Emberward

About

Emberward is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Refic Games and was released on June 25, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

"Emberward" is a single-player game with exceptional visuals and beautiful mechanics, offering splendid replayability on every run. Assemble mazes with block cards, then enhance towers with runes for strategic advantage. Choose from various tower types, from poison to D20-based, with quirky features like drone tracking and critical failure. Each run promises unique challenges and fire sources to master.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

97%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,098 reviews

gameplay152 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

Emberward combines tower defense, Tetris, and roguelike elements in a unique and engaging way.
The maze-building mechanic allows for creative strategies and adds depth to gameplay.
The game is visually appealing and runs smoothly, even in early access.

Currently lacks content, with only a few maps and towers available, leading to potential repetitiveness.
Difficulty balance is inconsistent, with normal mode being too easy and heroic mode being overly challenging.
Some towers and relics feel underwhelming or unbalanced, impacting overall gameplay experience.

gameplay
312 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
49%
2%
The gameplay of Emberward is highly praised for its innovative blend of tower defense and roguelike mechanics, featuring a unique maze-building element that enhances strategic depth and player expression. Players enjoy the engaging core loop, diverse maps, and well-designed mechanics, although some express a desire for more content and complexity as the game is still in early access. Overall, the game offers a polished and addictive experience, making it a standout in the tower defense genre.
- “The block-placing part of the gameplay loop keeps each playthrough engaging and takes the tower-defense genre to a new level in my opinion.”
- “The core gameplay loop is fun and runs feel fresh and unique.”
- “The addition of the maze-building element keeps the gameplay dynamic and engaging while still being very strategic and satisfying as your layout comes together in each level.”
- “Although, there is a slight downside to this game, and sadly, this is based in the nature of roguelike games; it can become quite repetitive after a while due to the gameplay loop being the same on every run.”
- “There is one character who is so overpowered that he basically deletes the maze-building/deck-building mechanics from the entire video game and just lets you build near-perfect mazes every time.”
- “The only problem is that it becomes too overwhelming when there's no guide or 'slowly easing the player into the game mechanics'.”
replayability
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
50%
5%
The game offers a high level of replayability, driven by its roguelite elements, randomization mechanics, and diverse character and tower options, allowing for unique experiences in each playthrough. While many players find the current content engaging and fun, some express a desire for more complexity and additional content to enhance replay value further. Overall, the game is seen as having significant potential for replayability, especially with future updates.
- “The roguelite element provides replayability and no playthrough is the same with the randomization mechanic at the beginning of each run.”
- “Amazing gameplay, simple design, virtually limitless replayability.”
- “You can easily sink 100+ hours into this game before experiencing everything, and even then, there's plenty of replay value.”
- “Emberward is an extremely fun game, but it lacks replayability in its current state.”
- “Replayability is hindered by the lack of game design.”
- “However, too little content and very low replayability at this time.”
graphics
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
50%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their colorful, polished, and charming art style, which enhances the overall gameplay experience. Many players appreciate the playful aesthetics and smooth animations, noting that the visuals are both engaging and easy on the eyes. While some users mention minor performance issues on lower-end PCs, the graphics are generally considered a standout feature, contributing to a fun and relaxing atmosphere.
- “The graphics are immaculate and friendly to the eyes, the gameplay is enticing and relatively difficult without being overwhelming, and to be frank, the game is very fun.”
- “Very nice graphics with a bunch of little details in the animations yet it runs well.”
- “The art style here is, in my opinion, both cohesive and distinctive for the genre.”
- “(lame.) The worst part of this game by far is the art, in both visuals and music.”
- “The graphics are following a theme, the audio is great, and the gameplay is fun; you have a passive and active progression system in place, it's great!”
- “It's definitely missing out on a lot of planned features due to early access, but during several runs I ran into absolutely no bugs or even graphical glitches.”
story
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
67%
13%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many players expressing a desire for a cohesive narrative to accompany the gameplay. While the mechanics and missions are praised, the lack of a story detracts from the overall experience, leaving players wanting a more engaging campaign. Overall, the game is enjoyable but would benefit from the inclusion of a charming storyline.
- “Ngl this gave me nostalgic Mighty Quest for Epic Loot vibes, just without any of the negatives.”
- “☑ no story”
- “It would be nice if there was a modicum of story incorporated into the game.”
- “The game looks fantastic, the gameplay is great, but everything in this game wants to be put into a campaign with a story.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it catchy and reminiscent of classic Final Fantasy titles, while others describe it as monotone, forgettable, and lacking in variation. Many users express a desire for more diverse tracks and less looping, indicating that the soundtrack does not significantly enhance the overall experience. Overall, while some appreciate the music, it is often seen as one of the weaker aspects of the game.
- “Sounds are fitting and the music reminds me of the mid-era Final Fantasy titles like 6 and 7.”
- “Really good tower defense game -- nice implementation of rogue-lite card deck mechanics, charming art style, enjoyable music, and well optimized with no noticeable bugs so far.”
- “This game features colorful and polished graphics matched with catchy music and sound effects.”
- “The music is monotone and with little variation; more tracks and less looping is desirable.”
- “The music is completely forgettable, which is terrible for a tower defense game.”
- “The soundtrack is... there... I guess.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Overall, the game is well-optimized for higher-end devices, providing a smooth performance with impressive visuals and no noticeable bugs. However, players on lower-end devices may experience significant GPU lag, indicating a need for an optimization patch. The gameplay mechanics also introduce a satisfying optimization puzzle element, enhancing the overall experience.
- “Because the exact shapes of the tiles in your hand vary, rotating and placing them down becomes a satisfying optimization puzzle that changes every level.”
- “Really good tower defense game -- nice implementation of rogue-lite card deck mechanics, charming art style, enjoyable music, and well optimized with no noticeable bugs so far.”
- “The game runs smoothly and looks great, even with hundreds of effects and mobs on screen.”
- “There is a lot of GPU lag on lower-end devices, so beware until the optimization patch.”
- “There is a lot of GPU lag on lower-end devices, so beware until the optimization patch.”
- “The game needs significant optimization to run smoothly on less powerful hardware.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Overall, the game's stability is commendable, with users reporting it as mostly bug-free and running smoothly, even on Linux. While it is still in early access and lacks some planned features, players have experienced minimal issues, with no significant bugs or graphical glitches during gameplay. The game is praised for its solid performance and enjoyable content, despite being a work in progress.
- “Mostly bug free, great casual roguelite.”
- “You kinda have to build your own lanes in a Tetris kind of fashion, and in that process, a lot of planning is needed. It's fun and fast-paced and full of new ideas even for a tower defense game. Thumbs up and get it while it is cheap! As a bonus, it runs great out of the box on Linux!”
- “For anyone that is a fan of the genre, I highly recommend this game, although be warned, it is still in early access, with a lot of features missing, buggy at times, and clearly a work in progress.”
- “It's definitely missing out on a lot of planned features due to early access, but during several runs I ran into absolutely no bugs or even graphical glitches.”
- “For anyone that is a fan of the genre, I highly recommend this game, although be warned, it is still in early access, with a lot of features missing, buggy at times, and clearly a work in progress.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game to be a significant highlight, often laughing at the absurdity of certain mechanics, such as the icicle tower's rapid-fire antics and the chaotic outcomes of traps. The combination of comedic elements and stressful gameplay creates a uniquely entertaining experience that keeps players engaged and amused.
- “Having a huge mob pushed over a wall from the rolling trap, into a shortcut straight to ember; that's on me and a hilarious way to lose a run...”
- “Was laughing my ass off, and stressed through the round.”
- “My favorite tower is the icicle tower by far since it's simple in that it does lots of damage and shoots stupid fast and sounds hilarious to me.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and lacking in skill, often requiring significant time investment to progress. Many express that the meta-progression system feels tedious, with some humorously suggesting that it demands a "second life" to fully engage. Additionally, it's important to note that progress made in the demo does not carry over, discouraging extensive grinding during that phase.
- “There's simply not enough skill involved, so grinding through the meta-progression is basically what this game is about.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Just know progress in the demo does not transfer, so don't spend too much time grinding the demo.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game lacks traditional character development and design, focusing instead on its visual aesthetics rather than character-driven narratives. This approach aligns with the game's intended style, suggesting that character development is not a primary focus.