Defender Chronicles - Legend of The Desert King

The tower defense genre has arguably seen a good deal of growth and evolution with many significant new releases this year. Defender Chronicles: Legend of the Desert King is the latest, and in my opinion delivers a solid fixed-path TD game with RPG elements offering gamers a new twist that should satisfy many. Whether or not you’re into the fantasy medieval theme, the gameplay itself provides enough challenge and depth that you may want to check out regardless.

Defender Chronicles is one of the more visually beautiful games you will see. From the 5 beautifully drawn maps to the equally detailed defenders and enemies, the details and effort from the devs is obvious so you won’t be short on eye candy. One unique aspect is the 2D side view in which the game is played. Think of it an elaborate staircase viewed from the side. One minor issue is that you won’t be able to get a full view of the map, and instead, you will need to drag and zoom. However, this doesn’t impact playabilty by any means.

With an epic soundtrack conveying the medieval theme, each quest is briefly introduced with voiceovers and text which is well presented and shows the polish of the game. The text may be difficult to read for some, but the accented voiceovers help that a bit. An additional feature worth mentioning (because so many devs seem to ignore this) is the auto screen flip so right- and left-handed players should have no problem with headphone wires getting in the way.

The objective is to defend the General Headquarters by destroying enemies which in turn earn gold. The gold can then be used to upgrade defenders, and in the case of Defender Chronicles, victories that can be applied to RPG elements. An optional tutorial is presented in the first quest, but to a certain degree I wish an overview of the different enemies and bosses were also included for reference.

As the Hero, you command 6 types of defenders—warrior, archer, berserker, ranger, halfling, and mage—each with its own unique abilities and upgradeable. Your defenders will battle a variety of enemies including Gnoll Captain, Orc Chieftain, and Queen Goblin to the fearsome Wyrm Rider Duo, Awe Inspiring Giant Golem and Meat Chomping Slimeballs. You’ll want to spend some time admiring the artwork before you get started.

The maps—Great Sands, CloudPass, Marshwood, Breewich, Silver Keep—represent battles against the evil Orc Hordes and the rising Undead, which can be played in any of 4 difficulty levels: casual, veteran, master, heroic. In addition, there are 5 game modes – campaign, freestyle, extended, classic and classic extended. Depending on the level of difficulty and the degree of success in preventing enemies from getting through, stars are earned.

Casual—1 star
Veteran—2 stars
Master—3 stars
Heroic—4 stars
Additional stars are awarded for not losing any lives or completing a map without selling any guild.

Earning stars based on the level of difficulty opens the door to two things—Trade Shop and Great Library. They are unlocked once you succeed in completing the first two maps. With Trade Shop, items such as armor, swords, magical rings, and other equipment can be acquired to upgrade your hero. You can also spend these in the Great Library, which unlocks 8 secrets including an extra map, music and two additional defenders. It’s actually a nifty set up that many will enjoy fiddling with.

Defender Chronicles is a fixed path TD with specific build spots for placing defenses. Fixed path vs. non-fixed path comes down to preference for many, but frankly, each offers enough differences in gameplay that I think you shortchange yourself by focusing on one over the other. Defender Chronicles combines a solid TD game with RPG elements all wrapped up in a polished presentation. While the tutorial could use additional work to explain certain elements, the game itself presnets enough variety in terms of upgrades, unlockables and replayability that make Defender Chronicles a standout in the genre.