Defold

Free 2D Focused Cross-Platform Game Development Defold is a completely free to use game engine for development of desktop, mobile and web games. There are no up-front costs, no licensing fees and no royalties. The source code is made available on GitHub with a developer-friendly license. The Defold editor runs on Windows, Linux and macOS and includes a code editor, debugger, profiler and advanced …

Genres & Tags

Free to Play

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 104 reviews

replayability3 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Defold is a lightweight and efficient game engine that is easy to use, especially for 2D game development.
The community and developer support for Defold are excellent, with active forums and helpful resources available.
Defold allows for true cross-platform development, enabling users to build games for multiple platforms with minimal hassle.

Defold has a steep learning curve for beginners, particularly due to its unique approach to Lua scripting and project structure.
The engine lacks some essential features and conveniences found in other game engines, which can lead to frustration during development.
There are occasional stability issues, including crashes and bugs, particularly on Linux systems.

optimization
10 mentions
20 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
Defold is highly praised for its optimization, offering a lightweight and efficient engine that excels in creating simple 2D games with minimal memory usage and great performance across multiple platforms, including HTML5 and mobile. Users appreciate its ease of use and quick learning curve, making it suitable for both professionals and hobbyists, while noting that it outperforms other engines like Godot in terms of optimization for 2D projects. Overall, Defold is recognized for its flexibility and ability to handle complex games without sacrificing performance.
- “The engine runtime has minimal memory footprint, being lightweight and efficient, providing great performance.”
- “Defold to me is indeed a stronger choice for optimized, small engine size, and easy cross-platform 2D for professionals and hobbyists, whereas Godot has less optimization but provides an easier time getting started with 3D for hobbyists.”
- “Over time, I have used a variety of game engines, mainly the big titles that everyone knows or has heard of, but never has there been any engine that matches Defold in both flexibility and performance.”
- “Simple, cross-platform solution with focus on performance and memory footprint.”
gameplay
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-500 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its user-friendly design and thorough documentation, making it accessible for prototyping despite having fewer features than more complex game engines. This minimalistic approach emphasizes that simplicity can enhance the overall gameplay experience.
- “Easy to use and well documented, this game engine may not be as packed with features as other powerful, trendy options, but its learning curve makes it easier to prototype progressive gameplay. The minimalistic approach of 'less is better' truly shines through.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are intuitive and engaging, allowing players to immerse themselves fully in the experience.”
- “The balance between challenge and accessibility in the gameplay keeps players coming back for more, making it a rewarding experience.”
- “The gameplay feels repetitive and lacks depth, making it hard to stay engaged for long periods.”
- “There are numerous bugs that disrupt the gameplay experience, leading to frustrating moments.”
- “The controls are unresponsive at times, which can make executing actions feel clunky and unsatisfying.”
replayability
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the game highly enjoyable and note that it offers significant replayability, making it a fun experience to revisit.
- “This game offers endless replayability with its diverse gameplay options and multiple endings.”
- “I love how each playthrough feels unique, making me want to dive back in for more.”
- “The variety of character builds and strategies keeps the game fresh every time I play.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is positively highlighted by users, who appreciate the supportive community and the enjoyable testing features, such as hot reloading and debugging, which enhance the overall experience.