10 Best Tower Defense Games To Play Right Now

May 30, 2024, 10 p.m.

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10 Best Tower Defense Games To Play Right Now

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Summary Tower defense video games offer a chance for quick gameplay and heavy strategy.

Many tower defense titles are available on mobile devices as well as PC or consoles.

The genre includes many games, including the classic Plants Vs. Zombies.

There are few things as satisfying or rewarding as successfully protecting a base against legions of enemies in a tower defense video game, whether that be a PC game or on a mobile title. For many, the rush that can come from flattening droves of monsters or blocking the path of an enemy player can be one of the best feelings that video games can provide. Whether approached from the cartoonish, silly gameplay of Plants Vs. Zombies, or the more sci-fi FPS look of Sanctum 2, the tower defense genre is all about that quick-thinking and strategic approach to defending against all odds.

Because of the more simplistic nature of most tower defense games, it is a perfect solution for gaming on the go, with many of the best games being available on mobile devices, PC, or console devices. Top-tier games in this genre often include a lean towards heavy strategy and challenge, a comedic and cheerful slant, or an engaging blend of both. Though there are many incredible tower defense options to choose from, these are the highest-rated games from Metacritic, as well as Screen Rant reviews, to ensure they are the best of the best.

Related 10 Best Games To Play With Friends Right Now Gaming is always best done with a friend or, better yet, a group of friends. Here are a few couch co-op and multiplayer games you can start playing.

10 Sanctum 2 Offers A Sci-Fi Approach To Solo Or Co-Op Base Defense

A Hybrid Of First-Person Shooter And Tower Defense

Sanctum 2 blends the two genres of tower defense and first-person shooter together in a vibrant sci-fi experience. While the original game in the series provided a good start to the concept, the sequel from 2013 managed to build upon the idea by incorporating much of the player feedback of the first title. Players can pick from four character classes and work in either solo or co-op modes to protect their oxygen-producing Core from determined alien enemies who want to destroy what has been built.

Sanctum 2 can be found on PC, PS3, Xbox360.

Beginning with a building phase, players create towers, walls, turrets, and more to try to stop the incoming aliens before they can get too far. Then, once that phase is complete, players enter an FPS mode to shoot enemies down before they can make their way past the defenses and reach the Core. Sanctum 2's unique blend has earned itself a Metacritic score of 77, and despite being over a decade old, continues to be recommended often by fans of the genre.

9 Orcs Must Die! 3 Is A Well-Known Title, For Good Reason

A Fulfilling Experience Of Mowing Down Orcs In A Variety Of Ways

Orcs Must Die! 3 is the fourth installment in the popular franchise and adds to the series with some fun differences from its previous entries. Naturally, the most notable characteristic of the series, the never-ending hordes of cartoon orcs and their friends, are still the highlight of the game, but players are given all-new ways to destroy the legions of green enemies, earning it a Metacritic rating of 77.

Orcs Must Die! 3 can be found on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

The mayhem of Orcs Must Die! 3 can be played solo or in a 2-player co-op, with several varied modes to try. Whether playing through the main story campaign, set 20 years after the previous game, or trying out different modes such as Scramble Mode, Weekly Challenges, War Scenarios, or more, there is a large assortment of things to do. Destroying massive armies of orcs with traps, weapons, and creative strategies can be a highly rewarding experience if players survive.

Related Orcs Must Die! 3 Review: Orcs Remastered, Not Remade Gimmicky War Scenarios and procedural side modes can't hide Orcs Must Die! 3's status as a slight, iterative sequel to a decade-old arcade classic.

8 Dungeon Defenders Colorful Chaos Is Great For Multiplayer

A Silly-But-Strategic ARPG Tower Defense

Although Dungeon Defenders can be played single-player, most of the fun is found in the multiplayer experiences it provides. This tower defense ARPG tasks players with the goal of saving the land of Etheria from an Ancient Evil, and has four classes available in the base game and many others as optional DLC. There are lots of ways to customize a character, including collecting pets, while players bring their heroes through several missions and game modes of varying difficulty to protect a castle from invading hordes.

Dungeon Defenders offers online and local co-op for up to 4 players, as well as a PvP Deathmatch arena if players want to go head-to-head. In the tower defense levels, over 100 enemies ranging from small goblins to massive dragons will attempt to break through the castle and destroy the special Crystal Core.

Despite having a sequel and spin-off titles, the original Dungeon Defenders remains the most beloved, with a Metacritic rating of 77. It can be found on PC, PS3, Xbox One, with a mobile version, Dungeon Defenders: First Wave, available for iOS and Android.

7 Defense Grid 2 Brings Tower Defense To Space Colonies

Waves Of Aliens Must Be Defeated

As far as tower defense games go, Defense Grid 2 is one of the most classic examples of a strategically challenging and serious tower placement game. It has a campaign mode for solo play as well as online PvP or multiplayer co-op modes for people to play across the 21 maps however they desire. If those maps aren't enough, though, there is also an Architect mode on PC that allows for players to create their own levels to share on the Steam Workshop.

Essentially, the goal of Defense Grid 2 is a focus on defense. Players can kill incoming mobs of aliens by building and upgrading various types of towers to defend the path to the coveted power cores, but do not fight on the battlefield otherwise. Towers are built, upgraded, and sold to make way for new towers while aliens continue to push inward. Defense Grid 2 has a Metacritic score of 81. Although an older title, Defense Grid 2 can be found on the Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Related Defense Grid 2 Review: A Fun Tower Defense That Shows Its Age The port of a 2014 tower defense to the Nintendo Switch offers lots of fun and replay value, but suffers from some outdated design choices.

6 Bardbarian Offers A Humorous, Quirky, Take On Tower Defense

Brad, The Barbarian-Turned-Bard Is The Town's Only Hope

For those players looking for a more lighthearted approach, Bardbarian is a fairly straightforward game that offers a lot of humor and silliness. Bardbarian follows the story of a barbarian named Brad who has decided he doesn't enjoy fighting and would rather make music as a bard, but his decision comes at an unfortunate time when the town is under siege from hordes of monsters. Players control Brad as he moves around the battlefield jamming on his guitar to make his axe-lute play music that can summon party members, create turrets, and more.

The game offers many different party members to choose from who will interact with Brad, including some crossover characters from other familiar games, and plenty of loot to help level up characters. It is entirely hand-drawn and includes a rock/metal soundtrack while Brad is crushing the spirits of enemies, including a dinosaur. Bardbarian has earned itself a Metacritic score of 83, and is available on PC via Steam, and iOS and Android mobile devices.

5 OTTTD Is Literally An 'Over The Top Tower Defense'

Enemies Include Everything From Flying Zombie Sharks To Gunclams

As the game title says, OTTTD is as over-the-top as developers could reasonably make a tower defense game. This single-player game gives players a job as a commander for HEROCORP, with the job to "preemptively defend" Earth against alien dimensions. These alternate dimensions include all kinds of crazy alien lifeforms to decimate, and HEROCORP provides plenty of fun ways to do just that.

OTTTD has seven hero classes that can be leveled up to unlock new abilities and skills, with over 30 weapons, 12 tower types, 40 passive skills, and more. The silly chaos that OTTTD offers is a good on-the-go option, and is available on iOS and Android mobile devices, as well as the Nintendo Switch and PC. Mobile versions of the game have been given a Metacritic score of 83, although the Switch and PC editions have not been scored at the time of writing.

4 The Riftbreaker Covers Several Genres, But Offers Tower Defense Fans A Good Option

More Base Building And Survival Than Tower Defense, But Good

As a base-building, survival ARPG, The Riftbreaker has many tower defense aspects to it, so much so that many forums discussing tower defense games continuously list The Riftbreaker among the genre's ranks. Therefore, a tower defense player who might be looking for something with a bit more variety, could find The Riftbreaker to be the ideal solution.

The Riftbreaker puts players in the role of Ashley, an elite scientist & commando who operates inside a powerful Mecha-suit called Mr. Riggs. Ashley is tasked with constructing a base, gathering specimens and resources, and protecting her base from vast arrays of aliens with hostile intentions. Eventually, the hope is that Ashley will be able to construct a two-way rift back to Earth, a rift that needs to be safely contained within a well-defended base. The Riftbreaker has a Metacritic score of 83 and is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Related The Riftbreaker Review: Mechanically Perfect Base Building The Riftbreaker combines complex base-building with intense tower defense combat, delivering a big genre-mashup that impresses all the way through.

3 Bloons TD 6 Offers Monkey Mayhem

Cheerful Graphics And Characters Lead This Tower Defense

Balloons take on all new, evil, meaning for the monkey forces of Bloons TD 6. These helium-filled invaders must be stopped, and players are given command of a team of monkey combatants to handle the job. The game can be played either single-player or in 4-player co-op, and developers are continuing to add more updates with new challenges and content.

Although the basic gameplay is fairly straightforward with turrets, towers, and incoming Bloon enemies to destroy, the feature that sets Bloons TD 6 apart from other tower defense games is the array of monkeys that can be used along the way. Super Monkey, Monkey Buccaneer, Glue Gunner, Monkey Sub, and more include unique abilities, with unlockable skins and voice-overs to add to the fun.

Bloons TD 6 does not have a Metacritic rating yet, but is considered to be improved from Bloons TD 5, which currently has a Metacritic rating of 79. It is available on iOS and Android devices, as well as PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

2 Plants Vs. Zombies Is The Classic Tower Defense Treat

A Beloved Classic That Continues To Live On

The classic tower defense of zombies attacking a home, only to be repelled by an arsenal of plants, stands the test of time, with players continuing to enjoy the game even while new games rise up around it. With a yard ready to be protected by 49 different varieties of zombie-zapping plants, and 50 Adventure Mode campaign levels that rise in difficulty, there are a lot of challenges presented.

The classic game includes five modes, including the Adventure Mode with story campaign, Mini-Games, Puzzle Mode, Survival Mode, and a stress-free Zen Garden mode for raising plants. Plants Vs. Zombies has seen several sequels over the years, yet the original that started it all remains the favored way to play, with a Metacritic score of 87. Plants Vs. Zombies and many of its sequels and spin-off titles can be found on nearly every game platform, including mobile devices.

1 Kingdom Rush Is Classic Tower Defense Done Right

Simple In Nature But Complicated In Strategy

Kingdom Rush tells a classic tale of defending a kingdom against hordes of orcs, evil wizards, and more. The game is the epitome of tower defense, with several turrets and towers available to be strategically placed with the hopes of taking out mobs, while an array of troops are there to be commanded to push back the evil forces. There is a 12 stage core campaign, or players can work on bonus stages and extra mini-campaigns.

There are many tower defense video games in the Kingdom Rush series, with several scoring very highly among critics and fans. The original game from 2011 manages to capture a Metacritic score of 89. It can be found on iOS and Android mobile devices, as well as the Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox One.

Sources: Metacritic (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)