Since their inception, strategy games have appealed to a wide range of players, with enduring series such as Age of Empires and Civilization providing what is widely regarded as the best in the genre. With their emphasis on medium-to-large-scale combat and base development, those games may be a bit too complex for gamers who are more casual.
Though these games can be easy for beginner players to pick up while still offering a solid challenge, playing tactical strategy games can initially seem intimidating.
This is where tower defense games, a type of strategy games, come into play. Instead of focusing on base expansion, players are tasked with defending their assigned base. It is easier to mount a defense against enemies because they usually assault through particular paths. Naturally, this more focused approach has its own set of excitements and difficulties, and the tower defense game genre, like the broader strategy game genre, has a lot of hidden treasures. Our list of some of the greatest ones is provided here.
October 14, 2023 / Updated by Jacob Whaling This list has been updated with even more fantastic tower defense games, including those that cross over into other genres like action role-playing games and base-building. This game has enough to offer if you’re searching for a challenging tower defense experience.
14 SteamWorld Tower Defense
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Players took on the role of a sheriff tasked with defending his town’s gold mines against an advancing force of intruders in this game. They accomplish this by employing the touch controls on the Nintendo DS’s bottom screen, a variety of robot turrets placed along the roads leading to the mines, and other objects like explosives and full-blown nukes.
13 Sanctum 2
Coffee Stain Studios is the developer of Sanctum 2, a first-person shooter game featuring tower defense features. In a futuristic sci-fi scenario, the game, which debuted in 2013 on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, revolves around a group of people called Core Guardians.
The game takes place on an extraterrestrial world, and players have to protect their oxygen-producing Cores from attacks by local animals. Players can engage in active base defense by switching to a first-person view after erecting towers and other defensive measures.
12 OTTTD (Over The Top Tower Defense)
Fans of the genre should also play Over The Top Tower Defense, or OTTTD, another tower defense game. The game, which was created by Death Squared’s SMG Studios, is set in the year 2317 and opens with an unintentional rupture that allows for a full-scale extraterrestrial invasion. You will have the ability to command particular party members with unique abilities, such as an engineer who bolsters your defenses, in addition to setting up turrets throughout your fortress.
As the title implies, there are times when things go too far, particularly in the later rounds when the difficulty increases significantly. The difficulty of the task is somewhat lessened by the fact that you can replay earlier stages until you accumulate enough points to level up your party members.
11 Defense Grid: The Awakening
Tower defense game Defense Grid: The Awakening is excellent. The game still has a great visual aesthetic and plays incredibly well for its age. In order to defend your core from waves of aliens, tower placement and resource management are the key gameplay mechanics that vary depending on the area.
And speaking of maps, there are a ton of them, and each one has a difficulty modifier to add intrigue to repeat runs. Defense Grid: The Awakening contains material that will keep you occupied for hundreds of hours if you purchase the different DLC packs.
10 Dungeon Defenders
Dungeon Defenders is a tower defense game with action RPG components that was first released for mobile phones in 2010. In this game, up to four players must use melee and ranged attacks, towers, and traps, to defend against waves of orcs, goblins, and other opponents.
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The game has subsequently seen other successors, but the original is still regarded as the greatest by most. Versions for the PC, Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network were published in 2011.
9 Creeper World 4
In this original twist on the tower defense genre, Creeper World 4 puts you in charge of fending off the relentless Creeper flood. As the liquid approaches your base and threatens to flood the entire map, you will use a variety of towers to push it back.
With a ton of story maps, a map editor, and almost endless replay value, Creeper World 4 is a tower defense, real-time strategy, base-building, and physics-based game all combined into one.
8 Orcs Must Die! 3
An image from Orcs Must Die! 3 showcasing gameplay
Serving as a direct sequel to Orcs Must Die! 2, the third game in the series takes place 20 years after the events shown in that game, making it the fourth overall game in the series.
Again, using a variety of weapons, traps, and special powers, players take control of one of two war mages (two players can play collaboratively). Their task is to assist in defending their fortress from an onslaught of invading orc troops. Larger-scale fights (with up to 1,000 orcs) and the deployment of massive traps known as War Machines are highlights of the new game’s War Scenario game mode.
7 GemCraft – Chasing Shadows
Gems are used to build and personalize your own special towers in the challenging and entertaining tower defense game GemCraft – Chasing Shadows. Because there is always something to do or manage with each new wave of foes, battles involve preparation, skill, and focus.
GemCraft is a great game for tower defense aficionados who want to immerse themselves in a new experience because it offers a ton of material and a strong emphasis on replayability. You can play it for hundreds of hours.
6 Mindustry
Similar to games like Factorio, Mindustry is a hybrid of tower defense and resource management. You can build factories to automate the construction of your tower defenses by gathering various resources from the planet’s surface.
The fight of Solasta, the worst dungeon town, and a character from Disgaea
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The campaign of Mindustry features a tonne of levels to play through, along with a custom level builder that allows users to create their own scenarios and maps. Mindustry provides the ideal fusion of resource management and base-building gaming genres, whether you’re like either of these.
5 The Riftbreaker
Mr. Riggs, the riffler While exploring, battling alien insects
Tower defense, action, strategy, and base-building are all combined in The Riftbreaker. With just your AI mecha friend to help you, you’ll have to start over in a dangerous new area using dimensional rifts to travel to new planets.
Just as in Mindustry, you’ll have to gather resources from the planet and fortify your fortress to fend off waves of extraterrestrial invaders. The Riftbreaker has an incredibly exciting gameplay loop, and its stunning graphics make it simple to lose yourself in the action.
4 Kingdom Rush
Among the most well-liked tower defense game series is Kingdom Rush, which includes several excellent titles. Even with its straightforward design, Kingdom Rush’s more challenging maps demand careful strategy to complete.
Numerous characters that can alter your playstyle and provide fresh approaches to kingdom defense are also available for you to unlock. The series offers a good selection of games, and you can’t really go wrong with any of them.
3 Plants Vs. Zombies
An image displaying Plants vs. Zombies on an Apple iPad
Despite the absurd premise of Plants vs. Zombies, the game’s quirky characters and gameplay are endearing throughout. Its vibrant, kid-friendly look contributes significantly to its appeal, but don’t let that deceive you into believing the game isn’t challenging in any way.
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The front yard of your home is the scene of the fight between the game’s titular fighters, as the zombies stumble across one of five lanes. In addition to giving you a new plant to use in upcoming rounds, every new round adds a new variety of zombie to the mix. Even with a straightforward gameplay loop, the entire package manages to provide both casual and expert tower defense strategists with endless hours of entertainment.
2 Legion TD 2
Tower defense game Legion TD 2 is geared at multiplayer and offers endless replayability. Legion TD, which started off as a Warcraft 3 mod, has developed into one of the most intricately strategic and highly configurable tower defense games available today. You’ll need to adjust to every scenario as it emerges to defeat your opponent, with more than 100 towers to select from among eight distinct Legions.
Mostly a multiplayer game, Legion TD 2 has 2v2 or 4v4 battle modes. You can send minions to your opponent’s side to create sections of the waves that they have to take out or lose their king. Legion TD 2 is a fantastic option if you’re searching for a deep and competitive tower defense game.
1 Bloons TD 6
With hundreds of maps and challenges to conquer, new heroes, and an abundance of monkeys, Bloons Tower Defense 6 is the finest game in the series. With the greatest content of any game in the series, Bloons TD 6 is the definitive Bloons experience, and more content is always being developed.
Once more, the objective of the game is to stop a bunch of balloons from reaching the end of a predetermined course. They have to employ a variety of turrets in addition to monkeys with weapons to do this.