Tower defense games are like Candy Crush clones.
Many of them are good, some of them are even great, but you still need to take the occasional break from them because they’re all pretty much the same.
We like the Kingdom Rush games, and Clash Royale, and Bloons TD as much as the next guy, but the fact of the matter is that nothing truly exciting has happened in the tower defense genre since Plants Vs Zombies.
Developer Agonalea Games is aiming to change that with Punko.io, an accessible, innovative, and riotously satirical indie TD game that might just be the next leap forward for the genre. Here’s their manifesto video, and then we’ll tell you everything else you need to know.
First up, the setting. Punko.io is a zombie game. It sees you fending off an inexhaustible army of undead marauders using a variety of different weapons and magical attacks in various different locations, including a subway, a city, and even a graveyard.
Which has to be the most ominous possible place to pick a fight with the undead.
In keeping with all zombie games, Punko.io thrusts you into a situation of asymmetric warfare. There’s an unlimited supply of them, and only one of you.
To even the odds, you’ve got a range of weapons and spells at your disposal, along with a groundbreaking RPG-style inventory system that lets you obtain and equip a variety of different items.
Plus, you can earn power-ups and unlock special skills, all of which gives you a huge range of customization options. Ultimately, these translate to tactical options on the battlefield, making Punko.io a deceptively rich strategy game.
It’s also a work of satire. Like a lot of games, films, and TV shows involving the undead, the zombies are both horrifying monsters and metaphorical send-ups of modern culture.
In this case the gormless, braindead shufflers represent the gaming public who have had their critical faculties dulled by wave after wave of repetitive, unoriginal tower defense games. They are the System, and their target is creativity itself.
Only you can save the creative universe.
And Agonalea Games is offering some additional incentives to get you started. To prepare Punko.io for its global launch the studio has added daily rewards, free gifts, discounted packs, a new Dragon boss, a whole five additional chapters, a clever new Overlap Heap mechanic, and more.
There’s going to be a launch event, too. Between September 26th and October 27th you’ll be able to join forces with players from all around the world as you defeat zombies and hear a special message from Punko.
Punko.io is completely free to play, and you don’t even need wi-fi to play it.
Head to the official site to get started.
