Immortal Defense
- August 31, 2015
- Studio Eres
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam"Immortal Defense" is a story-driven tower defense game with a unique twist, known for its engaging narrative written by Jeanne Thornton and universe based on Robert Bisno's novel "Raberata." This Steam release boasts improved graphics, performance, and features like achievements, leaderboards, and a level editor. However, it contains intense flashing visuals that may trigger sensory issues. The game offers a 100-level core campaign and 50 optional side-quests with rewards.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Immortal Defense offers a unique and engaging story that transcends typical tower defense narratives, exploring deep themes of sacrifice and existence.
- The gameplay mechanics are innovative, allowing players to actively participate by using their cursor to shoot while strategically placing towers, leading to a highly interactive experience.
- The game features a psychedelic art style and a variety of unique towers, each with distinct abilities, which keeps the gameplay fresh and encourages experimentation.
- The visuals can become overwhelmingly chaotic, making it difficult to discern what's happening on screen, which can lead to frustration during gameplay.
- Many mechanics are poorly explained, leading to a steep learning curve that may deter casual players from fully enjoying the game.
- Some levels can feel repetitive and overly long, with difficulty spikes that may frustrate players who are not prepared for the challenges.
- story172 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The story of the game is described as unique, engaging, and thought-provoking, with a striking premise involving a human defending against body horror war-aliens. While some players found the narrative abstract and challenging to follow, many appreciated its depth and the way it intertwines with gameplay mechanics, making it a standout feature in the tower defense genre. Overall, the story is seen as a compelling reason to play, despite some criticisms regarding its execution and clarity.
“The plot starts as you being a human sent into a higher plane to defend your world from body horror war-aliens.”
“A story more compelling than it has any right to be, interesting worldcraft, engrossing (and sometimes distracting) visuals, this game oozes care in its construction.”
“The gameplay is enjoyable, it ties into an engaging story, it looks great despite its age, and does a lot of unique things.”
“I came for the plot but left because it wasn't good enough to make me keep playing a tower defense game.”
“There was an attempt at some kind of story but the writing was not very good and it wasn't enough to keep me interested.”
“The story was a complete waste on me but I suppose some people might like it.”
- gameplay102 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this tower defense game is characterized by unique mechanics and an engaging story, but it suffers from poorly explained and hidden mechanics that can lead to confusion. While the core gameplay is enjoyable and offers a different experience compared to traditional tower defense games, the lack of clarity in the tutorial and the overwhelming audio feedback can detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game is praised for its creativity and the seamless integration of its narrative with gameplay elements.
“Unique mechanics, great visuals, interesting story, and some really nice music.”
“The gameplay feels very different from the typical Kingdom Rush/Bloons/Gemcraft games or their copies, while it's still easy to quickly orient yourself and pick up what needs to be done.”
“Not only did it have its own unique take on tower defense mechanics, but it wrapped it up into a story that not only justifies the tower defense theme, but asked some pretty heavy philosophical questions along the way.”
“Neat philosophy and psychedelics, but holy cow putting a critical mechanic that requires constant clicking into a tower defense game might just be the worst design decision I've ever seen.”
“There are hidden mechanics...not hidden in a way that you'll find them in some fun moment of clarity, just hidden because they were never apparently documented, and again, the graphics make it impossible to tell what's going on, or if a new mechanic is even there.”
“Between the strong emphasis on repeating stages and the relatively passive gameplay, the entire experience feels extremely tedious.”
- graphics54 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of this tower defense game are described as unique and trippy, featuring a kaleidoscopic aesthetic that some players find appealing, reminiscent of older indie titles. However, many reviews note that the visuals can be blurry and distracting, making gameplay mechanics difficult to discern. Overall, while the art style is divisive, it contributes to the game's original and compelling atmosphere, with some players appreciating its psychedelic flair despite its dated appearance.
“Very glad I did, the art style is hectic and flashy but very appealing, reminiscent of Geometry Wars.”
“A story more compelling than it has any right to be, interesting worldcraft, engrossing (and sometimes distracting) visuals, this game oozes care in its construction.”
“It's the kaleidoscopic visuals, the warbling, droning sounds and the crystalline shattering of enemies as they bleed and streak light across the screen.”
“Maybe it's due to being old on a new system, or maybe the graphics are just blurry, bloomy messes that make even seeing the creeps nearly impossible much of the time.”
“There are hidden mechanics...not hidden in a way that you'll find them in some fun moment of clarity, just hidden because they were never apparently documented, and again, the graphics make it impossible to tell what's going on, or if a new mechanic is even there.”
“It doesn't look like much, with graphics that would be more at home in a game made at the turn of the millennium, but I struggle to imagine how the bizarre setting of pathspace the game is set in could be presented another way.”
- music36 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its variety and emotional depth, featuring a mix of lively, heroic, and mournful tunes that enhance the gameplay experience. While some players find the soundtrack iconic and outstanding, others feel it can be repetitive or overshadowed by less appealing sound effects. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere, despite some critiques regarding its budget quality and limited quantity.
“It proves that even a genre as stale as tower defense - one that has so little room to do anything interesting with it, can be turned into a trippy tragic tale of sacrifice and solitude accompanied by an amazing soundtrack (freely available in the game's folder).”
“The game's soundtrack is quite varied, from heroic and uplifting to quiet and mournful, and will play randomly in levels, which is neat.”
“I will also add that the music is fantastic, and there is a ton of replay value here.”
“I must say this is a good RTS but it is kind of boring, the scenarios are the same every time + the 'go to sleep soundtrack', that is why it took me a lot to finish it ★★★☆☆ or 6/10.”
“The music has very lively tunes, but the sound effects stacked against that feel like bad noise that only gets in the way.”
“Music is annoying.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability, particularly for players interested in chasing medals and unlocking all content. Its engaging mechanics and fantastic music further enhance the desire to replay, making it a standout in the tower defense genre.
“I will also add that the music is fantastic, and there is a ton of replay value here.”
“This encourages replayability.”
“Unique and fun tower defense game that has a lot of replayability if you want to chase medals and unlock everything.”
“Secondly, this encourages replayability.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its well-written and touching stories that evoke profound emotions and encourage self-reflection. Players find it to be a unique and heartfelt experience, offering significant value for its price while leaving a lasting impact through its clever and evocative content.
“At £6.99, or $10(ish), it's an absolute steal for a game this unique, heartfelt, evocative, clever, challenging, and brimming with content.”
“It made me think about my own place in the world, made me feel profound emotions and has given me a quote to live by to this day.”
“The stories are well written and slightly touching.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious due to the heavy reliance on repeating stages and a passive gameplay style, which detracts from overall enjoyment.
“Between the strong emphasis on repeating stages and the relatively passive gameplay, the entire experience feels extremely tedious.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is a standout feature, with both the protagonist and villains receiving significant depth and complexity, making their arcs equally engaging and compelling.
“The villains are as interesting as the protagonist’s own character development, and oh boy, do you develop.”
