The tower defense genre, which is hugely popular on mobile devices, is nowhere near as visible on PCs and consoles. Of course, there are similar projects there, but there are not so many "pure" TDs - as a rule, the main emphasis is placed on something else, using the rebuilding of the base and the destruction of the enemy hordes attacking it as one of the secondary elements of the gameplay. The reason is clear - at the present time, for such serious platforms, it is already somewhat undignified to limit the gameplay only to the construction of towers and the observation of the firing of guns.
A fresh example of this genre mix is The Riftbreaker from Polish developers at Poki Games Studios. The plot is simple: space pioneers colonize a planet inhabited by hostile flora and fauna. Do you think that nothing interesting should be expected with such a tie? You are wrong!
The Riftbreaker is practically assembled from pieces of other games, like a puzzle. The authors decided not to limit themselves to the standard Tower Defense gameplay, but to go much further. Among the sources of inspiration are easily guessed Factorio , Alien Shooter , classic RTS and even ARPGs like Diablo . But you shouldn't come up with standard measurements, hanging labels - everything is much more interesting here, and borrowings from other projects, although noticeable, are neatly fitted to each other and do not leave the impression anyhow like a cobbled monster.
There was even a place for a plot - and you can't say that not enough attention was paid to it. In the distant future, humanity begins to explore distant worlds. Captain Ashley Novak travels to the planet Galatea 37 to prepare it for the upcoming colonization. The Riftbreaker (this is how such scientists-researchers are called here) is helpless without a huge fur-suit that possesses some kind of intelligence - Ashley calls him Mister Riggs. Ashley and Mr. Riggs are not averse to chatting - their dialogues serve as clues for further actions, and they simply entertain the player: listening to the chatter of a girl and a robot is sometimes funny, even if it sometimes interferes with doing business and exploring our new haven.
Galatea 37 is a beautiful and terrible planet. This is not a lifeless stone or ice ball, but a world full of diversity. The beauty is deadly - Ashley has not in vain set off in the company of fur: the local flora (and sometimes fauna) is not at all happy with the newcomers and is trying to destroy them, in spite of the losses. What can be opposed to it, besides the ingenuity of a rifle breaker and the firepower of Mr. Riggs? Of course, to build an island of tranquility and silence in such a bright and predatory world. This island, however, is capable of snapping fire, bullets and missiles, providing normal working conditions for the protagonist - during the campaign, she will have to build a portal to establish a stable connection with the Earth.
If you are not interested in the plot and a strict chain of tasks, but you need clean, concentrated gameplay, then you can pay attention to the survival mode, where there are no clear goals, but it becomes possible to customize the game for yourself, changing from a dozen settings from the duration of the scenario to the damage of enemies.
At the initial stage of the passage of The Riftbreaker, most of all resembles Factorio : the need to independently extract resources and provide energy to the growing base, the first timid raids of local living creatures, the simplest production chains ... automation of production.
But, as I said, this game should not be approached with the usual standards. Building fortifications, ensuring continuous production, and managing resources are just one of the many elements of The Riftbreaker's gameplay . If you only rest on him, then it's easy to get bored - the local production simulation cannot be compared with the monstrousness of Factorio . The production chains are ridiculously short, there is no logistics as a class (any resource other than liquids is instantly teleported to a common storage), so there is no point in fighting over optimal mining automation.
But the careful defense of the base has to be thought about - and well. Everything is subordinated to prevent the aggressive fauna from devouring and breaking your buildings. Cannons, missiles, mines, lasers that gnaw at alien flesh are just the end point of all our efforts to secure the base.
To get resources, to provide factories with energy and repairs, to protect vulnerable points with walls and batteries of weapons - there is enough work, Ashley is constantly busy with something. It will not work here, as in Factorio , to admire a well-established technological process; on the contrary, there is always time trouble, there is always a shortage of one resource or another, the base needs to be repaired, expanded, rebuilt ... There is also a race for technology: the research tree is simply huge, and it is like death to neglect it - without investing in science it is unlikely that it will be possible to survive in such complex conditions.
New weapons, new buildings, improvements - all this must be studied and not forgotten to put into practice. This is where one of the few disadvantages of The Riftbreaker lies - not the best implementation of the construction of improved buildings. Manually upgrading each is so-so fun, especially on a large base.
Mister Riggs will help to distract from routine. Do not forget that he himself has enormous combat power. This is not just a scout or foreman giving orders to construction drones, but a real combat vehicle capable of repelling an enemy invasion alone. However, much more often we will have to fight outside the base - especially in the campaign.
Providing production with everything you need, fencing off with walls on a narrow section of the map will not work - you have to travel, exploring the world. In addition to the central settlement, you can visit other parts of the planet, founding small towns there (or large - as your heart desires and local animals allow). One outpost is for uranium mining, the second provides an influx of valuable minerals, and the third is just for the soul.
Biomes on Galatea-37 are very diverse, and the animal world has dozens of unique creatures that differ from each other both in appearance and in behavior. Small evil monsters attacking in huge crowds, "arrows" spitting acid and throwing huge exploding balls, clumsy armadillos, invisible people, strange stone giants - the biosphere of this planet will find something to surprise.
All this fauna is also a source of resources: from the biomass left after the battles, you can get energy, the same is true for plants - sometimes it is profitable to cut down the entire forest in the district for a couple of extra megawatts. From defeated enemies, you can collect minerals, and sometimes DNA samples. With the help of the latter, it will be possible to find out detailed information about this type: resistance and vulnerability, damage done, the amount of health - all this is entered into the database.
An interesting effect stems from this - Galatea-37 is not limited to the perimeter of the erected base. The world can be explored - both in search of mineral deposits, and for your own pleasure, studying new species of animals and, of course, fighting with them. The planet does not skimp on a variety of biomes: jungle, desert, acid fields, volcanic regions - each with its own properties and inhabitants.
Doing research work (more precisely, fighting crowds of monsters alone) outside the base is no less interesting than building a competent defense of the settlement. Ashley can explore new equipment blueprints and find weapon mods to customize Mr. Riggs' equipment to suit her needs.
Here we have a full-fledged isometric action movie in the spirit of Alien Shooter : one hero against many enemies, endless shooting and spectacular scenes of the use of melee weapons. The ARPG elements in the form of the pursuit of better performance are also in place - the fur has many parameters that can be changed, and the arsenal of weapons includes dozens of samples from the sword and hammer to the atomic mine and the rocket launcher, not counting the activated skills and modifications.
Finally, one cannot fail to note the excellent technical condition of the project - it is perfectly optimized, and I did not observe any errors or crashes at all. If you try, then, of course, you can find disadvantages - the campaign, for example, is sinning with grind, which does not allow you to move on (I will remember the mission to search for acid fungus spores for a long time). The plot is hardly suitable for replaying - it's not only about delaying the gameplay, but also about the educational nature of the campaign.
Survival mode with its wide possibilities for customization and setting the conditions of the game is a real boon for fans of such entertainment, it is thanks to it that The Riftbreaker has a great future. Perhaps, other planets are waiting for us besides Galatea-37?
Pros: optimization; competent mixing of several genres; elaboration of each element of the gameplay; the ability to customize the game for yourself in survival mode.
Cons: Protractedness of some campaign missions.