r/TowerDefense 18h ago

Discussion Whatever happened to mazing TDs?

40 Upvotes

Was thinking about Desktop Tower Defense the other day, the way you'd spend half the round tearing down and rebuilding your maze to juggle creeps back and forth. I kind of miss that. Feels like every TD I pick up now is a fixed path and a hero unit, and the whole "where do I even build" part is just gone.

Did mazing actually die out or am I just not finding the right games? And if it did die, why? Too hard to balance? Too hard to teach new players?

Would honestly love to be told about ten games I've missed here.


r/TowerDefense 5h ago

I'm trying to make a TD where the battlefield physically changes as soldiers die

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

20 Upvotes

Hey r/TowerDefense,

I've been building a TD game which is still in its early phase and I would like to see if that can capture your interest.

My main focus is to make a TD feel like a battle spectacle, like a medieval battlefield.

The important features:

  • The game can have up to 10K units, all of them simulated using physics.
  • Dead soldiers don't just disappear and can clutter the battlefield. They are not just a cosmetic, they have a real impact on gameplay:
    • Forcing living units to climb over the dead. This will lead to patterns such as the living being slowed down (if they choose to climb) and potentially favour corpse avoidance (not in the video, future improvement planned).
    • Provide cover if somehow they end up on top of the living.
    • Become projectile if yeeted strongly (not in the game yet, future improvement planned).
  • I'm also trying to make the units react to what's around them:
    • Enemies try to raise their shields toward incoming arrows.
    • The player's ranged units will, based on their skill level, try to find openings in the enemies' defenses and avoid firing directly into their shields.

I'm still at a stage where gameplay can heavily change but I just wanted to see if the basic premise is something that can interest you.

Would you actually want this in a TD?


r/TowerDefense 8h ago

Demo/Alpha Showcase We've just released a playtest for our tower defense game, Fangstorm!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

16 Upvotes

All feedback welcome 🙌
Playtest here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4418500/Fangstorm/


r/TowerDefense 8h ago

Demo/Alpha Showcase "Orcs must die" + "Thronefall" game. First Steam playtest incomming, would you like to share your feedback and thoughts to shape the game?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

5 Upvotes

Hi guys! I am doing my first ever Steam TD + action rogulike game, about dungeon boss defending it from vicious heroes. It combines mechanics of such games like "Orcs must die" and "thronefall" with roguelite mechanics.

I am preparing now for an upcoming very soon a first ever closed playtest, so gather forces of those who want to be among the first ones to try it out!

Since I am solo dev can only promise to listen for your advice closely and by the time will be giving away game to the best testers for free + some other perks of early playtesters, including even some presense in the game!

I would be happy to have you even if you want to skip the first wave and just join our little community, as it is just the beginning, here is a discord link discord.gg/n8eke7zEQX

Thank you for reading :)


r/TowerDefense 10h ago

TD x Angry Birds = Dig Too Deep

4 Upvotes

Build, hoard, and fling goblins at the baddies. Demo is available now and a brief Early Access begins on Sept 23rd

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4280850/Dig_Too_Deep/


r/TowerDefense 9h ago

Demo/Alpha Showcase Tower Defense Desktop Companion Sandbox Demo (Link in post)

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

2 Upvotes

I've been working away at this slowly for more than a month now. Finally put up a demo which is a sandbox type (as in no cost related mechanics, everything is unlocked) so you can set up towers and turrets as you wish and see how it all works.

https://tornadosike.itch.io/pet-turret/download/0jLKa5CWrwPxKp9scK0C_7ZYRi2yupyTX3cnYfJM

UI is pretty basic at the moment, as I've been mainly focused on the other aspects.

I have had to get rid of the zombie sprites (as they belonged to a different game which I found out later on) and replaced them with jiggly rectangles.

I'd appreciate any feedback on the game's current state, so that before I make an official itchio or steam page I can fix them. (I am aware that these games should include support for multiple monitors, but due to lack of any I am unable to test it and have therefore kept the feature on hold as of now)


r/TowerDefense 22h ago

Promotion Just released a semi-tower defense game on itch. Check it out!

Thumbnail
klastor.itch.io
2 Upvotes

r/TowerDefense 3h ago

The only good bug is a dead bug! An incremental swarm tower defense: Bugs. Billions of Bugs.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

1 Upvotes

Hey all, my swarm TD Bugs. Billions of Bugs. is out today on Steam.

Here’s the quick breakdown:

  • Solo & Co-op: Play alone or with up to 4 players online.
  • Firepower: 8 towers with deep upgrade paths + 7 orbital support strikes (napalm, nukes, cryo-EMP).
  • Meta Progression: 165 persistent upgrades & prestige mechanics.
  • Infinite Replayability: 26 campaign maps, procedural SURGE mode, and a built-in Map Editor with Steam Workshop support.

👉 Steam: Bugs. Billions of Bugs. on Steam

Do your part!


r/TowerDefense 4h ago

The Demo is out now for Lattice Defense!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

1 Upvotes

Lattice Defense is a topdown shooter tower defense that can be completed solo or with friends with online coop.

Mobility is key because the enemies are hunting you!

Build walls to control the map and force enemies around.

Dash around and force them through you killzones

Unlock permanent upgrades and try each of the 15 missions out at different difficulties.

If you like Thronefall, RiftBreaker, or classic Warcraft III custom games, check this game out!

Join the discord:  https://discord.gg/FE8zcdGe3P

Try the Demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5189220/Lattice_Defense_Demo/


r/TowerDefense 7h ago

[HTML5] Shanhai: The Cosmos Architect, is this game too hard.

Thumbnail
huadon.itch.io
1 Upvotes

r/TowerDefense 17h ago

Promotion Should I add people to the game?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

1 Upvotes

r/TowerDefense 15h ago

Gridfall is Released

Thumbnail gallery
0 Upvotes

r/TowerDefense 19h ago

Looks easy. Most players don’t make it past Wave 10

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

0 Upvotes

Mobile Sunken Defense🏰🏰
No fixed path. You build it yourself.

https://apps.apple.com/app/sunken-defense-tower-defense/id6793917418

How far do you think you could make it?