Duke of Defense
- April 4, 2019
- Christopher Anselmo
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Duke of Defense" is a tower defense game where you play as the Duke, defending your castle from invading forces. Build and upgrade towers, use special abilities, and manage resources to survive each wave of enemies. The game features a variety of environments, enemies, and upgrades to keep each playthrough fresh and challenging.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a charming art style and an engaging soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- Gameplay is fun and addictive, blending tower defense mechanics with hack-and-slash elements, allowing for strategic tower placement and upgrades.
- The humor and story are enjoyable, making it a light-hearted experience that appeals to both tower defense fans and newcomers.
- The control scheme is clunky and lacks mouse support, making gameplay feel awkward and frustrating, especially for seasoned tower defense players.
- Unskippable cutscenes and dialogue disrupt the flow of the game, leading to frustration when retrying levels or boss fights.
- The game suffers from balance issues, with some levels being overly difficult while others are too easy, and certain towers overshadowing others in effectiveness.
- gameplay14 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally enjoyable, featuring a fun and addictive tower defense loop that draws inspiration from "Pixeljunk Monsters." While some players appreciate the upgrade mechanic tied to tower positioning, others criticize the intrusive and unskippable dialogue cutscenes that disrupt the flow. Overall, the game is seen as a short, entertaining experience, with ratings ranging from 7 to 9 out of 10.
“The mechanic of standing in/over your tower over a set period of time allows you to 'upgrade' your tower.”
“Fun gameplay, fun writing, fun characters.”
“The gameplay loop of the tower defense elements of the game are fun and addicting.”
“Your gameplay isn't unique here.”
“I absolutely hate this mechanic in 'Pixeljunk'.”
“The gameplay is heavily inspired by Pixeljunk Monsters.”
- music13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its engaging and catchy tunes, enhancing the overall atmosphere and experience. Reviewers highlight the impressive soundtrack, which complements the game's visuals and retro style, although some express difficulty in finding the soundtrack outside of Steam. Overall, the combination of music and art creates a delightful experience for players.
“Ho-ly heeellll is the soundtrack awesome or what?!”
“Me and my brother played this game on the Switch a while back; we first bought it since we were looking for retro 2-player games, and the soundtrack caught us completely off guard.”
“My only problem is that I can't find the soundtrack anywhere but on Steam.”
“-decent soundtrack”
“The music and sound effects together blend well to put you in the atmosphere.”
- story12 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The story in "Duke of Defense" is surprisingly engaging for a tower defense game, featuring humor and interactive elements that enhance the gameplay experience. While some players appreciate the fun and well-crafted narrative, others note inconsistencies, such as unexplained skill point allocations and questionable mission design. Overall, the story receives high praise, with many reviewers rating it between 9 and 10 out of 10.
“Duke of Defense is a tower defense game with some great humor and a story that's better than some of these 20+ hour tower defense games.”
“The game is also a pretty fun short story.”
“Duke of Defense has cutscenes that go along with the story.”
“Don't force people to watch your story if they don't want to.”
“- Some missions didn't give skill points with no explanation as to why.”
“- Had a mission where there was a shortcut path to the castle that only got used on the final wave; just a cheap thing to do, especially with the main fighting space being on the other side of the map.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 9 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, clean visuals, and vibrant colors, contributing to an engaging aesthetic experience. While the art style and music receive high marks, some players noted issues with color differentiation during boss attacks and the inability to skip cutscenes. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point of the game, enhancing the overall enjoyment.
“The art style is great.”
“Very nice music, visuals are clean and clear.”
“The game has nice pixel art style with pleasant colors, and just great music.”
“My only two problems with the visuals are that some boss attacks are the same colors as their indicators and sometimes similar colors on the level floor, and the fact that I cannot skip cutscenes and dialogue.”
“It's like Pixel Junk Monsters, but it has a bit of its own flair; the graphics are charming.”
“Graphics and audio are both very well done; the game is sprinkled with humor for the entire duration of it.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in "Duke of Defense" is a standout feature, with players appreciating its lighthearted and whimsical storytelling that enhances the gameplay experience. While some reviews mention inconsistent attempts at humor, many find the game's comedic elements, such as absurd scenarios and quirky characters, to be genuinely entertaining and enjoyable throughout. Overall, the humor contributes significantly to the game's charm and fun factor.
“Duke of Defense is a TD game with some great humor, a story that's better than some of these 20+ hour TD games.”
“Duke of Defense is a humorous tale about a knight's rise to the duke of defense and his tale of defending the land.”
“When you're just being the best duke of defense that you can be and a helpful deer comes along so you can ride on its back to take out an ice wizard, you just start laughing out of nowhere. You realize, wow, I'm having such a good time.”
