Over the past decade, tower defense games have come a long way since the early days of classics like Cannon Fodder, Plants vs. Zombies, and Desktop Tower Defense. However, none of them have quite reached the level of success and acclaim as Ironhide Game Studios' Kingdom Rush.
Kingdom Rush is a tower defense game initially released in 2011, and has since exploded in popularity to become one of the best-loved titles in its genre. The game tasks players with building several types of towers and using them to eliminate waves of invading monsters before they reach a designated castle. Kingdom Rush made a huge splash upon its initial release and since then, has consistently been among the top-rated tower defense games of all time.
It is not difficult to see why Kingdom Rush has achieved such unequivocal success. For starters, it offers a unique take on the traditional tower defense formula by introducing a wide variety of defensive towers with distinct combat capabilities. This makes the game far more engaging and dynamic compared to its contemporaries, as players must constantly adjust their strategy in order to defend the castle from new and increasingly difficult waves of enemies.
What is more, the level design and art direction of the game is incredible. Each of the dozen stages that make up the original campaign boast stunning hand-crafted visuals and detailed animations — along with plenty of secrets and challenging objectives for dedicated players. By focusing on the visual style and atmosphere of the game, Ironhide managed to create a very immersive and engaging experience — something which most of its competitors could only dream of.
Furthermore, the game features several memorable characters, such as the Mage and the Archer, who can be used to attack and repel enemies, respectively. This further enhances the strategic depth of the game and makes it even more entertaining to play.
Finally, Kingdom Rush is enriched with a great deal of content post-release, including two major expansion packs and additional levels and towers, that allow the player to delve much deeper into the game's world. This makes it a very rewarding experience — one that has lasting appeal.
The success of Kingdom Rush has not gone unnoticed, with the game being hailed by many publications and outlets as one of the best tower defense games of the decade. On Metacritic, the game has an average rating of 93/100. On Apple's App Store and Google Play, it boasts a very impressive 4.6/5 star rating. Gamers everywhere are encouraged to check it out and see for themselves why Kingdom Rush is considered the best tower defense game of the decade and beyond.
