Hydraulic Empire

About

Hydraulic Empire is a single player casual role playing game. It was developed by Batholith Entertainment and was released on July 31, 2015. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Hydraulic Empire" is a Tower Defense game with RPG elements, offering over 20 levels, 10 mobs and towers, and a builder that levels up. Its unique features include strategic mob interactions, persistent upgrades, and RPG elements, providing an estimated 15 hours of gameplay at launch.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+17

Skip User Reviews

42%

Audience ScoreBased on 72 reviews

gameplay6 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a good variety of towers and enemies, providing engaging gameplay for tower defense fans.
The ability to shape enemy paths and the inclusion of a character that can attack and level up adds unique mechanics to the game.
Despite its flaws, the game has potential and shows promise with its RPG elements and tower upgrade systems.

The game suffers from significant balancing issues, making some levels nearly impossible to complete without specific tower placements.
There are numerous technical problems, including glitches with sound and graphics, as well as a frustratingly slow upgrade system.
The user interface is clunky and lacks essential features, making it difficult to navigate and understand tower upgrades and game mechanics.

graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The graphics in the game are described as colorful and detailed but ultimately feel dated and poorly implemented, with issues such as a lack of depth and shadows, difficulty in distinguishing elements on screen, and a cluttered visual presentation. Players also report technical problems, including crashes and inadequate resolution options, which detract from the overall experience. While some aspects of the graphics are appreciated, the overall consensus is that they are subpar and hinder gameplay.
- “The graphics are detailed and colorful, but with an annoying lack of depth and shadows; cannot choose resolutions under 1072 px.”
- “Graphics are fine, music is great.”
- “This feature is also well done graphically, which makes it all the more interesting.”
- “Everything is subpar; the graphics, gameplay, balance, UI, etc. You're better off playing Bloons TD or something like that.”
- “The graphics are detailed and colorful, but they annoyingly lack depth and shadows; I cannot choose resolutions under 1072 px.”
- “The graphics are too busy, and it can be difficult to distinguish whether a bunch of colors on a hex represents live mobs or dead bodies.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
55%
18%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising the solid mechanics and engaging hero character, while others criticize its poor implementation, lack of innovation, and various technical issues such as resolution problems and slow movement. Despite having RPG elements and customization options, many players find it subpar compared to other tower defense games, citing balance issues and a lack of rewarding gameplay. Overall, while there are enjoyable aspects, significant flaws detract from the overall experience.
- “The gameplay is spot on.”
- “There is no major innovation in the system and the stages and enemies are just varied enough, but the mechanics are solid and the challenge level is just about right.”
- “It also adds some new mechanics and systems that make this an already really well-rounded, fun, and engaging tower defense.”
- “Everything is subpar; the graphics, gameplay, balance, UI, etc. You're better off playing Bloons TD or something like that.”
- “The gameplay is poorly implemented and ruins the fun: it cannot fit in full screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, sometimes crashes due to graphic card abuse even on medium quality, has few zoom options, and a too slow side displacement. The hero is slow, although it's needed to build every tower, making it difficult to distinguish from the background and causing problems with aiming. Towers don't change when upgrading, foes are too speedy, and the rewards for killing them are poor.”
- “The gameplay is worse than some mediocre tower defense games for browsers.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
75%
15%
The story is generally considered simple and unremarkable, with little emphasis on narrative depth or presentation. While some players appreciate the RPG elements and talent system that encourage replayability, the storyline itself does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience. Additionally, there are reports of technical issues, such as missions restarting unexpectedly, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “+ RPG elements which reward replays of earlier missions without feeling like a grind.”
- “- The story, and the presentation of it, isn't much to write home about really.”
- “- the story, and the presentation of it, isn't much to write home about really.”
- “Storyline is simple, but I don't play for that :)”
- “- just like the story, it's also difficult to see what exactly those talents/upgrades you can choose between missions will actually do for you in the game.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
62%
25%
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many users reporting glitches and poor sound quality that detracts from the experience. Complaints include a lack of separate volume control, repetitive and uninspired tracks, and overall sound issues that lead players to mute the audio entirely. While some users noted that the graphics are acceptable, the music is often described as lackluster and annoying, contributing to a frustrating gameplay experience.
- “Graphics are fine, music is great.”
- “While it runs, sounds and music degenerate into awful noises due to a software error.”
- “Annoying music has no separate volume control.”
- “The music is also pretty lackluster.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding, with some finding it challenging while others consider it excessively tedious, particularly due to the repetitive nature of replaying levels.
- “While some may find this challenging, I found it tedious in the extreme - playing a level over and over.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users frequently reporting glitches that detract from the overall experience.
- “The other issue with this game is the glitches.”