It's perfect for one or two playthroughs, but its rogue-like elements aren't enough to be replayable.”
- “But as it stands now, there is not much depth and replay value.”
- “I get more replay value out of the free Jupiter Moons demo than I did this game.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
36%
21%
The graphics feature a blend of 2D and 3D elements, with a focus on 2D for storytelling and static-camera 3D for gameplay, creating an engaging board game environment. While the art style and varied character designs are praised, some users noted issues like blurriness and visual clutter from previous scenes, suggesting that the overall aesthetic is acceptable but could benefit from improvements. The sound and visuals complement each other well, enhancing the gaming experience despite some graphical shortcomings.
- “The sound and visuals work well together to make a static board game environment interesting to sink some time into.”
- “Great art style of your team and the varied enemies/bosses and a good UI make this a joy to play and so addictive.”
- “The blurriness I can work with (heck, I still play EverQuest to this day, original graphics), but things like being able to see elements from previous scenes around the edges of the current scene is more than a little jarring.”
- “It's aesthetically acceptable and its music is pretty good, but nothing amazing.”
- “The art style is a combination of 2D and 3D elements, with the world and story presentation largely in 2D, and the board and gameplay largely in static-camera 3D.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
9%
8%
The music in the game is described as unexpectedly epic, effectively balancing "thinking music" with orchestral elements that enhance immersion in high-stakes scenarios. While it may not be a soundtrack listeners would enjoy outside of the game, it is generally considered good and aesthetically acceptable, contributing positively to the overall experience without being particularly remarkable.
- “The music is more epic than I was expecting.”
- “Defend the Rook strikes a really nice balance between 'thinking music' and 'orchestral pieces'.”
- “Although it’s not a soundtrack I would listen to outside of the game, it does a really good job at immersing you in the world, where the stakes are high and the outcome uncertain.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a unique chess-inspired aesthetic that enhances the turn-based combat and tower defense mechanics. Players appreciate the helpful user interface and the way the atmosphere complements the static-camera gameplay, creating an engaging experience.
- “The user interface is very helpful and the atmosphere adds a nice touch to the static-camera gameplay.”
- “An interesting game that blends turn-based combat and tower defense gameplay with a unique chess-inspired atmosphere.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is well-optimized for the Steam Deck, running smoothly without performance issues; however, players have criticized the controls as subpar.
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its significant bugs, leading many users to advise against recommending it due to stability issues.
- “Unfortunately, the game is too buggy to recommend.”
- “Unfortunately, the game is too buggy to recommend.”