Kingdom Rush from Armor Games takes the increasingly stale tower defense genre and infuses it with some much-needed wit and good old-fashioned polish. The core experience is familiar – waves of enemies follow a pre-set path, and must be taken out by towers players purchase and place.
The twist is that players can place “Barracks” towers that send footmen onto the field that will battle and slow down enemy creeps. By placing enemy-blocking barracks next to high-powered towers, players can turn the tide in their favor. Although Kingdom Rush only contains four base tower types, each can be upgraded down two separate paths, and can then be customized even further with special abilities. This gives players a surprising amount of versatility, and pays off for those that plan ahead.
In true tower defense fashion, Kingdom Rush: Vengeance escalates the action and micro-management required to successfully clear a map, oftentimes encouraging players to replay older levels to grind out their levels. Players can also purchase additional premium hero characters and towers that offer unique abilities and boons that can’t be found anywhere else. Those who may be apprehensive or against the notion of in-game purchases should consider the fact that Ironhide studios made all their premium content actually feel premium, not only helping players best some of the tougher levels but legitimately expanding the base experience of the game.
Ultimately, Kingdom Rush provides players with a competent tower defense title that stands out from the saturated genre thanks to its colourful art style, quirky story beats and its role-reversal on good versus evil.
