Idle Defense: Dark Forest

About

"Idle Defense: Dark Forest" is a strategy game that combines magic and tower defense elements in a visually stunning dark forest setting. Players use magic and summon demons to defend the forest, with compelling gameplay that can become repetitive due to grinding. However, the game is marred by frequent advertisements and bugs, which can detract from the overall experience. The game describes itself as an indie tower defense game, and it offers a unique twist on the genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,347 reviews

gameplay38 positive mentions

monetization654 negative mentions

The game has a great blend of tower defense and idle mechanics, making it enjoyable for players.
The graphics and character designs are cute and appealing, enhancing the overall experience.
The game is fun and addictive, providing a good time-killing experience.

The game is plagued with excessive ads, making it feel more like an ad simulator than a game.
There are significant lag issues and crashes, especially after extended play sessions, making it frustrating to progress.
Many players report bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, such as black screens and unresponsive menus.

monetization
669 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
1%
98%
The monetization strategy of this game heavily relies on advertisements, with players reporting that a significant portion of their time is spent watching ads rather than engaging in gameplay. Many users express frustration over the frequency and necessity of ads for progression, often feeling that the game is designed more as an ad delivery platform than a playable experience. While some players appreciate the option to watch ads for rewards, the overwhelming consensus is that the sheer volume of ads detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “I like this game because there are no ads; I love the first scene.”
- “This is so fun and has no ads; I love this game.”
- “Almost like you figured out how much monetization you can squeeze in before making the game itself.”
- “You basically have to watch an ad every 30 seconds to play for free successfully, and if you ever get the bug where the ads no longer load (you get a message which says "failed to get ads. use diamonds instead"), the game becomes basically unplayable.”
- “The core mechanics are fine for a tower defense, but the balance is set up so that if you don't watch ads, you'll get nowhere with the level progression.”
- “This isn't a game at this point, it's just an opportunity to watch more ads.”
gameplay
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
57%
3%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many users noting that it features enjoyable mechanics and a fun storyline, particularly for tower defense fans. However, the overwhelming presence of ads—often cited as making up 80-90% of the experience—significantly detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to frustration and a sense of shallow gameplay. Additionally, technical issues and a lack of clarity in mechanics further hinder the experience, leaving players feeling that the game is more about watching ads than engaging in meaningful gameplay.
- “This game is really fun for starters, the towers are fun, finding all the upgrade paths, the game is simple at its core, and the reset mechanic isn't confusing or complicated.”
- “Very good gameplay for a longer tower defense experience, not very idle yet but as an old WC3 TD player, this is amazing.”
- “Addictive indeed, good gameplay, nice graphics, works great, like a thousand more great things about this game. I recommend you play this game; it is fire!”
- “As it is, the game is roughly 80% watching ads, 20% actual gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is shallow and quickly becomes uninteresting.”
- “It's essentially an app that allows you to watch the same ads over and over, with some very basic tower defense mechanics mixed in.”
graphics
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
54%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the cute art style and overall visual quality. However, numerous users report significant lag and crashes even when settings are adjusted to low graphics, indicating performance issues that detract from the experience. While some praise the graphics as "great" and "adorable," others express disappointment over the game's inability to run smoothly, suggesting that improvements are needed.
- “The graphics are great and so is the gameplay.”
- “Addictive indeed good gameplay, nice graphics, works great, like a thousand more great things about this game. I recommend you play this game; it is fire; so if I had to rate 5/5, I would choose 2000/5 lol I love this game.”
- “The game is amazing, perfect graphics, 5 stars for the best game.”
- “Even on the low graphic settings, the game lags after a while.”
- “At first it goes smoothly but as soon as you upgrade your towers it becomes laggy... it keeps on crashing despite having a high-end phone... I even put the graphics to low mode... I'm disappointed.”
- “Cute game but gets so ridiculously laggy even on low graphics it becomes unplayable.”
stability
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by severe stability issues, with frequent freezes, crashes, and glitches that render it nearly unplayable. Many users report that ad interactions exacerbate these problems, often leading to game crashes or unresponsive screens. Despite its appealing graphics and potential as a time killer, the overwhelming number of bugs has led to widespread frustration and abandonment by players.
- “I am quitting, refusing to play anymore, and recommend that no one bother wasting their time with such a buggy, glitchy, broken game.”
- “Honestly the most buggy game I've ever tried to play.”
- “The whole game freezes then crashes.”
story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
50%
18%
The game's story receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging narrative while others find it lacking or boring. Technical issues, such as frequent crashes and unresponsive quests, detract from the overall experience, making it difficult for players to fully enjoy the storyline. Despite these challenges, many users appreciate the gameplay and suggest that the story has potential, albeit hindered by ad-based progression and bugs.
- “Great story line.”
- “But fun gameplay and story though.”
- “English might not be their forte, but they get the story through.”
- “Game crashes after beginning story and after loading screen.”
- “I can't even start the game; as soon as I get in, the story plays, it loads up, and then just shows me an empty black screen!”
- “Poor story and ad-based progression.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
77%
12%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback, with some players finding it soothing while others feel it lacks control options, leading to frustration. Many users report technical issues, such as the game crashing after the music starts, resulting in a black screen that prevents gameplay. Overall, the inability to adjust music and sound effects separately has contributed to negative experiences for several players.
- “The music tends to put one to sleep.”
- “I usually play games without music over sound effects... your game is smooth btw and it doesn't lag on my phone.”
- “Great game but ever since the update I can't play the game; it loads up and then goes black, I can hear the music but I can't start the game.”
- “For not letting me control the music and sound effects separately: one star and an uninstall.”
- “Trash can't even load the game; it just ends up with music and a black screen then it crashes after. Not recommended for download; it is a waste of time.”
- “I got really excited when I saw this game, but every time I try and load it, it just plays music and goes to a black screen until it crashes.”
optimization
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
53%
26%
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with frequent crashes and performance issues reported by users, including freezing and memory degradation over time. Despite some potential and recent updates, players still experience significant lag and instability, necessitating constant app restarts for better performance. While there are indications that developers are aware of these issues and plan to improve them, the current state renders the game nearly unplayable for many.
- “The devs already know and will improve the performance.”
- “Very good optimization of ads.”
- “Tested the result, found there are some new turrets in this latest update... however, I increased my rating from 1 to just 4 stars because the performance is not so much different (still laggy, but no more issues with the ads loading).”
- “This is the only game I have come across that seems to not be optimized. As soon as I boot up the game, it crashes Google Play, followed by the game freezing, Samsung keyboard crashing, system UI crashing, and basically just hard crashes your phone.”
- “Dev needs to work on his programming techniques, because this game does not have the size, scope, or aesthetics to warrant such performance.”
- “Eats up memory and performance degrades over time.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and tedious, often requiring significant time investment or monetary spending to progress. While some enjoy grindy games, many express frustration over the forced reliance on ads and the lack of efficient farming options, leading to a perception of the game as a money grab. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a double-edged sword, appealing to some but overwhelming for others.
- “Also, this game is a money grabber for all it starts hounding you for money by ways for forced level completion and disallowing any farming at the beginning stages.”
- “I'm not going to spend hundreds on diamonds, nor am I going to sit for 3 hours farming 'ads' just to barely even consider making it through just 1 level.”
- “Good game but too much grinding.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its humor, with players finding it both funny and entertaining, making it a great choice for short play sessions. However, some users have noted that frequent crashes can detract from the overall experience.
- “Really funny little game, good to let the minutes roll by on lunch break.”
- “This game has funny towers and bad guys.”
- “Smart and funny.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight strong character design, indicating that the visual and conceptual aspects of the characters are well-executed and appealing. However, there is no specific mention of character development in terms of growth or narrative depth.
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express frustration with idle games that lack replayability, indicating that such games diminish their enjoyment and interest in the genre.
- “Games like this make me hate idle games with little to no replay value.”