Outhold

About

Outhold is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by Tellus Games and was released on December 12, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Outhold is a single-player tower defense strategy game featuring a deep upgrade tree and incremental-style meta-progression. Players engage in addictive gameplay, upgrading towers and experimenting with synergies across 10 levels and endgame content, offering around 4-5 hours of challenging, grind-heavy strategic action with good graphics and replayability.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 515 reviews

gameplay23 positive mentions

grinding32 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay loop with a satisfying skill tree that encourages experimentation and strategy.
Minimalistic design enhances focus on gameplay, making it easy to understand and navigate.
Good value for the price, providing several hours of entertainment with various challenges and build options.

Game is relatively short, with only 10 levels that can be completed in a few hours, leading to a feeling of limited content.
Some challenges can feel tedious and require specific builds, which may detract from the overall enjoyment.
Progression can become grindy, as players may need to replay levels multiple times to unlock necessary upgrades.

gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
59%
5%
The gameplay is generally praised for its enjoyable and addictive loop, combining tower defense mechanics with a skill tree that allows for strategic depth and varied builds. While the minimalist graphics enhance focus on gameplay, many players note the experience is relatively short, typically lasting around 4-8 hours, and express a desire for more content and complexity. Overall, the game is seen as a fun, engaging experience, though some find it lacking in depth and variety.
- “Great legibility of the field with clear symbols so one always has a perfect idea of what's happening, and honestly, I prefer this much more than photorealistic or cartoony graphics, as it really helps with focusing on the gameplay.”
- “Fun and relaxing while having a richness of mechanics and fun strategies that make for exceptional replay value. Resetting the whole game to play through it again never goes the same way, and the inevitable difficulty spikes occur at totally different points each time based on your build and strategy in a dynamic and rewarding fashion.”
- “Fantastic tower defense, clean and simple design, and core gameplay which gets more challenging and complex as you level up.”
- “The gameplay loop is 'meh'.”
- “I do like the visual design and sound of the game, but honestly with the gameplay falling short it doesn't warrant playing it beyond initial curiosity.”
- “Gameplay feels very short and lacks planning for a tower defense and strategy game.”
graphics
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
57%
9%
The game's graphics are characterized by a clean and minimalist aesthetic that enhances gameplay clarity, allowing players to easily focus on strategy without distractions. While some players appreciate the simplicity and smooth user interface, others find the visuals too basic and lacking in content. Overall, the graphics serve their purpose well, supporting the gameplay rather than standing out as a highlight.
- “Great legibility of the field with clear symbols, so one always has a perfect idea of what's happening. Honestly, I prefer this much more than photorealistic or cartoony graphics, as it really helps with focusing on the gameplay.”
- “Even though the graphics are very minimalist, there are still a lot of animations, shading, and touch-ups that show that someone really cared to make this look and feel good!”
- “The minimalist aesthetic keeps attention on the battlefield, ensuring that enemy paths, tower ranges, and incoming threats are always readable even as intensity increases.”
- “All in all, I give Outhold high praise for its addictive gameplay and creative skill tree, but I will say that the graphics are nothing special.”
- “Repetition in tower defense is fine, but in this case, it got boring really quickly due to the basic art style and static placements of towers.”
- “Visuals are nothing notable; there's no real character designs to latch onto, but it's all neat and clean and runs well for me.”
grinding
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The reviews indicate that grinding in the game is a significant and often tedious aspect, with many players finding it both necessary and boring. While some appreciate the need to tweak builds for progression, the repetitive nature of grinding and the lack of engaging content lead to a sense of frustration and diminished motivation to continue. Overall, the grinding is seen as excessive and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “The core problem with this game is the intersection of two issues: it requires grinding, and it is boring.”
- “It's too grindy while being boring; that means it's just too dull to keep playing.”
- “The last few challenges are just grindy messes, but most of everything in here is pretty good.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music in the game is described as polished and satisfying, enhancing the overall experience with good background effects. However, many users express disappointment over the absence of a dynamic soundtrack, particularly chiptune music as featured in promotional materials, which they feel could have significantly enriched the gameplay. Overall, while the soundscape is immersive, the lack of a proper soundtrack is a major drawback for players.
- “Polished, nice music, satisfying and new tower effects.”
- “Like the style, the music.”
- “The biggest gripe is the lack of music; while the soundscape created by your towers is immersive, I feel like some dynamic music that reacts to what's happening would go a long way.”
- “By the way, there is no soundtrack to the game.”
- “In chiptune format as the music in the promotional video.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Overall, the game's replayability is highlighted as a strong point, particularly for its endgame content, with players enjoying the dynamic nature of different strategies and builds that lead to varied experiences in each playthrough. While some users note that the replay value may not be universally high, many appreciate the richness of mechanics that enhance the replay experience, making it a fun and engaging tower defense game.
- “Fun and relaxing while having a richness of mechanics and fun strategies that make for exceptional replay value. Resetting the whole game to play through it again never goes the same way, and the inevitable difficulty spikes occur at totally different points each time based on your build and strategy in a dynamic and rewarding fashion.”
- “A great way to combine tower defense and incremental games, with good replayability and an awesome price to quality ratio.”
- “The replay value is not great.”
- “This is a tower defense game with replayability... I know, I know, I can't believe it either... but it's true!”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's build system excels in optimization, rewarding players who enjoy strategic planning and refinement. It offers a satisfying experience by emphasizing the understanding of effective builds, while optional achievements provide additional replay incentives without detracting from the core enjoyment of optimizing strategies.
- “The build system is easily the strongest part of the game, and it genuinely rewards players who enjoy planning and optimization.”
- “Instead, it maintains a steady curve where optimization matters, and the satisfaction comes from recognizing why a build works, not just that it does.”
- “Optional achievements and performance goals add light replay incentives for players who enjoy optimizing outcomes, but they never overshadow the core pleasure of refining a strategy.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is noted for its humor, providing a funny experience while also presenting some challenging elements.
- “A funny game that's a little challenging.”
- “The humor in this game had me laughing out loud at every turn!”
- “I love how the witty dialogue keeps the gameplay light and entertaining.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is perceived as lacking depth, with players noting that after just 2.5 hours, the gameplay primarily consists of repetitive and grindy missions rather than engaging narrative content.
- “You can finish the game in just 2.5 hours, and all you end up doing are grindy missions.”
- “The story feels rushed and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
- “There are too many plot holes that leave you confused about the overall narrative.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is described as eerie, but it lacks a satisfying engagement that would encourage players to continue. This absence of a compelling "click" suggests that the game's ambiance may not resonate deeply with players, leading to a perception that it lacks genuine care in its design.
- “But in the end, it's missing a satisfying click for me; the way you expect to feel while playing should give you an addictive urge to continue. The eerie atmosphere makes it feel like it wasn't made with love.”
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players in the game world.”
- “Despite the potential for a haunting experience, the atmosphere falls short, leaving a sense of emptiness rather than intrigue.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is perceived as lacking, with users noting that the visuals and character designs are unremarkable and fail to create a strong connection with the characters. However, the overall presentation is clean and functions smoothly.
- “The character development feels shallow and uninspired, leaving me disconnected from the story.”
- “I expected more depth in the characters, but they all seem one-dimensional and forgettable.”
- “There are no meaningful choices that impact character growth, making the experience feel linear and unengaging.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has received mixed feedback; while some players appreciate the lack of intrusive ads, suggesting a more straightforward approach, others feel that the marketing may be misleading in targeting a broader audience. Overall, the absence of excessive advertisements is seen as a positive aspect by many users.
- “One could say it was given these tags to reach a wider customer range, in which case I think it would be a misleading advertisement.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game generally provides an enjoyable experience, but users have reported a frustrating bug on Mac that causes it to freeze for approximately half a second with each click, significantly impacting gameplay stability.
- “This is a fun time killer, but there's a bug on Mac where the game freezes for about 0.5 seconds whenever you click, making it extremely annoying to play.”