Recent reviews by sunsetgun

This game was a pleasant surprise. I went into it completely blind just knowing that I love the Kingdom Rush games and honestly expected this to be like those games, just set in space. The first level proved otherwise and I was slightly disappointed but quickly got over that as the gameplay is just as engaging. I'm not big into space themed stuff but this game definitely had such cool settings, units/structures, as well as sound design that really brought it home for me.

I loved that there was a skill tree to grind on. I love my RPG's and if you're low IQ like me, it was great to just power level and brute force your way out of a level you were stuck on. I felt that the progression in worlds 1 and 2 were perfect. Everything scaled so appropriately and I felt challenged but not so much so that I felt it was a chore to try and beat (this was on the Veteran difficulty). Having said that, this actually leads into my main criticism of the game:

I feel that the whole game design of World 3 left a sour taste in my mouth. There was a huge difficulty spike starting with the first mission of that world that just continued to escalate to the point where it felt like the spawn of enemies had no pattern and they just set it to infinity. Mix that in with incredibly frustrating enemies (♥♥♥ those units that shoot those purple orbs) and you're left with limited options in your strategy because now you HAVE to go with the meta strategy to beat the level. I felt that took away my autonomy in how I wanted to beat a mission. It's also sad that the game ended on a very anti-climatic and strange boss battle where you operate this turtle looking machine that has to go through a portal after killing the boss? Repeat for 2 more times and then it ends. Idk just weird and also lacks replay-ability because of how long the intro scene is for that mission (and trust me you will die multiple times trying to beat it). I wonder if anyone else feels this way about the 3rd world because I see people online saying "the 3rd world is the easiest! You can cheese it so easily"... yeaaaaa. Anything is easy when you orbital strike everything into oblivion. Which is kind of my point - if people have to cheese strat a level to want to engage with it, then something is off with the fundamental design of that level.

All in all, it was a very fun game but I admittedly feel RELIEVED that I'm done with it. Which is very sad to say and not something you should feel after completing a game. Again that feeling was all invoked because of World 3. World 1-2 were incredibly engaging and fun. I still definitely recommend this game and look forward to now playing the sequel version in hopes that the devs improved upon some of the flaws in this version.

Was having a lot of fun initially playing this (maybe the first 4 hours) but it falls off after that.

Story is lackluster, dungeon designs are boring and uninspired (and dark af, can't see sometimes), enemy character designs become repetitive (same model, just colored different), and some mechanics like fishing and crafting feel like they were implemented just to check a box that this game has them. I can't stress enough how I'd be in a dungeon, and after some time, just want to GTFO of there. Damn. Felt like some chore almost to get through it.

After several hours this game started to feel like one of those RPG's where you know the formula, you know what to expect, and nothing really changes from level 1 to level 100. Sure you get more skills and you get stronger in absolute terms, but level 10 feels like the exact same combat and flow as level 1.

Now I admit this review may be premature, considering I only have ~6 hours logged in game, but my computer froze playing it and somehow I completely lost my save which is a real bummer. Definitely don't want to replay everything I just did the past few days. But truthfully, I can't help but shake the feeling that was a blessing in disguise so I don't waste more time with this.

tldr; It's alright. Has some positives forsure (like the loot system, combat is pretty good, cool abilities), but it feels like some iPad game.

I think it's very easy to get swept up in this idea that later iterations in a series are more likely to be the definitive title of that series. That the first game is a prototype. We look back and view it as a proof of concept and not as a stand alone thing that was trying to make a name for itself. Revisiting the first Kingdom Rush has me questioning this entire notion.

It has me conversely swept up in the thought that maybe the devs nailed it on the first try. Sometimes the first iteration is already perfected. The subsequent releases are then trying to recapture the magic of the first game, sometimes expanding on it well, other times just adding bloat to the story and design. And while that's not happening here with the Kingdom Rush franchie (the sequels are all GOOD), I can't help but ask myself is this truly the definitive Kingdom Rush?

And truthfully, I can't answer that question. Because I truly don't know. And I'm incredibly happy to feel that way. To feel such strong love for each title that I can't answer which one is my favorite. All I know is that without the brilliance of the first game, I would not be here writing this review and enchanted with the series as a whole.

Honestly may be my favorite Kingdom Rush title.

I just find myself constantly wanting to play this one. Between the variety of towers and heroes, to the charming map designs and unit phrases ("I HATE this job!"), I have a blast every time I play this game. I liked that the devs flipped the series on its head and you play as the villains this time around. It makes for a very fun and humorous theme.

A recurring critique I constantly see are people complaining there are too many tower choices. Somehow this is a bad thing? People like to throw out the phrase "quality over quantity" as an argument but what defines quality? By using what's meta? The towers are creative, unique, and most of all, FUN. Who cares if there are some towers that are objectively better than others? Every Kingdom Rush title has this. When you complete the campaign and all the Iron/Heroic stages on max difficulty, you no longer concern yourself with using what's most optimal and start to relax on the manic-like obsession to min-max.

And that's what makes this game shine. With the multitude of towers and their different play-styles combined with the hero selection, you have a plethora of different combinations to choose from. Sometimes it's fun to play an OP hero but with weaker towers. Other times it's fun to make the towers 'just good enough' but play with Asra, which mind you, using her has been some of the most fun Kingdom Rush gaming I have ever had. Almost makes it a completely different game because of how hands on she is.

Anyways, if you like Kingdom Rush at all definitely give this title a try. It may not be your cup of tea, but you'll appreciate the diversity it brings both in its own game, as well as to the franchise as a whole.

Tldr; This one is dope. Review turned into a mini-rant halfway through only because I feel this sequel is underappreciated, misunderstood, and critiqued by free-to-play mobile players who, understandably, are upset at the amount of tower choices that they are locked out of. You're on Steam reading this so you won't have the same issues they had since you'll have access to all the towers and heroes.

I wanted to like this game so bad. I am heavily into manga and really like the Kairosoft games since Ipod Touch 2 days when I would jailbreak and get/play through all of them. Kairosoft games get repetitive, but damn are they addictive when you first rediscover them. I have periods of playing 4-6 hours at one time absolutely GLUED to the game, putting off sleep because I want to keep progressing. But there was none of that with this title. It was unsatisfying, non-intuitive, and worst of all... BORING. In the process of returning it as we speak.

Edit: Unfortunately my dumbazz decided to keep it simply because I got 1 of 6 achievements and the fact that if I returned it, I would forever have my achievement completion score marked down cause of that, would bother the sht outta me. That's a whole topic and rant in and of itself - valve's lack of foresight in achievements/completion rate being affected by refunded games. Wish it didn't bother me but LMAO it does.

tldr; this Kingdom Rush really grew on me, but still remains my least favorite in the series.


Upon first playing this, the new theme and look of the towers/units was really refreshing, The addition of a hero skill was nice and everything seemed promising. However, gradually this game became somewhat of a slog to me, especially coming off the high of playing arguably the best Kingdom Rush title ever (Frontiers).

I quickly learned some towers were just outright inferior to other options, which mind you isn't unique to this Kingdom Rush, but the inferior ones felt almost useless compared to their better counterparts. Maps slowly became more and more gimmicky, almost forcing you to interact and use map gimmicks if you wanted a full clear run on higher difficulties. Map designs also grew to become repetitive. The theme that was once charming in the beginning slowly became lackluster compared to the more medieval kingdom setting the other Kingdom Rush titles have (never knew how much I would miss the line "FREEEEDOM").


On the plus side, the game looks gorgeous. The world map is especially very pleasing to look at. The introduction of the hero skill was a great addition to the series and the heroes themselves are very fun to play in this game, albeit some are just straight up OP. Some of the towers that were strong were amazing; Bladersinger Hall is crazy and I'd say easily the barrack with the strongest stopping power in the entire series. Oddly enough, I also find Lightning very satisfying and prefer it to the meteor storm in the other games.

Overall it was a fun game, Weaker than the other titles in the franchise, but still a must play for Kingdom Rush fans.

A Masterpiece of Tower Defense games

Ironhide Game Studio strikes again with the 2nd game in the series. For a game that was now developed over 10 years ago, it looks STUNNING. Everything blends and flows together amazing well. From the charming sprite designs, to the iconic towers, to the gorgeous maps, I truly can't take my eyes off the screen.

The gameplay is simple and engaging. I liked the amount of heroes to choose from in this game and that their stats and level would carry over from map to map. There were some tower upgrades that I missed from the 1st game but overall the tower choices were great (necromancer OP) and most everything felt viable.

Personally I skip through anything involving the story so I can get right into the gameplay, and yet I still chuckle at some of the jokes the devs threw in. If you are impatient like me and skip the story dialogue, you can still get a feel for the personality of the devs because their humor bleeds into every aspect of the game. It's subtle enough to not be overbearing and annoying, but charming enough to notice and make you laugh.

If you were to play on Normal difficulty and only play the campaign missions (skipping the Heroic and Iron gamemodes), you would likely complete the game in 5-10 hours depending on skill level. If one were to play on Veteran and want to complete everything the game has to offer, game time would probably run around 20-25 hours. The real value of the Kingdom Rush franchises comes from the fact that you will likely get an itch to play this game again... and again... and again.

Highly recommend this game. It's loads of fun.