MarZ: Tactical Base Defense
- April 4, 2019
- Giant Grey
- 15h median play time
Get on Steam"MarZ: Tactical Base Defense" is a strategy game that challenges you to build a defense base and fight off zombie hordes on Mars. The game features a 20-mission story campaign, skirmish mode with customizable waves of enemies, and an intense "Outbreak" mode. Utilize powerful terraforming tools to create custom maps and share them via Steam Workshop, and research new upgrades for your towers. Recently updated with increased technology options and reworked balancing.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Great graphics and sound design, creating an immersive atmosphere.
- Engaging gameplay that combines tower defense with resource management and crew management.
- Challenging missions that require strategic thinking and adaptability.
- Limited tower variety and repetitive gameplay can lead to a lack of creativity in strategies.
- Some missions require specific tactics to succeed, which can feel restrictive and frustrating.
- Bugs and technical issues, such as crashes and unresponsive controls, detract from the overall experience.
- story704 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story in "Marz" is generally considered weak and often feels like an afterthought, with many reviewers describing it as cheesy or lacking depth. While the game features a 20-mission campaign with a sci-fi narrative involving Soviet zombies on Mars, the execution is criticized for being simplistic and repetitive, with a lack of engaging character development. Despite these shortcomings, some players found the story sufficient to provide context for the gameplay, though it ultimately does not elevate the overall experience.
“Compelling campaign: Marz offers a gripping 20-mission story campaign, providing players with an engaging narrative and alternate endings as they battle against the undead hordes on Mars.”
“The header isn't a joke, the story plays out like an action comic sci-fi serial from the heyday of the Cold War intrigue storytelling.”
“The story is both strange and funny; I think most people will enjoy it, there's nothing extreme, but it's not bad.”
“And the 'story' is ridiculous.”
“I mean I know tower defense games aren't exactly known for their deep storytelling, but the last level story conclusion was so bad I almost rolled my eyes out of their sockets at the ridiculous cringe.”
“The story is pretty much b-movie horror grade levels of writing.”
- gameplay202 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Marz: Tactical Base Defense" is a mixed bag, featuring standard tower defense mechanics with some unique elements like a crew management system and a level editor that enhances replayability. While the game offers a variety of modes and visually appealing graphics, many players find the core gameplay repetitive and overly reliant on specific strategies, leading to a lack of freedom in gameplay choices. Overall, it provides a decent experience for casual players but may disappoint veterans of the genre seeking deeper strategic options.
“Diverse game modes: the inclusion of skirmish and outbreak modes adds variety to the gameplay, allowing players to create customized procedurally-generated skirmishes or face an intense, immense zombie horde in outbreak mode.”
“In summary, Marz: Tactical Base Defense offers a compelling mix of strategy, tower defense, and creative gameplay with its map editor.”
“The gameplay is insanely polished, the animations are fluid and the story kept my interest till the end.”
“When I play a tower defense game, I expect to have the freedom to build my own strategy, but in this game you have to follow a recipe to succeed. The gameplay loop is about playing the same map over and over until you figure out the order of actions you need to perform.”
“Too repetitive, with gameplay that forces you to play in just one way.”
“The game neglects the main characteristic of both genres, strategy, in favor of speed, making it a less enjoyable experience in terms of gameplay.”
- graphics150 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many players praising the beautiful visuals, atmospheric environments, and good lighting effects, particularly in 4K resolution. However, some reviews note that while the graphics are adequate for the genre, they may not be as polished or cutting-edge as those in other titles, leading to occasional performance dips during intense gameplay. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing positively to the game's appeal despite some minor optimization issues.
“The graphics are incredible and the rush one gets from destroying wave after wave of zombies is satisfying.”
“Beautiful graphics (really beautiful in slow-mo), nice tower defense mechanics.”
“Overall the graphics are amazing and the game is very rewarding.”
“Players looking for cutting-edge visuals may find Marz slightly lacking in this department.”
“Graphical demands scale quite drastically with the number of zombies on screen, so be prepared to drop some FPS in the later missions.”
“Poor graphics, slow gameplay, and too few tower types.”
- stability36 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 78 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting a generally smooth experience but also encountering significant bugs and glitches, particularly in later levels. While some users found the game to be bug-free upon installation, others experienced issues such as crashes, unresponsive UI, and characters falling through the map. Overall, the game is enjoyable but requires further polishing to address its stability problems.
“The game ran relatively smoothly and bug free for me.”
“The game runs bug free and straight from install with no messing around.”
“Game is quite fun, bug free too.”
“Unattainable and buggy achievements.”
“Last level is a bit buggy with the camera stuck at times though.”
“I've been unable to construct anything, or move my camera, etc. it's really buggy.”
- music36 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality and contribution to storytelling, with many reviewers noting its beauty and effectiveness in enhancing the overall experience. However, some players found the music to be irritating or not noticeable during gameplay, particularly in overview mode where sound effects were less audible. Overall, the soundtrack and sound design received positive feedback, especially considering the game's small development team.
“It is a very beautiful game with beautiful music but getting kind of scary after 6 hours.”
“Great story, great gameplay, great music, and it's not made by one of the big game companies that are run off of greed.”
“Marz: tactical base defense is very well presented and the environments are atmospheric, with good graphics, music, and sound effects.”
“Sound / music: did not notice any music, sound of the guns is not audible when on overview (where you obviously will spend most of the game), meaning if you want to hear guns firing you have to zoom in... really close in.”
“Music is irritating.”
“Sound / music: did not notice any music, sound of the guns is not audible when on overview (where you obviously will spend most of the game), meaning if you want to hear guns firing you have to zoom in... really close in.”
- atmosphere26 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive qualities, combining well-designed levels, engaging music, and effective storytelling that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the atmospheric environments and graphics, which contribute to a sense of suspense and intrigue, particularly in a faux-military setting. However, some critiques mention a lack of dynamic weather effects, suggesting that additional atmospheric elements could further enrich the experience.
“The developers hit the mark with the atmosphere, mood, enemies, towers, tech tree, and perk system - all of which gave a fun and immersive feeling while playing this game.”
“An excellent tower defense game with an intriguing story, great atmosphere, and a twist in the gameplay.”
“No atmosphere and weather effects in the background, that's a negative.”
“- why not add radiation aurora that appear in the Mars atmosphere 'similar to the northern lights' for more cinematic background instead of the drab fog we have now?”
“Has an accurate depiction of what Mars should be looking like for the most part, and atmosphere-wise it does a tremendous job of making it look eerie and full of suspense.”
- replayability22 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
Replayability in this tower defense game is mixed; while the Marsform map editor allows for custom map creation and sharing, enhancing replay value, the main campaign is often criticized for its limited replayability after completing the three difficulty levels. Some players find replay value in striving for perfect scores and achievements, as well as through unlockable perks and skirmish mode, but overall, many reviewers suggest that the game may not offer enough content to justify its price without a sale.
“Marsform map editor: the Marsform map editor enhances replayability by giving players the ability to create and share custom maps through Steam Workshop.”
“Challenging but with a decent amount of replayability if you want to perfect all the missions.”
“+ high replay value thanks to unlockable perks and the skirmish mode.”
“Replay value: questionable for the main campaign.”
“I’d recommend waiting for a sale if you are concerned about the cost versus the playtime, as there is no real replayability once you’ve gone through the three different difficulties.”
“The only real issue I had with the game was the poor replay value.”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of unintentional laughs from unique voice acting and a strange yet enjoyable storyline, particularly the absurdity of fighting zombies on Mars. While the game takes a serious tone overall, it incorporates a lighthearted approach that may appeal to a broad audience, though it lacks campy humor.
“Just the voice acting alone made me laugh a few times because of the inflection used; it just sounded so forced, and the delivery was so unique that it made me laugh.”
“The story is both strange and funny; I think most people will enjoy it. There's nothing extreme, but it's not bad.”
“It's funny to fight zombies on Mars.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and reminiscent of work, often requiring significant time investment to manage units effectively. While some achievements can be earned without extensive grinding, many feel that the micromanagement involved can become frustrating and detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“The game feels tedious and very much like work.”
“Tried it and realized it was just like people were complaining about... it becomes a tediously annoying job, of juggling your men, running them back and forth between defense stations, before the next wave hits that side.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized, with players reporting performance issues such as FPS dips and high resource usage, even on lower resolutions compared to other titles like Cyberpunk. While the graphics are praised as impressive, the overall experience is marred by bugs and inconsistent performance, particularly during intense moments with many enemies on screen.
“The game runs smoothly and its graphics are super awesome. I have encountered one bug where you can't click on any building, and I hope they will fix this soon because it really forces you to restart the mission!”
“Optimization is weak though; I can run Cyberpunk better at 4K than this at 2K with many enemies on screen.”
“All in all – a good 10-15 hour experience, nice campaign, great graphics (if a bit not optimized; the game has some FPS dips with a high number of enemies on a 1070 with highest settings).”
“I don't know if it's just bad optimization, but it's using more resources than any AAA title in my library.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy appears to involve advertising on platforms like Imgur, indicating a focus on reaching potential players through social media and online communities.
