I’ve been playing Kingdom Rush recently, which is yet another tower defense game. I’ve played a lot of TD games before, so why did I try and continue to play this one?

• The art style is reminiscent of Castle Crashers, cartoon-y but not in a kids way. I like this style
• There is (eventually) a hero that you can use. Although the hero is limited (has only passive skills), and is eventually not as powerful as upgraded towers (except that it can move). But this adds a micro element to the game which makes it more interesting.
• Not too hard, not too easy. “Normal” mode seems to be just understanding the type of towers to stress on a particular level. And after a certain point, your towers greatly overwhelm the attackers. Hard is indeed more difficult, and I think you have to make sound decisions all the way to the end. The replay versions of each level is not too hard either (at least on normal), but some took me a few tries before completing.
• There is a tangible benefit to the star system. Every time you finish a level, you get a rating (1-3 stars). You then redeem these stars for global upgrades. These upgrades are important to help you finish the bonus levels and to beat the replay versions of each level
• The “global spells” (i.e. meteor strike and portable infantry) are useful and respawn relatively quickly. I would say they’re crucial to the game and so you actually use them in a skillful fashion instead of accumulating them for emergency situations

I’ve finished the normal game, as well as the replay versions of those levels, but now there are a lot of harder bonus levels to play! Maybe I’ll even get the sequel if it continues to be fun.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: games