Rogue Tower

About

Rogue Tower is a single player survival strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Die of Death Games and was released on January 28, 2022. It received positive reviews from players.

"Rogue Tower" is a rogue-lite tower defense game where players must build and defend their tower against enemy waves, with each playthrough offering unique challenges and permanent upgrades. Use a variety of tower types and special abilities to survive as long as possible, while managing resources and adapting to changing conditions. With procedural generation and permadeath, each run is a new test of your strategic skills.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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80%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,343 reviews

gameplay156 positive mentions

grinding91 negative mentions

Engaging and addictive gameplay with a unique blend of tower defense and roguelike mechanics.
Variety of towers and enemy types keeps each run fresh and interesting.
Challenging difficulty that encourages strategic thinking and experimentation with different builds.

Lack of quality of life features such as a save option and speed controls makes longer runs tedious.
Heavy reliance on RNG can lead to frustrating experiences, especially when crucial upgrades or towers are not available.
User interface is clunky and difficult to navigate, making it hard to read important information during gameplay.

gameplay
445 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
60%
5%
The gameplay of "Rogue Tower" is a blend of tower defense and roguelike mechanics, offering a unique and strategic experience with a focus on map expansion and tower placement. While the core mechanics are engaging and provide significant depth, many players find the gameplay repetitive and hindered by a lack of polish, including a cluttered user interface and balance issues among tower types. Overall, the game is enjoyable for fans of the genre, but it suffers from RNG dependence and could benefit from quality-of-life improvements to enhance the overall experience.
- “Rogue Tower is a creative blend of tower defense and roguelike mechanics that offers a fresh and strategic take on both genres.”
- “Its innovative path-building mechanic, wide variety of tower types, and layered meta-progression system make it a compelling experience for players who enjoy deep strategy and long-term planning.”
- “The gameplay is fun, the mechanics work well, and it's pretty addictive.”
- “The gameplay is extremely RNG-based with almost no ways of mitigating bad rolls.”
- “Gameplay becomes repetitive fairly quickly and beyond researching everything, there's not much to the game.”
- “The UI is janky and often difficult to see, parts of the gameplay feel heavily RNG-dependent, and core game elements still need fine-tuning despite being in full release.”
music
213 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
43%
5%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its energetic and engaging soundtrack, which enhances the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. Many players appreciate the dynamic nature of the music, noting how it adapts to the action, although some have pointed out that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, with many reviewers recommending it as a significant reason to play the game.
- “The aesthetic is charming, and the music adapts to the pace of the action, adding energy to the gameplay without becoming intrusive.”
- “The music is phenomenal, the gameplay is addicting and the mechanics are sound.”
- “The soundtrack goes hard, too, though it can border on being repetitive if waves and runs go long.”
- “The music is terrible.”
- “I didn't like the music; there were only a few songs. The main song in the trailer is both for the menu and the early stages, and I turned the music off after a few hours to avoid hearing it, which I don't typically do for games.”
- “The music becomes extremely repetitive.”
graphics
179 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally described as simple and minimalistic, often employing a voxel or retro pixel art style that some players find charming and easy to read. However, many reviewers express a desire for improved visual fidelity and more graphical options, noting that the current state can hinder gameplay clarity and performance. While the aesthetics may not be groundbreaking, they are often considered sufficient for the game's mechanics, with a few players appreciating the clean design despite its limitations.
- “Visually, the game employs a clean and colorful voxel art style that keeps everything clear and easy to read, even when the screen is filled with enemies and projectiles.”
- “The graphics are nice, nothing spectacular but they do the job, they are coherent and it's easy to understand at first glance what's what.”
- “The graphics are really cool and make the whole thing readable, really pleasant to play.”
- “The graphics could really use some more love.”
- “The graphics are incredibly simple, the mechanics are limited and there are only 3 'levels.' It is fun for a few hours.”
- “The graphics are really crude, visually unappealing, and difficult to interpret unless you're zoomed in very close.”
replayability
170 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
40%
5%
The game is widely praised for its high replayability, with many players highlighting the variety of strategies, randomly generated maps, and diverse tower types that keep gameplay fresh and engaging. While some reviews note a decline in replay value after achieving certain milestones, the overall consensus is that the game offers a fun and addictive experience with nearly endless replay potential, especially for fans of the tower defense genre. However, a few players express concerns about the long-term replayability and suggest that additional content or modes could enhance the experience further.
- “Great example of fun mechanics and a game that is incredibly replayable with so many different strategies on how to play.”
- “The random map generation and card choices give loads of replayability.”
- “This game is insanely replayable and has a ton of value.”
- “The screenshots and video make it seem like there is a whole lot of depth and replayability here; unfortunately, the majority of the upgrades are the opposite of upgrades.. have fun ballista towering :(”
- “It is what it is and there seems to be no attempt at making it more, which is bad because this is one of those games that lose 90% of their replay value once you got the major achievements.”
- “After about 12 hours you have seen the entire game, you have all of the towers unlocked, and the replay value drops off a cliff.”
grinding
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
4%
95%
The grinding aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players finding it tedious and unnecessarily time-consuming. Reviewers noted that the lack of quality-of-life features, slow progression, and frustrating achievement systems contribute to a grindy experience that can detract from overall enjoyment. While some players found moments of fun within the grind, the overwhelming sentiment is that the game demands excessive grinding without sufficient rewards, making it less appealing, especially for completionists.
- “The soundtrack is magnificent, the gameplay is very satisfying and a lot of fun. The UI is mostly garbage, but honestly, the former two do an excellent job of distracting from the latter, and the UI isn't tedious to use.”
- “Grinding can be fun, but this game just phoned in everything that could have added something to the experience, so it really falls flat for me.”
- “The achievement grind is tedious and requires luck depending on builds and map RNG.”
- “The game gets extremely tedious with waves lasting forever, too much RNG getting the upgrades, bosses being the worst when you don't get the towers you want.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
64%
25%
The reviews consistently highlight the absence of a story in the game, with players expressing a desire for a narrative or lore to enhance the gameplay experience. Many suggest that a "story mode" or some form of background context would improve engagement, as the current structure focuses solely on gameplay mechanics without any narrative depth. Overall, the lack of a compelling story is a significant drawback noted by users.
- “Personally, I'd like to see a sort of 'story mode' where the player would have at least some sort of consistent track they know they can utilize.”
- “Would be extra nice to have a little background story?”
- “For instance: this is the story of a wizard named Saruman.”
- “No story, no lore, no cutscenes, no background, just straight to gameplay in an easy to learn, hard to master environment.”
- “There is no story, no path of discovery. The tracks of music progressively change as the run continues, but it is the same beats in the same order. The enemies are just pixel models that wobble from side to side silently, the background is the same grey-blue. You can choose one of three different difficulties, but they are just more paths leading to your tower. No diverse themes, no diverse environments, and no character dialog beyond generic text box comments.”
- “Game doesn't have much (any) story.”
humor
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
89%
11%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of playful and witty elements, with many players finding the comedic aspects enjoyable, such as funny character designs and amusing gameplay mechanics. However, some users criticize the developer's attempts at humor, particularly regarding an April Fool's patch that disrupted gameplay, leading to mixed feelings about the overall comedic value. While many appreciate the lighthearted tone, others feel that the humor can detract from the game's core experience.
- “This tower defense is refreshing and fun, as well as funny at times.”
- “Good game, funny flamethrower go brrr.”
- “The dev even took time to create an 'April Fools' version, which was hilarious.”
- “I understand that most April Fool's jokes aren't funny, but extending it past the most unfunny day of the year goes even beyond that.”
- “Seeing a dev that just flat out turns the game on its head for a joke (that is not optional and is not funny to all the people) over a full weekend, when people can spare some time to play, is not a good sign.”
- “It is not funny if everyone suffers.”
optimization
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
40%
40%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, particularly in late-game scenarios where lag spikes occur. While some users appreciate the depth of strategy and smooth gameplay during early levels, others criticize the overall lack of polish, poor UI, and inadequate optimization for platforms like the Steam Deck. Overall, the game is seen as needing substantial improvements in optimization to enhance the player experience.
- “It runs incredibly smooth, is satisfying every run, and has a depth of optimization strategy that is tweaked really nice.”
- “Love the simple graphics, a seemingly very well balanced progression system, no problems or performance issues.”
- “I am looking forward to future updates for new content and optimizations.”
- “There's literally no way to beat anything above dual defense without mods, and even then you can still lose. Believe me, it has happened multiple times even with nerfing spawns and increasing gold, etc. This game is so bad... it's unoptimized, the scaling is awful, and the amount of enemies is ridiculous.”
- “Late-game, every few seconds there's a horrible lag spike, and it feels like the game is poorly optimized.”
- “While novel in concept, unfortunately, it has a lot of optimization issues that hold the game back from being enjoyed.”
stability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
77%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and glitches, particularly related to saving and controls. While some players have experienced a relatively bug-free experience, others find the game feels unfinished and reminiscent of early access titles. Overall, the game's stability issues detract from the experience, though there is potential for improvement.
- “I had a bug-free play; not laggy at all. Highly recommend!”
- “The game runs great, but the controls are not yet optimized for the stream deck if you have one.”
- “Feels kind of like an early access game - it's bug-free, but the content gets repetitive pretty fast. This is the same with other tower defense games, though.”
- “Cute game; unfortunately, the dev has abandoned it and any bugs or glitches, including a lack of saving, will never be addressed.”
- “Very buggy - crashes often.”
- “Game is too buggy.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
30%
50%
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the absence of microtransactions and paywalls, others criticize the developers for perceived cash-grabbing tactics, particularly with the release of a second game and the introduction of plushie merchandise. Despite the lack of in-game purchases, players express frustration over the game's design choices and the overwhelming presence of ads, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “One thing that was a pleasant surprise was the lack of monetization.”
- “There's no microtransactions, no XP boosters, no towers behind paywalls or anything.”
- “Seem to be cash grabbing by making a second game.”
- “It was fun for a while but after seeing how the UI still looks terrible and how disconnected the devs are, really terrible updates, shameless cash grab with their plushie when they were in hot water after repeated bad updates, I simply cannot recommend it.”
- “No microtransactions, unlike in something like Bloons TD.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a mix of emotions regarding the game, highlighting both wholesome moments, such as Easter eggs, and frustrations stemming from randomness and lack of tactical depth, which can lead to a sense of emotional flatness. While some appreciate the emotional impact of the game, others criticize the developer's perceived disconnect from the community and the game's mechanics, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “This game made me feel something for once.”
- “Edit: that touch grass easter egg is wholesome, much recommend now.”
- “Even after a few hours, the heavy randomness on both tower and perk acquisition feels cheap, the placements do not feel very tactical, the 'mana' system for very specific towers is a very odd gimmick, and that combines into a very emotionally flattening experience when you feel there's nothing you could have done to save a run besides be luckier.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with a standout soundtrack that enhances the overall experience and complements the playful style of the genre. Users appreciate how the music and design work together to create an engaging and immersive environment.
- “I like the game; the soundtrack is great and gives the game a lot of atmosphere.”
- “It’s a style that suits the genre well, focusing on function while maintaining a playful atmosphere.”