Summary: “Idle Archer Tower Defense RPG” is a tower defense game that you can play on any device that can download apps. The game is essentially a single-tower, endless defense game, that anyone can play, even if you can only spare a few minutes. It also fits well for those busy-body types that can only find pockets of time to spare for non-serious entertainment.
The Objective: You are an archer and your goal is to defend your single tower that is under attack by thousands of monsters – mostly skeletons, wolves, spiders, and occasional bosses that are just large versions of regular skeletons. The goal is to survive as long as you can. There is no “beating” the game.
Upgrading your Tower: You accumulate both purple gems and yellow coins during your match. The purple gems can be used to upgrade your tower, but are temporary and only last during the match. Yellow coins, on the other hand, can be used at the main menu and can upgrade your tower permanently. Your goal is to both upgrade your tower permanently and temporarily, in order to accumulate the most upgrades.
You can upgrade your tower by increasing its power, attack speed, range, and more. It’s a fairly enjoyable game, although overly simplistic and may come across as a cash shop-type of app game.
The Breakdown:
Graphics: 7/10
The game has smooth, but pretty standard graphics. If you are looking for something out-of-this-world, this game may disappoint, but if you’re looking for graphics that are neat and clean, then this game will satisfy you. It’s kid-like, it’s cute, but it does vaguely come off very cheap at times. You could even call it reused – the polygonic graphics seem to be recycled throughout many RPG games of its genre.
Easiness of Play: 10/10
It’s quite easy to play, and there is no way you can mess up this game, unless you leave your phone and walk away and you let your archer perish. Otherwise, it’s literally just watching your tower and clicking on upgrades. There is little tactic involved, and there is no wrong way to go about building your tower. I personally have played this game while running on the treadmill, as all it requires is an occasional finger tap here-and-there to upgrade my tower.
There are also virtually no bugs or any technical-related issues that I could see.
Replayability: 7/10
The game has a special RPG charm and simplicity that makes it easy to open up and play again and again. However, I did find myself sitting down for an hour and asking myself, “Is this it?”
While the game is fun for the short-term, it’s not a game that I would play every day. Its simplicity is also its downfall in terms of replayability. The mechanics and progression is predictable and unengaging, but I’m assuming that this is what the publishers wanted. So if you’re looking for something completely mindlessly and only modestly stimulating, then you will find yourself playing this game over-and-over again. Otherwise, it’s going to come off your phone, just like it did for me.
Fun Factor: 5/10
Again, this game is mildly amusing, but neither addicting or stimulating. The Fun Factor lies in your permanent tower upgrades and that feeling of being stronger, but the monsters are endless, so the sense of achievement is not there. Upgrades tend to cost more exponentially, but the coin and gem gain is linear, forcing yourself to die constantly to make consistent progression. That little dopamine release you get every time you click the upgrade button is spaced more and more as the upgrades get more expensive.
After level 30, the game starts to get as stimulating as popping bubble wrap.
Is this a Passive or Active Game? Mostly passive, but it depends on you.
If you choose, you can play the game actively and progress further with each match. However, you can just press play, let the match go until you die, then use the coins you gain to upgrade your tower permanently. Again, it’s up to you. You can easily play this game while cooking, watching TV, or running on the treadmill.
How Ad heavy? Ads come up often, but do come with benefits.
Ads are not completely useless. Some ads come with benefits, such as multiplying your coins at the end of the match, or giving you a free revive. The ads are quite long at 30 seconds, though. You will find yourself sitting through the same ads over and over. I would approximate, probably 25% of your time will be ad-watching.