Perfect tower defense is the strongest offensive strategy against creeps.
No Creeps Were Harmed TD
Platform:Â PC
Developer:Â MinMax Games
Publisher:Â MinMax Games
Release date:Â July 27th, 2024
Price:Â $19.99 via digital download
Availability:Â Steam
A unique trait in the tower defense genre is perfectionism. During gameplay, it may require several tries to construct a turret network capable of fending off waves of obstinate adversaries. Furthermore, eliminating every last invader can feel like a golf hole-in-one, particularly when playing at a high difficulty level.
Similar to this, not many tower defense games fully capture the subtleties. Certain TD games have only one solution for each level, making them feel like constrained puzzles. Additionally, there isn’t much motivation to go back to a step once you’ve solved it.
Other attempts ignore tuning, which leaves you with overpowering weapons or depressing difficulty spikes. And although though Hidden Path Entertainment’s DG 2: Defense Grid 2 is still one of my favorite tower defense games even ten years after it was first released, its meteor towers are maybe a little too strong.
Up There with the Best
The game Defense Grid 2 recognizes the appeal of independence. You are able to decide on your own difficulty level, create unique rules, and develop our tactics. That “play it your way” mentality is also satisfying.
It’s a feature that many modern tower defense games lack, perhaps with the exception of Gemcaft – Frostborn Wrath, which releases in 2020. However, No Creeps Were Harmed TD is a release worth looking for if you’re the kind of player that values this kind of strategy. With the exception of the awkward controller compatibility (Creeps can be played on Steam Deck, although it might benefit from more button mapping for navigating the UI), DG2 may have a 3D competitor at last.
Slithering Along the Z-Axis
Yes, No Creeps Were Harmed battles take place on expansive battlefields that can be rotated, spun about, and zoomed in on, just like Defense Grid 2 games do. To snap to a different perspective, usually all you need to do is drag while holding down the right button on your mouse or rotate the scroll wheel a few times.
A change in perspective is also necessary because the game’s numerous maps have a lot of bends. This implies that you will have to battle hordes of creeps that move around cubes or up steep inclines. Stages are cleverly designed to avoid looking gimmicky, giving plenty of opportunity to create complex mazes of mistreatment. And half the fun is in finding new ways to make the most of the surroundings. Some of your defensive turrets can shoot far farther, even though there are translucent spheres that appear to display three-dimensional turret ranges.
Scenes Suitable for Reprise
It is pleasing to note that Creep’s maps are simple to “read,” with toggleable opponent paths and clear markers for objects that can be shot at or cleared for construction. There is a panel on the left side of the screen that lists all of the turrets and skills you have unlocked. Whether they are better or worse, the weaponry stay true to the TD heritage, featuring medium- and long-range artillery as well as short-range zapping. But the potential for synergy increases as you access more technologies.
You will have a great deal of control over the upgrades, including the ability to view “cloaked” creeps by investing credits, increase damage and fire rate, change the quantity of projectiles, expand the blast radius, and adjust a host of other settings. If you enjoy experimenting with your setups, you can easily pause the game to target damaged, close-by, or tough enemies with your towers. Moreover, you will be able to increase the health of some of your battlements, which is crucial because some creeps explode when killed and your own weapons can occasionally miss their targets and deal some damage.
Brian, Your New Favorite Enemy
However, don’t believe the grievances posted in the Steam comment forums regarding tower damage. Every wave not only allows your turrets to all heal, but it also gives you the power to quickly restore an entire area. A multifunctional drone developed by No Creeps Were Harmed is one of their most amazing inventions. It can manufacture, shoot, repair, and even launch devastating area-of-effect attacks.
“Brian Jar,” the name he uses by default, is upgradeable, just like practically everything else in the game. The best part is that Brian is a trustworthy associate who doesn’t require continual oversight. After building a new tower and stopping machine-gunning enemies, he will dutifully go back to where you put him. Indeed, even though a tower tax seems like one more pain in the ass, it’s a clever approach to make sure that maintaining current turrets while also constructing new ones is balanced. It’s not as harsh as it sounds because Creeps is giving out prizes. Last but not least, the creeps change as you play, and mutations give them new skills that will constantly make you cautious.
In summary
In the past ten years, reliable yet safe titles like Bloons and Kingdom Rush have dominated the tower defense genre. No Creeps Were Harmed TD is a more engaging game than most of its modern counterparts, with everything from droll comedic interludes to novelties like tower deprecation, opponent evolution, and taxes. The best part is that Creeps offers a great deal of variety in terms of difficulty, ranging from easy to relentlessly punishing. Everything in the game, including the ability to play through limitless waves and meta-game incentivization, has been carefully thought out. Act like a creep and try this if you’re a fan of the genre. Nothing will stop you.
The PC version of No Creeps Were Harmed TD was played using a review code that was sent by the publisher.
Review Overview
Gameplay – 80%
Story – 65%
Aesthetics – 78%
Content – 75%
Accessibility – 70%
Value – 77%
Overall Rating – 74%
Good
Summary: No Creeps Were Harmed TD surpasses almost every other tower defense game by offering an abundance of customizable features. The game accomodates, whether your goal is to master tower synergies or to face off against a wave of evolving enemies with harsh masochism. The best part is that the advancements in the game add more difficult choices to an already complex set of choices.