Element TD 2

About

Element TD 2 is a single player and multiplayer strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Element Studios and was released on April 2, 2021. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Element TD 2 is a standalone sequel to the popular mod, offering 6 elemental types and 59 unique towers. Cooperate with up to 8 players to create elemental synergies and strategically place towers against increasingly difficult waves, culminating in an endless boss fight."

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,000 reviews

gameplay72 positive mentions

story22 negative mentions

Great nostalgia for fans of the original Element TD from Warcraft 3.
Diverse tower combinations and elemental mechanics add depth and replayability.
Engaging multiplayer modes, including co-op and competitive options.

Performance issues, especially in late-game scenarios, can lead to significant frame drops.
The multiplayer player base is low, making it difficult to find games.
Some players find the campaign frustrating due to the need to constantly respec and adapt to changing maps.

gameplay
212 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
63%
3%
The gameplay of this tower defense game is engaging and offers a mix of strategic depth and variety, with multiplayer options enhancing replayability. While many players appreciate the mechanics and customization, some criticize the balance and certain design choices that can feel punishing or limit variety. Overall, it provides a solid experience for both casual and competitive players, though some feel it could benefit from additional content and refinement.
- “Its captivating gameplay, strategic depth, and polished design make it an absolute gem in the genre.”
- “Good gameplay, nice graphics, relaxing fun to sit back and set up some turrets and mow down enemies as they all come rushing forward.”
- “Incredibly challenging at the harder difficulties, it forces you to plan your strategy well in advance and cut your tower placement down to the bare minimum in order to take advantage of the 'interest' mechanic (you get more gold based on how much reserve gold you have).”
- “Tl:dr: if you played Element TD 1, it has far fewer towers compared to that game; most changed mechanics just feel punishing/annoying and extremely unbalanced.”
- “Gameplay is boring.”
- “This causes gameplay that has limited variety and is very one-dimensional.”
graphics
164 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
62%
10%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the vibrant and unique visuals that enhance the tower defense experience, while others criticize them as sub-par or reminiscent of older games. Many comments highlight a charming, albeit inconsistent, art style, with some assets appearing outdated or poorly integrated. Overall, while the graphics are appreciated by some for their creativity and nostalgic appeal, others feel they need significant improvement to match modern standards.
- “The graphics and layout are incredible.”
- “Beautiful graphics, plenty of depth and strategy, and the map will throw you curveballs right about the time you're feeling comfortable and thinking 'I got this' to make you adjust your strategy.”
- “The graphics are pretty darn good for a tower defense game.”
- “It also has graphics from the early 2000s and an interface from the 90s.”
- “It's basically a collection of old Warcraft 3 assets, which means sub-par graphics and a clunky UI.”
- “The graphics are really bad; it looks like it was made 5-6 years ago for a free platform.”
story
100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
74%
22%
The game lacks a cohesive story or narrative, with many players noting that it feels like a collection of levels rather than a campaign with a plot. While the gameplay offers challenging tower defense mechanics and strategic options, the absence of characters or a storyline may disappoint those seeking a richer narrative experience. Overall, it is primarily focused on gameplay rather than storytelling, which some players appreciate while others find unsatisfying.
- “The campaign offers various different puzzle-like challenges and allows you to redistribute your skill points before every mission, which keeps things fresh.”
- “Here is the story I have come up with: all the monsters you are killing are trying to commute to farms, to help grow and harvest the crops to feed the people of the world.”
- “It has massive graphical improvement and an added story mode; I am looking forward to getting perfect scores and finishing all the challenges!”
- “Absolutely no story or characters to it. I don't mind this personally, but some people might.”
- “My main complaint is that the 'campaign' is just a collection of levels; there's no story or anything.”
- “There is absolutely no story or narrative, only colorful towers that spit fire at silly mobs.”
music
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
55%
6%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its beautiful and immersive qualities that enhance the gameplay experience. However, some find it repetitive and stale over time, suggesting a need for more variety. Overall, while the soundtrack is praised for its fitting medieval style and ability to create a relaxing atmosphere, there are calls for additional tracks to keep the experience fresh.
- “Great tower defense game, awesome graphics, cool music, 10/10!”
- “My goodness, the music mixed with the gameplay makes this game feel awesome.”
- “The music is really nice - easy to listen to for hours, and I hope they add to it as the game develops as it's a nice touch.”
- “Music is okay but gets same/stale after a while.”
- “Bad music, most stale music on the planet, only 1 tune.”
- “The music is boring and the same every time you play, the game itself becomes quite boring because of the limited amount of buildings and the upgrades change nothing but damage points.”
replayability
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
52%
6%
The reviews present a mixed perspective on replayability, with some players praising the game for its high replay value due to diverse tower strategies, multiplayer features, and challenging gameplay, while others criticize it for limited content and repetitive mechanics. Overall, many agree that the game offers significant replayability, especially in co-op and PvP modes, though some express concerns about the lack of variety in maps and towers.
- “A good blend of tower diversity, tower strategies, balance, and maps allows for a considerable amount of replayability.”
- “This is the foundation of endless replayability since almost no game is the same.”
- “It offers strategic and enjoyable gameplay, and with several different game modes, customizable game settings, the ability to play with or against your friends, and many different ways of playing and strategizing with the towers, the game offers much replayability.”
- “So this removes pretty much any and all replay value unless you like doing only one thing over and over again.”
- “With only 5 co-op maps, it has limited replayability.”
- “There are an underwhelming amount of towers, and only a handful that feel exciting to work towards, which drastically reduces the game's replay value.”
optimization
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
47%
29%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, particularly in later stages where performance drops drastically, even on high-end systems. While some players report smooth co-op experiences and minimal bugs, many highlight the need for substantial improvements in graphics and overall performance. Overall, the game is seen as poorly optimized, requiring considerable work to enhance playability, especially in late-game scenarios.
- “It runs smoothly, without lag, and I didn't encounter any bugs.”
- “Veteran players of the original custom maps will feel right at home - the general gameplay is the same, but greatly optimized.”
- “They've taken a customized map from supporting games and focused it into something special and optimized.”
- “Unbelievably poorly optimized.”
- “There is a huge amount of work around optimization required here to make this game mode worth playing.”
- “It needs some improvement to performance for late game (I have a beast of a PC and I produce 7 frames per second: i7 10th gen and RTX).”
grinding
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
10%
80%
Reviews on grinding in the game are mixed; some players appreciate the lack of grinding for tower upgrades, while others find the repetitive nature of progressing through levels tedious. The campaign's expanding map and multi-lane mechanics add complexity but can lead to frustration, as players often feel stuck and spend excessive time replaying chapters. Overall, while some enjoy the strategic elements, many agree that grinding can become a monotonous experience.
- “What I like most: there is no grinding involved to get all towers or upgrade them.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I've spent hours and hours playing and re-playing (grinding) and I'm only at level 15 and have been stuck on chapter 3 for many days.”
- “Downside of the campaign - the ever-expanding map adds no difficulty but only ever-growing tediousness to slowly trace the path.”
- “I almost have it unlocked finally, but the past 6 hours have been tedious...”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
90%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and performance issues, particularly in multiplayer modes. Players frequently experience game freezes, synchronization problems in co-op, and graphical glitches, leading to frustration and the need for powerful hardware. Despite its fun gameplay, many recommend waiting for further updates before diving in due to these persistent stability issues.
- “The game looks great and runs smoothly, even when filling a 365-tile map with howitzers and increasing the speed to x10.”
- “The performance remains stable, even under heavy load with numerous units on the map.”
- “I appreciate how the game maintains its stability, providing a seamless experience regardless of the number of elements on screen.”
- “The game is very fun but buggy as hell; it's been out for quite a while now and it still crashes almost every time I sit down to play.”
- “Edit: a year after I wrote the original review, the game is still buggy as hell and crashes my entire PC fairly regularly.”
- “The game needs between 1.5 and 2.0 GB RAM while in the loading screen and completely freezes my laptop.”
monetization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
44%
50%
The game is praised for its lack of monetization tactics, with users noting the absence of microtransactions and upsell ads, which contributes to a more enjoyable gaming experience. Players appreciate that it allows for a fun, uninterrupted playtime without the pressure to make additional purchases.
- “Best part; when I last played, it didn't hound you for content purchases or microtransactions.”
- “Best part; when I last played it didn't hound you for content purchases or microtransactions.”
- “Modern gaming must be giving me dementia, because I opened the game and there weren't any microtransactions at all!”
- “No microtransactions!”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting its nostalgic elements and heartwarming evolution from a mod to a standalone title. The simplistic gameplay and charming graphics evoke feelings of zen and fond memories of childhood gaming experiences, making it a source of joy and comfort for many.
- “Playing Ele TD since Warcraft 3, seeing this game flourish into its own standalone game is truly a heartwarming sight for me.”
- “Induces wholesome amounts of zen.”
- “The simplistic gameplay and cute graphics made me feel like I was playing some old-school game from my childhood.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is polarizing; while some players find it genuinely funny and a standout compared to AAA titles, others feel it falls flat and detracts from the overall experience.
- “Quite funny.”
- “Compared to some triple-A titles, this is hilarious.”
- “I'm not being funny, that can be something you value.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere in the re-imagined custom game is described as unbelievable, creating an immersive experience that enhances the overall gameplay. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke a strong sense of place and emotion, contributing significantly to its appeal.
- “Unbelievable atmosphere in the re-imagining of a legend of a custom game.”