Aegis Defenders

 Switch
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 24
  3. Negative: 4 out of 24
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  1. UsernameIThink
    Apr 22, 2018
    8
    Aegis Defenders is a pretty good game that deserved to get a bit more attention than it did. In some ways it succeeds and in others it fails, but I would still recommend it to most people interested in Tower Defense/indie games with a good art style. The game is a mix between a TD and an action platformer, with 1 or 2 players controlling 2-4 characters (the number increases the farther youAegis Defenders is a pretty good game that deserved to get a bit more attention than it did. In some ways it succeeds and in others it fails, but I would still recommend it to most people interested in Tower Defense/indie games with a good art style. The game is a mix between a TD and an action platformer, with 1 or 2 players controlling 2-4 characters (the number increases the farther you get into the game). Each character has specific structures that can be built (some of which require ingredients from 2 or more players), unique weapons, and a special ability. Every element can be upgraded. Personally, I challenged myself by finishing the game on 1P mode and insane difficulty without backtracking to previous levels. I suggest others do the same if they don't have a friend to play with.

    The game succeeds in being engaging, even if not always extremely fun. You quickly get thrown into this gameplay loop of challenge rewarded by extra story and your own choice of upgrades. In terms of story, the game is pretty good but not excellent, though it hits high notes from time to time. The characters are only decent. Outside of the story, the game has enough variance to where it hardly ever feels boring. Over time, certain structures start to be unlocked and some structures lose value as you generally have more resources available. At some point, I felt I had reason to use almost every structure, weapon, and character at least a few times.

    The flaws that this game does have are pretty huge. For one, there were a few minor glitches I encountered. Besides that, most levels have an exploratory phase before the tower defense phase. These are used for tutorials and puzzles (of which only a few are excellent), but hardly ever for platforming. Even the tower defense has more platforming because it requires you to collect and manage resources with a time limit. While juggling between characters to accomplish this is fun to some extent, the AI is too incompetent when you're not controlling a character. It's always rooted in once place and doesn't attack unless an enemy is very close, and when it does it's at a low firing rate. While the character combat is made more engaging by having to stay on your toes and adapt, fighting enemies usually means staying in one place and shooting. Some of the systems in place are easy to forget about. The game gives you a limited number of player hearts, but they are easily replenished so they're mostly easy to forget about. On occasion, I even forgot some of my characters had special abilities because I hardly used them.

    That being said, adapting around some of the game's flaws is much of what makes it so special. You have to see what works and what doesn't with your limitations and understand how to manage characters most efficiently. For example, it might be necessary to bring a character somewhere to repair buildings, another to work on a resource generator, another to stand by an enemy spawn where the enemies are of the same color so they take extra damage, and another to be controlled to extract resources. Then you can use one of the same characters as an anchor, using the "follow" command to bring the resource miner back more quickly. It's stressful at first, but once you get used to it it's all good, strategic fun with a huge level of depth and variety.

    Overall score: 7.5 out of 10    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. FNintendo
    Jun 24, 2019
    60
    Aegis Defenders has several points in its favour, such as well-designed gameplay mechanics, a quality plot and its good audiovisual environment, but as it becomes clear, a good game is more than the sum of its parts. The game's puzzles quickly start feeling repetitive and its difficulty level comes off as exaggerated, which contribute to put Aegis Defenders in the territory of games that could have edged towards a much more memorable status.
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  2. Nintendo Insider
    Apr 16, 2018
    80
    The visuals are sumptuous and eye-popping with colour. The design of the worlds and characters could have played into the tropes we’ve seen a thousand times before, but each feels wonderfully original. This accompanies a gentle and subtle soundtrack that perfectly fits the overall style and package. This is definitely a game worth exploring.
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  3. Switch Player
    Mar 19, 2018
    80
    Aegis Defenders manages to avoid the boredom found on some tower defense games by mixing it up with action and platforming elements. Its complexity and depth of strategy doesn’t lose its light even with its somewhat convoluted controls. With its top-notch pixel art style and charming narrative, it delivers an entertaining and unique experience.
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