Protolife Game Cover

"Protolife is a single-player Real Time Strategy game with a good plot and marvelous visuals. Players become a part of a cellular machinery, building defenses and upgrading towers using proteins and enzymes to protect the cell from infection. The game features keyboard controls, a manual for building and upgrading, and a team of developers including Alexey Grishin for code, music, and pirogi; Ruslan Kibets for code and PR; and Anatoly Sazanov for art and idea."

Reviews

86%
Audience ScoreBased on 291 reviews
gameplay30 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Unique and engaging tower defense mechanics that require strategic thinking and quick decision-making.
  • Challenging gameplay that ramps up in difficulty, providing a rewarding experience for players who enjoy a challenge.
  • Creative building system where players construct towers from blocks, allowing for a variety of strategies and approaches.
  • Controls can be cumbersome and frustrating, especially with the lack of mouse support, making precise building difficult.
  • The campaign is relatively short, which may leave players wanting more content and replayability.
  • Some players may find the difficulty spikes in later levels to be overwhelming and discouraging.
  • gameplay84 mentions

    The gameplay of this tower defense game is characterized by its unique and innovative building mechanics, allowing players to create custom towers through various block combinations. While the core mechanics are simple and addictive, some players find the complexity of the building system overwhelming, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite this, the game offers a variety of levels and challenges, making it engaging and replayable, though it could benefit from improved tutorials and control options.

    • “The core mechanic is brilliant and addictive, the levels are varied and cleverly designed, and the difficulty curve is just right.”
    • “A very enjoyable tower defense game with very innovative building and upgrade mechanics.”
    • “Every level introduces a new block combination, enemy, or gameplay concept, and keeps things fresh from level to level.”
    • “Awful gameplay.”
    • “Having to place the blocks in various combinations is just such a bad idea for gameplay.”
    • “The only nitpick I have is that the clunky keyboard controls - most of the time they don't get in your way but for the more intense battles you end up really wanting for a stop-time turn-by-turn tactical overlay or any other mechanic to help implement your strategy.”
  • story49 mentions

    The game's story is often described as underdeveloped and lacking engagement, with many players noting that it feels incomplete or barebones. While the campaign introduces various gameplay mechanics and ramps up in difficulty, it does not provide a compelling narrative, leaving players wanting more lore and context throughout the missions. Overall, the story is seen as a missed opportunity, overshadowed by the game's challenging mechanics and replayability.

    • “Some text narratives at the start or a short cutscene explaining the lore over a few missions would have really made it more immersive.”
    • “The story elements at the end made me want more.”
    • “The story really has untapped potential.”
    • “Due to this, the story is slightly dry, as you don't really unfold the lore until the end.”
    • “The only negative point I found is that the story is quite short.”
  • music32 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its catchiness and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many noting its effective integration into gameplay phases. While some tracks are considered grating or lacking in variety, the overall sound design is seen as a strong point that contributes to the game's unique ambiance. However, a few players expressed a desire for a more extensive soundtrack, indicating that the limited number of tracks could become repetitive over time.

    • “And then there's the catchy music and excellent subtle world-building delivered via flavour text between levels.”
    • “The music and gory 8-bit art create a better atmosphere of gloom and discomfort than most AAA titles.”
    • “The music alone should get it some positive credit with its mix of peaceful technological management sound to its mechanical grinding upbeat terror it instills during the heavy wave attacks.”
    • “A couple of the music tracks are a little grating, but the majority is fitting and pretty good.”
    • “Music does get annoying quite fast too.”
    • “The only downside is that the game lacks music tracks.”
  • graphics21 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the retro pixel art style and its contribution to the overall atmosphere, while others criticize the low-resolution visuals and desire for higher-quality graphics. Despite the varying opinions, many agree that the graphics effectively complement the gameplay and enhance the game's unique charm. Overall, while improvements could be made, the graphics are generally considered adequate for the experience.

    • “Level design, tower pattern design, music, the visuals - they're all top-notch and really bring much needed dynamism and difficulty to the genre.”
    • “I love the pixel art aesthetic as well.”
    • “The graphics and music make for great atmosphere.”
    • “Personally, I hate the graphics in this game. The game is very light on graphics, so why could they not have made nice high-resolution graphics?”
    • “Sure, the graphics could use improvement, but the tower/base defense play is solid.”
    • “I wish the developer would make a 2.0 version with some graphic updates.”
  • replayability17 mentions

    The reviews highlight a mixed perspective on replayability, with some players praising the game's challenging missions, variety, and custom level support that enhance replay value. However, others criticize the short campaign length and lack of substantial replay options, indicating that some players may find the game ultimately lacking in this aspect. Overall, while there are features that can extend replayability, opinions vary significantly among users.

    • “A highly challenging modular tower defense game with excellent replayability and exceedingly difficult missions which would be off-putting to some.”
    • “Simplistic gameplay, but lots of variety, replayability, and just overall fun.”
    • “Excellent replay value with the research mode that enables you to research and craft your own turrets.”
    • “The game is short and lacks replayability that I thought the experiment mode would bring; this lets you procedurally create levels based on how hard and long you want it.”
    • “Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to play anymore because there's not much in the way of replayability.”
    • “Sadly, neither are present at launch, so be aware that you're only buying a (rather enjoyable) single campaign with little to no replayability.”
  • atmosphere7 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the effective combination of gameplay, graphics, and sound design that creates a compelling sense of gloom and discomfort. The low-fi graphics and grotesque sound effects enhance the overall experience, making it more immersive than many AAA titles. Overall, the music and visuals work together to establish a convincing and enjoyable atmosphere.

    • “The music and gory 8-bit art create a better atmosphere of gloom and discomfort than most AAA titles.”
    • “Music and visuals create a great atmosphere.”
    • “The music and gory 8-bit art creates a better atmosphere of gloom and discomfort than most AAA titles.”
    • “The premise and setting do well to build atmosphere, complemented by the low-fi graphics and sound effects, which are wonderfully grotesque.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a complex balancing act, requiring strategic resource management and spatial planning while facing escalating enemy threats. The need to transport crystals individually and make tactical decisions about turret placement adds to the challenge, often leading to difficult trade-offs that can compromise defenses. The game's music enhances the experience, blending a peaceful ambiance with a sense of urgency during intense moments.

    • “The challenge is to manage how to fit them into tight spaces, well together, against the right enemies while also managing the resources and time, as crystals have to be carried one by one. If you need four for the biggest tower (which might not be as useful as some other turrets), you either tediously carry them from your core, create them on site, or take them from another turret out of desperation.”
    • “Do you take the hit on your defenses and push out on one side, taking more room and some of those farming flowers while partially securing one side, but practically compromising the entire other side? This will make you regret it as you realize you do not have the resources to clear the now corrupted blocks or stay in place, rebuilding what has been lost at the cost of enduring longer and the enemy getting stronger over time.”
    • “The music alone should get it some positive credit with its mix of peaceful technological management sounds and the mechanical grinding upbeat terror it instills during the heavy wave attacks.”
  • stability3 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users reporting significant bugs, such as issues with full-screen mode and persistent enemy spawns despite conditions being met. However, there are also positive remarks highlighting a bug-free experience and enjoyable gameplay. Overall, stability appears to be inconsistent across different user experiences.

    • “The game is bug-free, and the gameplay is fantastic.”
    • “I haven't encountered any crashes or glitches, which makes for a smooth experience.”
    • “The stability of the game allows me to fully immerse myself without interruptions.”
    • “Very buggy; I cannot view the game in full screen.”
    • “@maker: the karst layer is a little buggy. If you kill all of one of the branches before the time is up, it still spawns aliens even when there are no spawning pools.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, appreciating the journey it offers despite its challenging difficulty. The experience evokes a mix of gratitude and frustration, highlighting the game's ability to engage players on multiple levels, including its optional systems that enhance gameplay without being necessary for completion.

    • “In case the developer reads this, because I'm guessing development stopped... thank you for the game, it was a great journey that also made me feel stupid because even on the fourth difficulty I am starting to fail the procedural levels, but that is actually mostly on those wave attack ones, haha.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The optimization of the game is perceived as lacking, with users noting it feels somewhat like an early access title due to ongoing fixes and imbalances in content.

    • “The game feels a bit like early access, with a lack of content and constant fixes needed for optimization and content balance.”
    • “Optimization issues make the gameplay experience frustrating, as performance drops significantly during key moments.”
    • “Despite its potential, the game suffers from severe optimization problems that hinder overall enjoyment.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy Protolife

Play time

43hMedian play time
43hAverage play time
43-43hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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