Summary
- Tower defense games offer simple gameplay, often free, teaching valuable skills to manage chaos effectively.
- Tower defense genres can vary from traditional to creative, mixing RTS elements, yielding challenging and satisfying gameplay.
- Popular tower defense games like The Riftbreaker offer a mix of ARPG, strategy, and intense graphics, making it a must-play.
Tower defense games often provide the perfect balance for all kinds of players. One minute, they could be relaxing with their backs to their chair and casually pressing buttons, and then the next, their whole base is burning down and enemies are pouring out of several breaches. Those two situational extremes are the Yin and Yang of tower defense games. It's a roller coaster ride; a unique ebb and flow that makes for some thrilling combat.
10 Best RPGs With Tower Defense Mechanics
Tower defense isn't a typical part of some of gaming's biggest RPGs, but these games are an exception, making great use of the mechanic.
That very well explains why they are as popular as ever. Since they offer a simple style of gameplay, they often don't cost much — some are even free to play on Steam. That doesn't mean those free games are of low quality or aren't worth one's time investment. The opposite is often true as these free tower defense games are the best way to learn how to manage a chaotic situation.
Updated January 7, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: Tower Defense games use simple logic, yet they can be quite challenging and satisfying to play. The golden rule in any Tower Defense game is to set defense towers in an order that prevents the enemies from reaching the end of the path.
This simple premise, however, can turn into many different forms with a wide variety of enemies and towers. Sometimes the developers also go creative with the path, and sometimes they introduce new mechanics to push the boundaries.
20 Ninja Kiwi Archive
A Massive Pack Of Tower Defense Games
- Release year: 2020
- Developer: Ninja Kiwi
This is, in fact, not some kind of off-brand Fruit Ninja TD hybrid, but rather a collection of classic games, hence the "archive" in the name. Moreover, these games are all from the highlight reel of the Adobe Flash era where tons of browser-based games were being made left and right.
Among these are some ingenious tower defense titles, though frankly, there are too many to mention. In any case, players will find something for everyone in this large and generous collection. Some of them even hold up well for today's standard, which is a tall order for a cheap game from a bygone era.
19 Zombie Defense
Combining RTS Gameplay Elements With The Tower Defense Rules
- Release year: 2016
- Developer: Home Net Games
If there was anything indie game companies have taught the industry of late, it's that venturing into hybrid territory genre-wise produces good results. Zombie Defense is among those examples — as it's part RTS and part tower defense; though the two genres don't exactly stray off far from each other.
In any case, Zombie Defense lets players live out their dreams (or nightmares) of being a zombie apocalypse survivalist but from a top-down perspective. They'll have to push back waves of zombies in thrilling fashion, while also managing their base resources. There's also a mobile version for those who want a more relaxed experience.
18 Sang-Froid - Tales Of Werewolves
Story-Driven Tower Defense With Stunning Art Design
- Release year: 2013
- Developer: Artifice Studio
Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves certainly deserves a look, especially for fans of games like Left 4 Dead or the Warhammer Vermintide series. It's a combination of action and tower defense where players are tasked with defending a farmstead from an onslaught of rabid wolves and werewolves.
It has some interesting Van Helsing aesthetics with a modifiable crossbow included. Players not only get to rely on their skills but also their strategic management where they have to set up chokepoints and defensible areas to survive rabies waves.
17 The Defender: Farm And Castle
Simple But Addictive 2D Tower Defense
- Release year: 2019
- Developer: Kobsoft Kitti
The Defender: Farm and Castle is a simpler — but no less exciting — callback to the days of browser-based games. The graphics are basic enough, which means they can run on almost all PC setups. The game is also easy to understand. Monsters are out to pillage the player's castle and they must shore up the fortress' defenses.
Players mainly assume the role of a lone archer who can upgrade their tools to be more effective. The Defender: Farm and Castle only runs on a 2D perspective and gameplay, meaning those who are familiar with side scrollers should find plenty to like here.
16 FrankenStorm TD
Inspired From The Frankenstein Universe
- Release year: 2021
- Developer: Doodad Games
FrankenStorm TD will surely attract fans of old horror literature and film as this game is all about being Dr. Frankenstein and defending Frankenstein castle from pesky villagers. As Dr. Frankenstein, players will have to craft clever mazes and lay traps on them to thwart the interlopers.
During their downtimes, they can then focus on their research of bringing Frankenstein's monster back to life. The cute and comedic art style along with the evolving gameplay ensures that there's plenty to do and love in FrankenStorm TD.
15 The Riftbreaker
A Well-Executed Combination Of Tower Defense And Action-RPG
The Riftbreaker
- Released
- October 14, 2021
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Shooter, Real-Time Strategy
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Gamers ought to stop for a moment and open up Steam on a new tab to download this gem right away — as it's a surefire must-play. The Riftbreaker is the best tower defense the industry has had in years. That's largely because it doesn't confine itself to one genre.
It's a mix of ARPG, strategy, and tower defense as players fight off hordes of aliens while mining some valuable resources. Coupled with the intense action allowed by the impressively jaw-dropping graphics, The Riftbreaker is a complete package with the hardest price tag to beat.
14 Prime World: Defenders 2
Defending Earth In A Hero-Based Tower Defense
- Release year: 2018
- Developer: Nival
Prime World: Defenders 2 is a worthy sequel to the original that does things even better — a rare feat for a tower defense game. Prime World: Defenders 2 pits players against an endless wave of creeps along with their tough bosses.
Like The Riftbreaker, Prime World also incorporates a hybrid tower defense gameplay. It's also a CCG game where players have to grind for the cards they want in order to be more efficient at defending their base. It does come with its own caveat, being a deep, free-to-play game as the monetization scheme can be quite aggressive.
13 Bloons Adventure Time TD
A Charming Adventure In The Bloons Universe
- Release year: 2019
- Developer: Ninja Kiwi
Any Adventure Time game is bound to be good thanks to its colorful style and locale that's low-hanging fruit for a game world. In any case, a tower defense franchise called Bloons made a game out of it in their own tradition.
Bloons TD 6: Every Hero, Ranked
The right strategy for any tower defense game means selecting the right units. In Bloons TD 6, the most important of these choices is the hero tower.
Players get to control Finn, Jake, and friends as they shore up the Candy Kingdom's defenses so that evil balloons don't get through. The best part is that they managed to bring in the cartoon's original voice actors, making everything feel authentic and not forced.
12 Vectorio
If Factorio Was Supposed To Be A Tower Defense...
- Release year: 2023
- Developer: BN Games
The tower defense is such a deceptively simple yet engaging genre that even something with basic vector graphics is a highly-rated game. That would be the aptly-named Vectorio which is still in early access right now but is free for everyone to try.
At first glance, it looks like Vectorio looks only a bit better than something like Tetris or Dwarf Fortress but it quickly turns players obsessed with its fluid and hypnotic base-building and defense mechanics. Late-game, players might even build something that resembles a circuit board.
11 Dungeon Defenders 2
Defend The Base, Loot Enemies, And Upgrade The Towers
Dungeon Defenders 2
Dungeon Defenders 2's premise is pretty self-explanatory though a little too ironic as players usually raid dungeons in video games. In any case, it's a chaotic hero-based game where players pick their team of defenders against waves of enemies.
There's also a multiplayer component here, meaning players get to show off their lineup as they stop the land of Etheria from an invasion. The visuals are also cute enough to draw in the most casual crowds, which works in tandem with the tower defense gameplay.