New release: Defender’s Quest

Since I’ve been loosening up on the sort of games I’ve been willing to post about lately, I figured it was time to stop agonizing about whether Defender’s Quest was really an RPG and just post about the thing.

Defender’s Quest is a hybrid RPG / tower defense game by Lars Doucet. Protector, the first game to claim the tower defense / RPG mantle, was not really an RPG at all, so I was reticent about this one. Despite my initial skepticism, however, now that I’ve spent a bit of time with Defender’s Quest, I have far fewer reservations about it. The tower defense-style combat system works quite well; and at the same time, the game still feels like an RPG because of a heavy focus on individualized character progression (characters can purchase their own equipment, and can be upgraded as you see fit via class-specific skill trees upon level up).

Defender’s Quest is story-heavy, with unique characters and dialog, as well as a tone that strikes a nice balance between drama and camp. This is a legit RPG, in other words; but words are seldom enough, so have a trailer:

In fact, that trailer probably wasn’t enough either. I don’t think this video does an especially good job of imparting the feel of playing Defender’s Quest; there is a free demo available right here, which I strongly suggest giving a try so you can experience the game for yourself.

Defender’s Quest is available for Windows, Mac and Linux for $6.99; you can buy it here. (I understand that an updated version is due to drop soon, at which point the price will rise to $9.99.)