Refactor
- March 28, 2022
- GAGA
- 15h median play time
Get on Steam"Refactor is a single-player strategy game that offers excellent mechanics and around 15 hours of playtime. As a Roguelike Tower Defense game, Refactor allows you to design enemy paths on a grid and combine element towers for unique defenses. With multiple difficulties and modes, and the ability to use traps to improve defense, Refactor provides a challenging and fun experience for players."
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features interesting mechanics and a unique refactor system that allows for deep strategic gameplay and tower customization.
- It offers a variety of gameplay modes, including a challenging endless mode that enhances replayability.
- The graphics and sound design are appealing, and the game provides a fun and engaging experience for tower defense fans.
- The game suffers from excessive reliance on RNG, which can lead to frustrating experiences where skill is overshadowed by luck.
- Many players find the mechanics poorly explained, leading to confusion and a steep learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with the genre.
- There are significant balance issues, with some towers and mechanics feeling underwhelming or ineffective, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.
- gameplay32 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this tower defense game is praised for its interesting mechanics and strategic potential, particularly the unique "refactor" system that allows for powerful tower combinations. However, many players express frustration with the heavy reliance on RNG, poorly explained mechanics, and extreme difficulty spikes that can feel unfair. Despite these issues, the game offers deep, engaging gameplay with significant replayability, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre, provided some balance adjustments are made.
“The endless mode has extreme customizability, allowing you to have just the style of gameplay you enjoy the most.”
“I highly recommend Refactor as a challenging tower defense with fun gameplay, tons of replayability, and deep mechanics that are easy to learn and difficult to master.”
“The game starts easy while explaining the mechanics but quickly takes the training wheels off and pits you against some levels that definitely take thinking and skill to complete.”
“None of this is at all helped by the pretty badly explained mechanics, which often feel superficial, and the extreme difficulty ramping feels pretty unfair even if the game decides to play in your favor.”
“If you are expecting something with strategy from deterministic planning and gameplay, this is not the game for you.”
“I believe there is a lot of potential with this game, but it needs some balance changes or better ways of describing its mechanics.”
- story6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered weak, with many reviewers noting the absence of a substantial campaign or coherent narrative. While some find the mechanics engaging, the dialogue is often described as silly or poorly written, detracting from the overall experience. Suggestions for improvement include the addition of a structured story mode to better introduce gameplay elements.
“The main missions get quite challenging (a plus for me) and give you a trial by fire to really dive into the mechanics and experimentation.”
“I’d recommend creating a story mode that explains the gameplay over time versus throwing everything at you at once.”
“The dialogue and 'story' are silly to nonexistent, and the English is quite poor at times, with each update bringing in new misspellings. However, these issues are mostly ignorable or just provide extra entertainment.”
“Overall, the missions are short because there aren't many of them.”
“I’d recommend creating a story mode that explains the gameplay over time instead of throwing everything at you at once.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics received mixed reviews, with some praising their simplicity and clarity, particularly in distinguishing towers and enemies, while others found them unremarkable. Fans of retro 8-bit styles may enjoy the aesthetic, but there are concerns about potential confusion for colorblind players due to subtle color coding. Overall, the graphics are functional but not particularly noteworthy.
“Graphics: simple, but it's meant to be like that.”
“If you like 8-bit graphics and are willing to learn and figure out a few strategies, it can be a bit of fun.”
“The graphics are fine (pure 2D) and each tower and enemy is clearly distinguishable, ensuring that nothing is confusing.”
“The graphics are nothing to write about.”
“Some graphical elements are color coded, with just the slightest alterations for the colorblind - probably playable, but with some potential for confusion.”
“But if you like 8-bit graphics and are willing to learn and figure out a few strategies, it can be a bit of fun.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its random elements and engaging mechanics, making it a worthwhile investment for players. While the initial unlocking phase may feel less impactful, the overall experience is enhanced by the challenge and depth of gameplay, allowing for hundreds of hours of enjoyment. However, some users feel that the refractor system could benefit from improvements to maintain long-term replayability.
“Due to the random elements of the game, it offers endless replayability for a very modest price.”
“It's marketed as a 'roguelite tower defense,' but when the game has replayability for hundreds of hours, the first few hours of unlocking things kind of become forgotten - that's not really where the game shines.”
“I highly recommend Refactor as a challenging tower defense with fun gameplay, tons of replayability, and deep mechanics that are easy to learn and difficult to master.”
“The refractor system needs improvements to enhance long-term replayability.”
“While the game has some random elements, it ultimately lacks the depth needed for true replayability.”
“Endless mode provides some replay value, but it quickly becomes repetitive.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find the humor in the game particularly amusing, highlighting the comedic choice of naming the AI "Nacho," which adds a lighthearted and entertaining element to the experience.
“Also, it's hilarious that the AI's name is Nacho.”
“I found that really funny for some reason.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its smooth performance, indicating effective optimization that enhances the overall gameplay experience.
“The game runs smoothly, providing a seamless experience.”
“I appreciate how well-optimized the gameplay is; it never lags.”
“The optimization is impressive, allowing for high performance even on lower-end systems.”
