We love all sorts of games. Sometimes it is hard to cover a game in our traditional review style that’s why we have tidbit-style reviews. These shorter reviews cover games that deserve attention too but simply don’t fit our good, mixed, and bad template. In addition, they get a monthly summary article to give them even more reader attention!
Shapebreaker – Tower Defense Deckbuilder | Score 65
Publisher: Alexander Van den Bulck
Developer: Alexander Van den Bulck
What do you get when you combine tower defence, deckbuilding and simple geometry in a videogame? You get Shapebreaker – Tower Defense Deckbuilder, which is and does exactly what its namesake describes. Laid out on a simple tile grid playing field you get one or more enemy spawners that all make their way towards your core, and if they manage to reach it damage it accordingly. You place your towers on the same grid, either alongside the route the enemies will take or obstructing it so they have to reroute along a hopefully longer path. Because a longer travel time means more time to potentially shoot them down.
And while turret placement is an important part of your strategy, this is where the card system comes into play. Each round you have a set amount of energy to spend on both units and modifications. From a flat percentage damage increase, towers of varying range, damage and fire rate as well as mutations that fundamentally alter your tower’s effect. Here is where you’ll find the bulk of the cards that should make up your deck after a round or two. You gather cards at the end of the many levels that make up the Acts you’ll progress through in a Slay the Spire-like fashion. At the end of each Act you can also choose a “Curio”. These are modifiers just like a lot of the cards, but are in effect constantly.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Shapebreaker – Tower Defense Deckbuilder despite its very simple gameplay, graphics and soundtrack. In short sessions, the gameplay stays fresh but tended to start dragging on past the half-hour mark. It’s very reminiscent of the flash games I used to play as a kid, only this would be one of the more fleshed-out ones. If what you just read sounds like fun to you, be sure to check it out.
Hey there. Thomas is the name, Sci-fi, action and (J)RPG’s are the game. I strongly prefer co-op over PVP games. Whenever possible, you may find me run wild at a convention in western Europe. Certified anime enjoyer.
