Summary
Real-time strategy games have long since featured base building as a part of their gameplay structure, and while defenses are sometimes present in RTS games, rarely do they lean into tower defense mechanics.
These games combine the resource and unit management of RTS games with the strategic positioning and upgrading of tower defense games, creating a unique blend that’s often great for strategy game beginners.
8The White Laboratory
This physics-based sandbox RTS game features a modular system that allows players to construct robotic defenses and units, commanding them around the game’s levels.The White Laboratory’s RTS mechanics are light, and the game leans more into tower defense overall.
The White Laboratoryfeatures a clean, minimal aesthetic with a stark color palette that’s highly readable, but its greatest strengths are by far itsphysics-based gameplayand modular system, allowing for a great deal of creativity and customization.The White Laboratorymanages to stand out in a relatively saturated market.
7Death Crown
This game features a simple 1-bitpixel art aesthetic, a minimal color palette, and highly accessible gameplay that’s both easy and quick to learn.Death Crownallows players to plot paths for their units in real-time, as well as build various structures that focus on the economy, unit creation, or defenses in the form of towers.
There are only three buildings inDeath Crown, but each type is equally important to success. Instead of bogging players down with different options, the strategy comes from players balancing their buildings correctly, ensuring that their economy is strong, their base is defended, and their unit production is steady.
6They Are Billions
This Steampunk-themed base defense strategy game features colony-sim elements and tower defense mechanics, tasking players with defending their colony frommassive hordes of zombies.
They Are Billionsalso features light RTS elements, allowing the player to construct units and move them around the map to explore and fight zombies. Players can also control these units in real-time to help defend their base, though they will need a good defense to complement their troops to survive.They Are Billionsfeatures a lengthy campaign, but it’s the game’s randomly generated “Survival Mode” that steals the show.
5Dungeon Of The Endless
This isometric rogue-like game tasks players with controlling a party of sci-fi adventurers in real-time, exploring dark industrial dungeons, and protecting a valuable crystal with the help of various defenses and structures.
InDungeon Of The Endless, players must keep track of their food (which can be used for healing) and economy, building resource-gathering structures and defensive towers to fend off the game’s various alien foes. The game also sees players commanding the movement of their characters, ensuring they are positioned strategically.
4Diplomacy Is Not An Option
This tongue-in-cheek physics-based base defense strategy game has players defending their castle from an unending siege. InDiplomacy Is Not An Option, thousands of enemies assault the player’s castle walls, and they’re tasked with commanding and positioning their various units and defenses to prevent them from destroying the castle.
Diplomacy Is Not An Optionis more reminiscent of an RTS than a tower defense, with its resource-gathering and base-building mechanics. However, building catapults and producing archers to position them on and behind the castle walls, as well as the game’s tower structures, makes defending inDiplomacy Is Not An Optionfeel much like a tower defense.
3Mindustry
Thisfactory management gamefeatures automation mechanics and factory-building gameplay similar to that of games likeFactorio, tasking players with defending their ever-growing factory from waves of enemies.
InMindustry, the factory building mechanics tie into the game’s base defense aspect. Turrets require ammo to fire, meaning players need to build production lines and supply chains to keep their defenses working. Players can also use their production lines to create mechanical units, which they can use to complement their defenses and capture territory to expand their base.
2Thronefall
This minimalist tower defense RTS mash-up tasks players with defending their Kingdom from waves of enemies. In the game, players will have to choose which buildings to place on the map’s allocated plots, choosing between economy buildings, defenses, and units that can be loosely commanded by the player.
The strategy ofThronefalllies more in tower defense, positioning, and economy management, rather than the micromanagement-heavy gameplay that’s common inmore complex RTS games. The game’s simplicity, intuitive controls, and tactical depth make it worth playing.
1Creeper World 4
This fourth entry in theCreeper Worldseries takes the popular formula of theCreeper Worldgames and transforms it into 3D, making the physics-based liquid enemy, the “Creeper,” a physically rising, globular threat.
Creeper World 4is heavilyfocused on resource managementand real-time tactical positioning, tasking players with building a multitude of defenses and choosing the optimal approach against the Creeper. Players can also maneuver their turrets in real-time, deactivating them to move them to a more advantageous position.
