Repel the Rifts

About

Repel the Rifts is a single player strategy game. It was developed by RefinedBearGames and was released on November 24, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Repel the Rifts is a roguelite tower defense game set on an alien world where you defend against waves of inter-dimensional creatures emerging from mysterious rifts. Expand the map by surveying unknown terrain, strategically placing and upgrading towers with unique abilities. Collect alien artifacts and choose commanders with distinct skills to enhance your defense and survive the onslaught.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 131 reviews

graphics9 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and engaging music, enhancing the overall experience.
It offers a fun and addictive gameplay loop with a variety of commanders and tower types, allowing for different strategies.
The developers are responsive and dedicated to improving the game, with potential for future content and updates.

Currently, the game lacks depth and content, making it feel repetitive after a few runs.
The meta progression system is underwhelming, with many upgrades feeling insignificant and not impactful on gameplay.
Some balancing issues exist, particularly with certain towers and difficulty spikes, leading to frustration in gameplay.

graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their charming pixel art style and retro aesthetics, reminiscent of titles like "Into the Breach" and "FTL." Reviewers appreciate the variety in artwork and tower designs, noting that the visuals enhance the overall gameplay experience, despite some concerns about content depth and balance. Overall, the art style is considered a standout feature, making the game appealing to fans of tower defense genres.
- “Love the art style and sound design.”
- “The graphics are also very nice, reminding me of FTL and Into the Breach.”
- “Art style is peak, but the gameplay just isn't there yet.”
- “Somebody copied a quarter of the content of Tower Dominion, with Into the Breach aesthetic, and released it under Repel the Rifts.”
- “The pixel art graphics suit the gameplay very well, giving it a slightly 'old school' feel.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
53%
18%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the fun and approachable mechanics, particularly in the tower defense genre, while others criticize it for being repetitive, lacking depth, and offering minimal progression after a certain point. Although the game features appealing art and a solid difficulty curve, many feel it falls short in variety and challenge, making it less worthwhile for its price. Overall, it is seen as a decent option for casual play, especially for those with limited time.
- “Really nice core gameplay.”
- “Fun and simple tower defense game that seems very challenging at first, but becomes fairly easy to play once you start to really get a grasp of the game's mechanics and start putting points into the game's upgrades.”
- “It has a super approachable and fun gameplay loop with a solid difficulty curve!”
- “There is no real gameplay difference between all the heroes and no progression is made after wave 25.”
- “The game is super easy even on max difficulty and the gameplay loop is very repetitive.”
- “The gameplay is very shallow.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The music in the game is praised for its retro aesthetics and catchy chiptune battle tracks, evoking nostalgia for old-school arcade games. While the soundtrack is described as excellent, it is also noted to be somewhat limited and repetitive, leading some players to suggest using their own music instead. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's addictive nature, despite its lack of variety.
- “With an amazing soundtrack!”
- “Earworm-as-hell chiptune battle music and nice little dee-doos when stuff lands.”
- “The music reminds me of old school arcade games.”
- “The OST isn't very varied, and there aren't many different towers yet, but the game is still addictive with all the possible gameplay combinations!”
- “The soundtrack is still limited, but what’s there is genuinely excellent.”
- “Another point of criticism is that the soundtrack, while upbeat, is pretty repetitive, but I guess you can just tune out the game music and put your own on.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game offers good replayability through its influence on map design, diverse player characters, and a tech tree that encourages experimentation with upgrades and artifacts. However, some players feel that the current early access version lacks depth in progression, which may limit long-term replay value unless players are motivated by achievements. Overall, the variety in gameplay mechanics and character choices enhances replayability, but further development could improve it significantly.
- “Great replayability with the ability to influence the map design and the multiple different player characters.”
- “Considering all the passives, stat increments, and the way some of them can be flexed onto anything, you'll certainly get more replayability out of it.”
- “The current replayability is tied directly to the tech tree (meta upgrades), trying out tower upgrades (unique upgrades add additional variety to towers such as dealing damage over time/armor break), and different artifacts.”
- “On the whole, I've had a good time with Repel the Rifts, and it'll probably stay in my rotation for a bit longer, but since it's still in early access, I'll end by saying that a little more in the way of progression and/or replay value would go a long way.”
- “Once you dig a little into the meat and potatoes, somewhere around five hours in, you'll realize that the game lacks replay value unless you're the sort to chase achievements and unlock all the upgrades.”
- “The current replayability is tied directly to the tech tree (meta upgrades), trying out tower upgrades (unique upgrades add additional variety to towers such as dealing damage over time/armor break) and different artifacts.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat present but generally manageable, suggesting that while it may require some effort, it does not detract significantly from the overall experience.
- “The grinding in this game feels excessive and tedious.”
- “I found the grind to be a major chore, detracting from the overall experience.”
- “The amount of grinding required to progress is frustrating and feels like a waste of time.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is described as adorable and immersive, contributing positively to the overall experience. However, some players feel that the roguelite elements could be further developed to enhance the challenge.
- “This game is incredibly atmospheric, creating a world that feels alive and immersive.”
- “The ambiance is captivating, drawing you into its unique environment and enhancing the overall experience.”
- “The atmosphere is rich and engaging, making every moment spent in the game feel meaningful and memorable.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for lacking progression and additional levels, which detracts from the overall experience. However, the inclusion of a mission board reminiscent of "Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviours" is noted as a positive feature that enhances the free-form campaign.
- “The biggest issue is that there is no progression or story, and there are no additional levels.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is inconsistent; while some players report smooth performance even under heavy load, others experience frequent lag spikes and bugs that detract from the overall experience.
- “I didn’t encounter any bugs; the performance was smooth even on double speed with 100+ enemies on the map.”
- “I really want to like this game, but it has optimization problems, frequent lag spikes, and a few bugs that just ruin the experience.”