Hero Defense

Hero Defense, developed by Happy Tuesday and published by Headup, is an ambitious hybrid of tower defense, RPG, and light strategy elements, offering a unique spin on a genre that often relies heavily on static mechanics. Instead of placing traditional towers, players control a group of five heroes—each with distinct skills and attack types—who must be strategically positioned and dynamically moved across winding paths to hold back waves of undead enemies. This twist immediately sets the game apart from conventional tower defense titles, demanding not just planning but real-time tactical awareness as enemy types, strengths, and weaknesses vary significantly from wave to wave.
The game’s world is styled with a gothic, cartoon-like aesthetic that lands somewhere between Tim Burton and a haunted fairground. It establishes an atmosphere that feels quirky but sinister, without veering too far into horror or comedy. The heroes themselves are equally stylized: Jack the vampire hunter leads the group, flanked by characters like Barrows the necromancer, Sam Hain the pyromancer, Jane Doe the assassin, and Wylde the feral lycan. Each hero specializes in dealing with certain enemy types or exploiting specific vulnerabilities, and much of the game’s strategy revolves around placing the right hero in the right spot at the right time. This real-time repositioning is the game’s central mechanic, forcing players to stay alert rather than rely on passive tower upgrades or static defenses.
Beyond combat, Hero Defense introduces several layers of progression that add a long-term sense of investment. Each hero can be leveled up and customized through individual skill trees, and weapons can be enhanced using rune systems that offer stat boosts or special effects. Additionally, the town hub serves as a base of operations where players can unlock new upgrades, rebuild structures, and open up access to deeper mechanics. These systems aim to provide the player with a sense of continual growth, though some may find them a bit superficial or grind-heavy in execution. Progression is tied not just to skill but also to replaying earlier maps to gather more resources or unlock harder difficulty tiers.
The campaign spans multiple stages with a variety of map designs, but over time, the differences between missions can start to blur. Enemy paths are often predictable, and while some maps introduce environmental mechanics or more complex pathing, the core gameplay loop remains relatively unchanged throughout the campaign. Enemy variety is decent, with resistances, immunities, and special abilities adding an extra layer of tactical depth. However, the mid-game can suffer from noticeable difficulty spikes that seem designed to slow player progress unless time is spent grinding or optimizing hero builds in a specific way. For some, this adds longevity and challenge; for others, it may feel like artificial padding.
Visually and aurally, the game holds up reasonably well for an indie title. The environments are colorfully morbid, and character animations are distinct enough to keep the action clear even in the midst of chaotic enemy waves. The soundtrack supports the spooky, carnival-esque atmosphere without becoming intrusive, although the voice acting and narrative components leave something to be desired. The story is serviceable, giving context to the hero’s quest to rid the world of the undead plague, but it lacks emotional weight or deep character development. Most interactions are brief and functional, prioritizing gameplay momentum over storytelling depth.
In terms of performance, Hero Defense generally runs smoothly, though some minor bugs and visual issues can occasionally impact the experience. One recurring criticism involves visual occlusion—environmental features or awkward camera angles sometimes make it hard to place heroes accurately or see the full battlefield. This can lead to frustrating moments, especially during intense waves where placement timing is critical. Moreover, certain interface elements feel clunky or unpolished, and the targeting system for skills or items sometimes lacks the precision needed for high-level play.
For its asking price, Hero Defense delivers a fair amount of content, including a full campaign, multiple difficulty levels, and an Endless Mode that extends replayability. However, its value proposition depends largely on how much the player enjoys its core loop of hero movement and enemy wave management. Those looking for a deep RPG experience or a polished, highly replayable strategy game may find the game somewhat limited in scope. On the other hand, players who appreciate hybrid mechanics and are open to a tower defense experience that emphasizes active engagement over passive design will likely find it refreshing and satisfying, despite its rough edges.
Ultimately, Hero Defense succeeds in offering something different. It's not the most polished or narratively rich title, but its inventive blend of genres and demand for moment-to-moment decision-making help it stand out. It’s a game that rewards strategic thinking and adaptability, though it occasionally undermines its strengths with uneven pacing and progression systems that lean a little too heavily on repetition. Still, for players intrigued by the idea of a tower defense game that keeps you on your toes and asks more of you than just where to place a turret, Hero Defense is worth a closer look.
Rating: 7/10

As a Tower Defense games lover, i liked this game.
it has some grind that you need to do to ace all achievements. but the game is short and fun on its own.
Unfortunately, you cant get 100% achievement due to the developers shutting down the servers so you cant get the endless achievement...
was a good run for me through.

Hi,

The moving tower defense mechanic which are your heroes in this game is genuinely a good feature. it is fresh and adds a great layer of strategy to each mission. The different heroes are also well-designed — each one deals significantly more damage to certain types of enemies, and the way their attack patterns interact with those enemies is really well implemented. For example, when a hero focuses on area-of-effect damage, the game smartly spawns enemy groups that come in larger numbers but with lower health, which makes fights feel dynamic and satisfying.

That said, the grinding for upgrades feels unnecessary and only serves to slow down the pacing. It would’ve been much better if the upgrade grind was introduced after finishing the main story, so it could serve as a way to extend the gameplay rather than pad it out.

After a certain point, heroes become so powerful that strategy barely matters — it doesn’t really make a difference who’s attacking what anymore. The early part of the game is also quite slow; it takes a few missions before you even get access to most of your towers (heroes), which can make the opening feel like a slog.

Finally, the in-game economy is tedious and frustrating to deal with. It feels like unnecessary busywork that gets in the way of the fun parts of the game.

Overall, it’s a solid experience, great core mechanic — but it’s held back by grindy progression and a slow start. it’s good in concept but lacks in execution.

Surprisingly well-made Tower Defense game with some fun Halloween vibes. It's a mixy title and was always, but I remember liking it a lot.
Surreal but this developer did some moonlighting with this title by basically r34ing it and releasing it elsewhere... and is now abandonware. I kind of wish that version was also on Steam.
It's a serviceable Tower Defense. Maybe it wasn't fancy, but the developer clearly liked and understood the genre. I would say it's more about atmosphere and grind than strategy. It's like how some indie developers will make their game isometric just to make it manageable, when it really isn't RTS or ARPG or CRPG or so on. It's a little like that. You don't have the building you have in a normal TD game. Instead, the heroes can be upgraded in different ways.
I liked it. It's Halloween themed, but also has a lighter tone. Fair seasonal game.

Damn fun game, requires some grind for the hardest maps and challenges. Unfortunately there is no successor and also no map editor but still a great Tower/hero defense mix.

A colourful game with a great story story. Fun to play!

HERO DEFENSE
Has a total of 8 trading cards.