UnderDark : Defense

About

Tower Defense: Guarding the Flame from the Darkness!

Genres & Tags

Strategy

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 930 reviews

gameplay44 positive mentions

monetization124 negative mentions

The gameplay is engaging and combines tower defense with roguelike elements, providing a unique experience.
The art style is charming and visually appealing, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.
There are no forced ads, and the monetization is reasonable, allowing for a fair free-to-play experience.

The game suffers from a heavy reliance on microtransactions, making progression feel grindy and frustrating at times.
There are frequent bugs and connectivity issues, such as the 'Error Remote Config' message that disrupts gameplay.
The multiplayer experience is hindered by bugs and a lack of effective communication tools, making it difficult to enjoy with friends.

monetization
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
11%
79%
The monetization strategy of the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating the absence of forced ads and the option to watch ads for rewards, which they find non-intrusive. However, there are complaints about the overwhelming number of microtransactions, including various passes and in-app purchases, which some players feel detracts from the overall experience and leads to a pay-to-win environment. While some users are willing to pay for ad removal and support the developers, others criticize the game's reliance on ads for progression and the lengthy ad durations.
- “If you are willing to purchase no ads, it's actually affordable.”
- “I never paid for in-game purchases, but I made an exception this time because the developer definitely deserves support.”
- “It's a very nice game with no ads.”
- “The amount of monetization is just ludicrous; you're bombarded with packs, passes, gacha pulls, etc. every game, and you then spend minutes getting a 'free' and vastly inadequate amount of currency to upgrade the 10 different things.”
- “Great game ruined by awful predatory monetization, slow progression and difficulty curve; you could buy multiple AAA games on Steam with everything purchasable this game offers.”
- “You'd have to watch lengthy ads to basically do everything in this game; not recommended.”
gameplay
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
36%
4%
The gameplay is widely praised for its engaging and innovative mechanics, blending traditional tower defense with RPG elements and unique hero interactions. Players appreciate the strategic depth, smooth controls, and visually appealing graphics, which contribute to a fun and addictive experience. While some users note occasional frustrations with difficulty spikes and repetitive maps, the overall consensus is that the game offers a satisfying and enjoyable tower defense experience with minimal intrusive ads.
- “The game itself is fantastic—engaging gameplay, smooth controls, and visually stunning graphics that keep you hooked for hours.”
- “My favorite mobile game right now! This is exactly what I want from a tower defense game; the gameplay is really fun and satisfying, the ads aren't intrusive, and you can feel the passion from the devs when you play. It isn't just a corporate cash grab.”
- “It's the absolute best tower defense game I've played in such a long time. The mechanics are fantastic for single-handed gameplay, and there aren't annoying ads unless you specifically select them. What more could you ask for?”
- “Should have the ability to rotate towers added, more events and unique gameplay, and more towers added!”
- “Drop FPS a lot in long game mode - unlimited in-game level up makes it become a pop-up closing simulator - repetitive gameplay (20 maps on 8 loop in general mode).”
- “The ability to have a mobile hero to kit out with various weapons and upgrades provides a different type of gameplay than a traditional tower defense game.”
graphics
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
30%
5%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals and unique art style, which many players find engaging and immersive. The artwork is described as charming, cute, and well-executed, contributing significantly to the overall enjoyment of the gameplay. However, some users have reported occasional graphical errors, but these do not seem to detract from the overall positive reception of the game's aesthetics.
- “The game is amazing—stunning visuals and great gameplay, definitely a superb twist for the tower defense genre.”
- “The dark, atmospheric visuals and eerie sound effects create an immersive experience that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
- “Stunning graphics make this a perfect game to play.”
- “If I get to 10 minutes surrounded by monsters, the amount of monsters seems to overwhelm my phone. I will be seeing if I can adjust the graphics settings to fix it.”
- “The only problem is that I'm getting a lot of graphical errors where the images of the assets are not loading, which is only showing up as purple.”
- “Little janky, neat aesthetics.”
story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The game's story aspect is generally viewed as lacking depth, with players expressing a desire for more narrative content. While the gameplay is enjoyable and challenging, the inclusion of daily quests requiring in-app purchases has frustrated some users, detracting from their overall experience. Players appreciate the game's mechanics but hope for enhancements in storytelling and quest variety.
- “Not bad, really good honestly, it's actually challenging, but still beatable. I had a great time, thanks devs! One more thing, it would be cool if there was a bit more story to it, but other than that, I can't think of any problems.”
- “5/5 would recommend if you like tower defense. It would be great if you could add more daily and weekly quests so that we can progress faster as it finishes very quickly.”
- “Sure supporting the creators helps, but I'll never get the satisfaction of completing dailies if I have to spend money. The creator said they'll consider making some alterations; that one quest was the only trouble!”
- “What makes me sad is that there's a daily quest 'make one in-app purchase' and it seems that it wants real money.”
- “Sure supporting the creators helps, but I'll never get the satisfaction of completing dailies if I have to spend money. The creator said they'll consider making some alterations, but that one quest is the only trouble!”
- “Your big space tower I find still not useful in early stages/games in career/story mode.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it manageable and rewarding, while others criticize it for becoming excessively grindy and leaning towards pay-to-win mechanics after an initial easy phase. Many users express frustration with the high difficulty curve and the presence of ads, which can make the experience feel tedious. Overall, while some players feel their efforts are worthwhile, the grindiness is a common point of contention.
- “Monsters need a nerf or the player needs greater progression in order to avoid the usual trap of being too grindy.”
- “The difficulty curve for the game is too high; the game hooks the player in with easy levels/dungeons at the start, but after 20 levels or so, the game becomes grindy and pay-to-win.”
- “Ah yes, your usual grindy, pay-to-win, ad-filled Korean-made game; nothing new, I've never seen something so filthy that 2x speed is locked behind ads.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with players enjoying its quality and integration into the overall experience. However, there are calls for more variety in the soundtrack, and some users have raised concerns about potential copyright issues, specifically mentioning similarities to music from "Hades." Overall, while the music enhances the game, there is room for improvement in terms of diversity and originality.
- “Really fun and nicely done tower defense game, love the art style and music.”
- “Could use some more music variety.”
- “My few suggestions are adding more to the soundtrack, make helmets visible if the player wants, or the option to turn it off, and add player images to unlock for our profiles since it's online.”
- “Could use with some more music variety.”
- “How have they got away with stealing music from Hades?”
- “My few suggestions are adding more to the soundtrack, make helmets visible if the player wants, or the option to turn it off.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's dark visuals and eerie sound effects contribute to a highly immersive atmosphere that effectively keeps players engaged and on edge.
- “The dark, atmospheric visuals and eerie sound effects create an immersive experience that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight that the beginning of the game offers significant replayability and enjoyment, suggesting that players can revisit this section multiple times for a fresh experience.
- “The start has a lot of replayability and fun.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game "Thornbush" has significant stability issues, describing it as buggy, which has led some players to switch to alternative options like "BB Pellet."
- “I don't know about Thornbush anymore; it's buggy, so I switched to BB Pellet.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized for prioritizing monetization over gameplay experience, with users feeling that it is designed to encourage in-game purchases rather than providing a balanced and engaging tower defense experience.
- “Decent little tower defense shell, but like so many others these days, this game is optimized to make you click the pay now button.”