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Archipelago is a roguelike tower defense (TD) game that doesn’t do anything remarkable with the genre, but it still manages to be fun for its limited runtime.

As expected, Archipelago has a lot in common with most other TD games, simply due to the nature of the genre. That being said, it effectively works in a couple of twists that aren’t wholly unique but are fresh enough to liven up the game.

The central distinction is that you play on randomized maps with variable tower costs rather than playing through a predetermined set of levels. One might feature a perfect choke point for you to mass your defenses around, while another has multiple winding paths that lend themselves more towards a multilayered approach. Furthermore, the random tower costs mean that you’ll always need to change up your strategy. It helps fight back against the idea of an optimal strategy, which often dumbs down the tactical side of TD games once it has been discovered. I rarely used the same defenses multiple times because I would typically learn that archers are dirt cheap this time, knights are overpriced, etc. This is a crucial element of a roguelike TD, and I think it was pulled off quite well. Furthermore, you will receive items as you play that boost specific units. Most are relatively minor, but they can combine in interesting ways to give your towers strong yet situational power boosts.

To complement its roguelike mechanics, Archipelago also features a standard economy system that encourages you to gamble with your safety. You can spend your money on either defenses for security or gold mines to increase your income. It’s a tricky balance to maintain, but it doesn’t change every round, so it offers some stability and predictability that you can base your overall strategy around.

I also really enjoyed the technology progression while it lasted. It’ll only be a handful of hours before you’ve unlocked everything, but it consistently added new, exciting ways to defend your island. Some might complain about the lack of replayability once you complete the tech tree, but I feel that the content is sufficient for a $5 game, especially given how enjoyable it is.

The graphics aren’t outstanding or an impressive technical feat, but I would still consider them above average for a small indie game. The art style does a lot of the heavy lifting thanks to its consistency and how well it fits into the gameplay. As for the soundtrack, I liked it at first, but it can be tiring to hear the same song over and over. Nevertheless, I liked the soundtrack in general and regard it as a positive across the board.

Archipelago has a modest amount of content, and it’s clearly a low-budget indie title. Despite that, it’s a lot of fun to progress through the tech tree, and it has enough variety to stand out from other indie TD games with similar budgets. I’d recommend it to fans of the genre with the understanding that it’s a good, not great, game.

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No performance issues running on: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 3070

[quote] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/36214917/]Follow our Curator Page, MMM Reviews, for more in-depth reviews and recommendations[/url] [/quote] [i]Archipelago[/i] is a roguelike tower defense (TD) game that doesn’t do anything remarkable with the genre, but it still manages to be fun for its limited runtime. [h2]Gameplay[/h2] As expected, [i]Archipelago[/i] has a lot in common with most other TD games, simply due to the nature of the genre. That being said, it effectively works in a couple of twists that aren’t wholly unique but are fresh enough to liven up the game. The central distinction is that you play on randomized maps with variable tower costs rather than playing through a predetermined set of levels. One might feature a perfect choke point for you to mass your defenses around, while another has multiple winding paths that lend themselves more towards a multilayered approach. Furthermore, the random tower costs mean that you’ll always need to change up your strategy. It helps fight back against the idea of an optimal strategy, which often dumbs down the tactical side of TD games once it has been discovered. I rarely used the same defenses multiple times because I would typically learn that archers are dirt cheap this time, knights are overpriced, etc. This is a crucial element of a roguelike TD, and I think it was pulled off quite well. Furthermore, you will receive items as you play that boost specific units. Most are relatively minor, but they can combine in interesting ways to give your towers strong yet situational power boosts. To complement its roguelike mechanics, [i]Archipelago[/i] also features a standard economy system that encourages you to gamble with your safety. You can spend your money on either defenses for security or gold mines to increase your income. It’s a tricky balance to maintain, but it doesn’t change every round, so it offers some stability and predictability that you can base your overall strategy around. I also really enjoyed the technology progression while it lasted. It’ll only be a handful of hours before you’ve unlocked everything, but it consistently added new, exciting ways to defend your island. Some might complain about the lack of replayability once you complete the tech tree, but I feel that the content is sufficient for a $5 game, especially given how enjoyable it is. [h2]Presentation[/h2] The graphics aren’t outstanding or an impressive technical feat, but I would still consider them above average for a small indie game. The art style does a lot of the heavy lifting thanks to its consistency and how well it fits into the gameplay. As for the soundtrack, I liked it at first, but it can be tiring to hear the same song over and over. Nevertheless, I liked the soundtrack in general and regard it as a positive across the board. [h2]Verdict[/h2] [i]Archipelago[/i] has a modest amount of content, and it’s clearly a low-budget indie title. Despite that, it’s a lot of fun to progress through the tech tree, and it has enough variety to stand out from other indie TD games with similar budgets. I’d recommend it to fans of the genre with the understanding that it’s a good, not great, game. [h2]6/10[/h2] [quote] Follow our Curator page,[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41449676/] Summit Reviews [/url], to see more high quality reviews regularly. [/quote] [quote] No performance issues running on: [b]AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 3070[/b] [/quote]