These tower defense games are some of the most approachable and addictive strategy games around, và we"ve put together a menu of our favourites


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Looking for the best tower defense games on PC? For a time, the humble tower defense was one of the most popular genres out there. They may appear to be simple strategy games for more casual players, but fans would hotline them accessible tactical titles that require sharp reflexes, a sharper mind, & quick improvisation. The approachability of tower defense gamesstems from how deceptively straightforward they are – at least lớn begin with.

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A horde of enemies comes from specific directions across a small arena, & the player has khổng lồ improvise a mix of appropriate defenses – using scant resources – to giảm giá with them. Enemies become tougher và more numerous as the trò chơi progresses, but the player gets access khổng lồ better equipment to khuyễn mãi giảm giá with them too.While the genre often veers towards điện thoại thông minh and tablet gaming, there are still many fantastic tower defense games on PC right now, with many of them actually being miễn phí PC games. Here’s the best of the best.


The best tower defense games on PC for 2022 are:

Kingdom Rush VengeancePlants Vs ZombiesDefense Grid: The AwakeningSanctum 2Bloons TD 6Dungeon DefendersKingdom Two CrownsAnomaly Warzone EarthOrcs Must Die! 3Iron BrigadeBardbarianRock of Ages 2: Bigger và Boulder

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Kingdom Rush Vengeance

Ironhide Studios has spentthe last decade perfecting a line of fantasy-fuelled tower defense games known as Kingdom Rush. From the original Kingdom Rush trò chơi back in năm trước through to the most recententry Vengeance, which takes place from the perspective of the series’ antagonist, Kingdom Rush is a house name in the world of tower defense. There’s even a board game spin-off.


Kingdom Rush has all of the genre staples, such as towers & the need khổng lồ defend yourself from waves of relentless enemies. There are also heroes you can deploy with powerful abilities of their own, and plenty of other fun twists. Tower defense fans should definitely kiểm tra this one out if they haven’t already – it’s on mobile, too.

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Plants vs Zombies

For many, Plants vs Zombies is the ultimate game, period. Even by tower defense standards, it’s simple – there’s no long path to defend, the zombies come from the right, and the player defends the left. If a zombie makes it all the way left in a lane, there’s one do-over available in the khung of a lawnmower.

Nevertheless, Plants vs Zombies is a perfect cycle of addiction. Every màn chơi offers something new to lớn keep you hooked – more challenging zombies are gradually introduced, numerous minigames break up the gameplay, & new plants become available khổng lồ play with. Combined with the appealingvisuals và aggressively fun sound design, it’s easy to see how Plants vs Zombies became a phenomenon – a shame that subsequent Plants vs Zombies games have either been mobile-only or online shooters.

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Defense Grid: The Awakening

Defense Grid: The Awakening is straightforward perfection – & unlike many games on this list, you’re actually using towers as a defence. Stop aliens from stealing nguồn cores from a charmingly British AI companion, & kill them if they try lớn escape. Defeating aliens nets the resources lớn buy or tăng cấp the various types of towers, và there are the usual death mazes the player can put together.

Defense Grid is a pure, addictive tower defense delight – và if that’s not enough, there are DLC tie-ins with Borderlands and Portal, too. Defense Grid 2, however, is a little overcomplicated – we’ll stick to lớn the original.

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Sanctum 2

From the studio behind Satisfactory and, er, Goat Simulator, Sanctum 2 is a unique tower defense trò chơi because it also doubles as an FPS game. If you just play the first few seconds, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve bought a Borderlands-style co-op shooter – until you hit the arena and have lớn put up walls, turrets, tesla coils, & other defences khổng lồ stop the alien hordes from taking out your power nguồn cores.

All you really need khổng lồ know is that you can create death mazes in up khổng lồ four-player co-op. Sanctum 2 is one to lớn throw at anyone who says that tower defense games aren’t exciting.

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Bloons TD 6

Anyone who’s dismissed the Bloons series for appearing childish, basic, or highly microtransaction-y should think again, since Bloons TD 6 is nothing less than the highest-rated tower defense trò chơi on Steam. The games are deliberately cartoony by nature – you place monkeys with special powers around a maps to protect it from malevolent balloons.

The game play focuses on characters rather than structures, who can be upgraded, leveled up, and given better equipment. There’s an almost XCOM-level of squad management here, which elevates Bloons TD 6 to lớn a whole new plane of addiction.

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Dungeon Defenders

Dungeon Defenders is part MOBA, part action RPG, all tower defense. You must defend the fantasy land of Etheria against the hordes of orcs, goblins, etc – your typical RPG fare — by creating a character from several classes, equipping the right gear, upgrading abilities, and heading out khổng lồ battle.

From here, players are thrown into a small arena where enemies attack in waves from specific directions. Each class has its own defences khổng lồ place, which can be repaired, sold, or upgraded, but they can’t bởi all the work —the player has to get stuck in too.

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Kingdom Two Crowns

This stretches the definition of tower defense lớn a certain degree, but we’re assuming you’re here because you want more awesome TD games to play. If you like what’s on the rest of this list, you’ll like Kingdom: Two Crowns. This is a side-scrolling strategy trò chơi where you play as a mounted monarch tasked with rebuilding a kingdom under constant threat from the Greed, who will attack your settlement in waves of ever increasing difficulty.


To survive, you will need khổng lồ collect tithes from your population và invest the money into defenses – walls và towers for the most part – but also weapons. You don’t control anyone other than the ruler directly. Everyone else will go about their business automatically depending on their role, but certain actions will incentivise certain behaviour. Builders will build what you tell them to, but they can also chop down trees for more money. Eventually, you can tăng cấp your economy lớn rely less on hunting và more on farming. All the while, Greed will keep attacking your walls khổng lồ try & destroy your home.

Two Crowns is the current iteration of Kingdom and involves a sprawling chiến dịch that lets you travel from island to island exploring the wilderness for powerful secrets, new mounts, và a way to lớn destroy Greed for good. It also comes with co-op – online or local split-screen.

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Anomaly: Warzone Earth

Anomaly: Warzone Earth is a complete reversal of the tower defense genre – the player instead controls the units they’re trying khổng lồ sneak past the defences in order khổng lồ attack. It’s tower offence.

After plotting a course through an alien-controlled hellscape, players must keep their limited units healthy, upgrading them wherever possible, khổng lồ make it khổng lồ the objective while attacking the various tower defenses along the way. It’s not the longest game on this list, but it’s an innovative and fun spin on the genre.

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Orcs Must Die!3

The Orcs Must Die! series mixes third-person shooter, melee, và magic combat with fantasy-based tower defense, requiring players khổng lồ mix strategy with skill – you can’t rely on just your weapons or the Dungeon Keeper-style traps lớn defeat the Orc hordes.


The third trò chơi in the series was exclusive to lớn Google Stadia, but has luckily since launched on Steam.Orcs Must Die! 3 is a welcome addition khổng lồ the franchise, introducing a story mode that takes place 20 years afterOrcs Must Die! 2, & War Scenarios, a new mode that lets players fight against the largest orc armies ever assembled.

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Iron Brigade

From Psychonauts developer Double Fine comes this underrated third-person mech combat/tower defense mash-up. In the aftermath of WW1, a crazed scientist tries to take over the world with his army of killer televisions, but luckily the chaps of the mobile trench division are here to save the day.

The player gets a fully-armed mech, which is fun, but they’ll also need khổng lồ set up defences to lớn counter the Tube onslaught. The quality gameplay, co-op, and Double Fine’s signature snappy wit make Iron Brigade well worth a visit.

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Bardbarian

Bardbarian features a barbarian named Brad who hung up his axe to play guitar instead. By playing sick tunes, Brad can hotline several fighters to follow him, who attack enemies when they get close. It’s a tower defense game where the defences accompany the player around the battlefield.

The player doesn’t attack at all – although they can be killed – you simply lead troops, boost them with guitar riffs, & collect gold for upgrades, which include new unit types, more effective boosts, và a town drunk who vomits in the enemy’s path. The usual stuff.

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Rock of Ages 2: Bigger và Boulder

The Rock Of Ages series is an intriguing mix of tower defense, Super Monkey Ball, and animated bits of Monty Python. Each màn chơi features a downhill course with a base at the end that the player has to protect with various wacky defences. At the same time, the player’s opponent – human or AI – is doing the same thing.

When either is ready, they can control a rolling boulder và attempt to lớn smash through those defences và crash into the enemy base. Rock Of Ages 2 is probably the best in the series, as the more recent third trò chơi leaned a little too hard into the difficulty & lost much of the fun.

If thesetower defense games somehow don’t satisfy your needs, try our list of the best multiplayer games as well, & try something a bit more cooperative. Tower defense games are easily some of the best PC games for those who enjoy a more hands-off approach to their chaos, and this các mục has them all.