Emberward

About

"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 Play through the game's story or campaign solo

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,632 reviews

gameplay192 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

Innovative blend of tower defense, roguelike, and Tetris mechanics that creates a unique gameplay experience.
Engaging maze-building aspect allows for strategic depth and creativity in each run.
Polished visuals and sound design enhance the overall enjoyment of the game.

Currently lacks content, with only a few levels and towers available, leading to potential repetitiveness.
Difficulty balance is inconsistent, with some runs feeling too easy and others too hard.
Limited tower upgrades and character uniqueness may reduce long-term replayability.

gameplay
406 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
51%
2%
Emberward offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience by blending tower defense mechanics with maze-building and roguelike elements, creating a satisfying and strategic gameplay loop. Players appreciate the innovative use of Tetris-like blocks for maze construction, which adds depth and variety to each run, while the game's charming art style and continuous updates enhance its appeal. Despite being in early access, the game is praised for its polished mechanics and high replayability, though some players note a need for more content and balance adjustments.
- “Emberward is a captivating roguelite tower defense game that blends strategic depth with addictive gameplay.”
- “The gameplay loop is entertaining, engaging, and varied around the wide selection of towers and Tetris block combinations.”
- “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.”
- “I will say though right now I don't feel there's a massive difference between your starting blocks and your blocks by the time you get to a boss especially if you're playing a character, so you progress strategically a lot quicker than you do mechanically, which can be a pro or a con depending on what you expect from a roguelike.”
- “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.”
replayability
144 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
50%
4%
The game boasts high replayability, primarily due to its roguelite elements, which ensure that each run presents unique challenges and opportunities for experimentation. Players appreciate the variety of characters, relics, and mechanics that contribute to a fresh experience with every playthrough, making it a standout title in the tower defense genre. While some reviews note that replayability may be limited in its current state, many express excitement for future updates that could enhance this aspect further.
- “Its innovative gameplay, strategic depth, and replayability make it a standout title.”
- “The roguelite element provides replayability and no playthrough is the same with the randomization mechanic at the beginning of each run.”
- “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.”
- “Very fun tower-defense rogue-like; but does not offer a lot of replayability at the moment.”
graphics
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
47%
3%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their vibrant and charming art style, which enhances the immersive experience alongside engaging sound design. Players appreciate the polished visuals, smooth animations, and creative use of mechanics, although some note minor issues like brightness in certain maps and occasional comparisons to lower-quality games. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout in the tower defense genre.
- “For an early access game, it is incredibly polished with beautiful graphics, lovely music, and no bugs or lag so far.”
- “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.”
- “The art style, music, and obvious care from the dev team make this a must play.”
- “The worst part of this game by far is the art, in both visuals and music.”
- “Some of the 2D visuals remind me of cheap gacha games.”
- “The brightness is a bit offensive, particularly in snow maps.”
story
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
74%
11%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many players expressing a desire for a cohesive narrative or character development to enhance the experience. While the gameplay and mission variety are praised, the lack of a compelling story detracts from the overall engagement, leaving players wanting more depth and context to the tower defense mechanics. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable but would benefit significantly from the inclusion of a storyline.
- “Maybe a cute little story and/or character development making us come back for more for each character.”
- “It would be nice if there was a modicum of story incorporated into the game.”
- “Speaking of cohesion, what is the story?”
- “The game looks fantastic, the gameplay is great, but everything in this game wants to be put into a campaign with a story.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
47%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its catchy and enjoyable quality, while others find it monotone and forgettable, desiring more variety and less repetition. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a decent complement to the game's polished graphics and engaging gameplay, though it may not stand out for everyone.
- “The art style, music, and obvious care from the dev team make this a must play.”
- “This game features colorful and polished graphics matched with catchy music and sound effects.”
- “For an early access game, it is incredibly polished with beautiful graphics, lovely music, and no bugs or lag so far.”
- “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%
The game's optimization is generally praised, with smooth performance and an enjoyable gaming experience reported, particularly on higher-end devices. However, users have noted significant GPU lag on lower-end devices, indicating a need for an optimization patch. Overall, while the game runs well with impressive visuals and effects, players should be cautious if using less powerful hardware.
- “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.”
- “The optimization needs significant improvement to enhance gameplay on various hardware.”
- “Performance issues are prevalent, especially for players using older systems.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability, 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 noted during gameplay.
- “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
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the engaging and passionate developer, as well as the amusing mechanics, such as the icicle tower's comical sound effects and the chaotic scenarios that lead to unexpected failures. Players find themselves laughing out loud while navigating the game's challenges, making the experience both entertaining and enjoyable.
- “Regular updates, a funny and passionate dev make it all the more worthwhile.”
- “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.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and lacking in skill, with many feeling that it dominates the experience. The need for extensive grinding is emphasized, with some suggesting it requires a significant time investment. Additionally, progress made in the demo does not carry over, advising players to avoid excessive grinding in that version.
- “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
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game features minimal character designs, yet it compensates with a charming story and engaging character development that encourages players to return for more. Despite the lack of traditional character elements, the narrative effectively draws players in.
- “Maybe a cute little story and/or character development making us come back for more for each character.”
- “I really like how this game looks, but it doesn't really have characters or any real character designs, so to speak, and it isn't really supposed to.”
- “Maybe a cute little story and/or character development would make us come back for more for each character.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its vibrant art style and dynamic sound effects, which together create an immersive experience for players.
- “The game's vibrant art style and dynamic sound effects create an immersive atmosphere.”
- “The game's vibrant art style and dynamic sound effects create an immersive atmosphere.”