Tower defence games have always been around but have exploded in popularity over the last 10 years, mostly on the mobile market. They are easy to pick up, fun to engage with and accessible to all ages. ‘Dungeon Defenders: Awakened’, expands on the traditional tower defence experience by adding in an RPG progression and diverse co-op experience. Chromatic games have teamed up with Reverb Publishing to deliver the third instalment in this 10-year-old franchise, now available on Xbox.

A wonderful little storybook opening introduces players both new and old, to the mythical land of Etheria. Four heroes band together to banish the old ones inside Eternia Crystals to bring peace and prosperity to the land. Many years later, powerful forces at be have thrown the Monk, Mage apprentice, Huntress and Squire back in time to fight the hordes of the past.

Striped of their powers and skill, you must rally together to thwart their attempt to free their evil overlords! It all sounds exciting on paper, in practice, however, it is a little less climatic. There is a campaign to work your way through but it wouldn’t affect your experience if you ignored any storyline on offer.

Realistically, the storyline and the Eternia Crystals are a McGuffin to set the theme and the real draw is the gameplay. Face off against waves of enemies, grab all the loot you can find and take it back to ‘The Tavern’ to level up and sell your spoils for more gold. It’s a simple gameplay loop but one that is designed to keep you coming back for more. Each map places a giant crystal in a corner which you must defend over a set amount of waves.

It’s your job to place barricades, traps, harpoon towers or elemental magic towers in the limited lanes that lead to their goal. In an effort to make it more accessible, there are several purple lines highlighted on the floor between rounds that show exactly which path the enemies will take. I do mean exactly, by the way, the enemy will obediently follow that path to a fault and will pile up on your defences until they break through or die.

You can freely roam between each lane and attack with the right trigger for a basic attack or a heavy/special attack which then needs a cool down before it can be used again. You can pull up the build menu at any time to try and rebuild your defences if needed, once the round ends, however, you have more time to build uninterrupted. Mixing up the four heroes gives a nice variety of attacks and defence options and having a few friends on board makes for a more enjoyable experience. On the easier difficulties, I never felt like there was too much to juggle or felt overwhelmed. On the harder difficulties though, you may need to put more focus on your defensive plans and be actively roaming the fields.

You certainly do get a sense that this game is set in the past, when I loaded into the hub, the fantasy-themed tavern looked like it could have launched alongside Fable, back in 2004. While a little dated, it holds a certain charm to its chunky, cell-shaded aesthetic. Whether you are hanging out in the tavern in between battles or deep underground in a ruined mine, there is always a bright and cheery vibe.

Hordes of Goblins, Orcs and Dark Elf mages look about as intimidating as a bunch of overly exaggerated mascots suits. I was a little concerned with the animation of the characters, it felt clunky and floaty for the most part. The enemy models also struggled to maintain fluid animations. If I walked too far away from them, they would drop down to single frame animations and almost look like a slide show.

Dungeon Defenders: Awakened hasn’t reset the bar for Tower defence games but rather built off the previous games in the series. It’s a light-hearted romp through the dungeons and I would recommend bringing a few friends along for the ride. Available now on Xbox One, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.

Written by: Shane Fletcher