Spacethumper 2: Another Tower Defense, And It's Actually Kinda Okay. Don't Tell Anyone.
Fine, Chubberdy. You made a tower defense game that isn't a total waste of my time. Just barely. Don't expect a medal.
Another Day, Another Slime Invasion
Right, Spacethumper 2. My initial thought when I saw the name was, 'Oh good, another space game where I probably have to defend something from generic blobs.' And guess what, I was mostly right. Slimes. Again. We've been fighting slimes since the dawn of gaming, can we get some new antagonists please, developers? Is the creative well truly that dry? Anyway, you're on a planet, 2D terrain, placing structures. It's tower defense, with a side of 'don't die.' Chubberdy, I've seen this before, hundreds of times. But I guess I have to play it, so here we are. It’s free, so I reluctantly downloaded it, bracing myself for the usual indie jank.
The Grind of Keeping the Lights On
The core gameplay loop here involves putting down defenses, generating power, and extracting resources. Standard stuff. You've got your lasers, gauss cannons, wind turbines, solar panels, drills, the whole nine yards. All need power. All need connections. And the power management, oh boy. It’s not complex, it’s just tedious. You spend half your time untangling wires or trying to figure out why your shiny new gauss cannon isn't firing because some solar panel on the other side of the map lost its connection. It makes me long for the days of Command & Conquer where you just slapped down a power plant and called it a day. The 'upgrading' part means tearing down half your base and rebuilding, which is exactly as annoying as it sounds. Couldn't you just, you know, upgrade it in place?
It Looks Like a Game. It Sounds Like a Game.
Visuals. It's 2D. It's functional. The slimes look like slimes, the turrets look like turrets, the terrain looks like terrain. There isn't much to say here, really. It’s got a cohesive art style, I guess, in that everything looks like it belongs in the same game. Nothing here will blow your socks off, or even mildly ruffle them. Audio is similar. Blaster noises, slime squishes, turbine hums. It all does the job. I didn't mute it immediately, which is a high compliment coming from me. I mean, it's not Chrono Trigger level or anything, but it’s not actively offensive, which is a surprisingly high bar for many indie games these days.
The Underground Maze and the Three Amigos
Where Spacethumper 2 tries to differentiate itself is with its underground cave system and the three crew members. You've got a Pilot, a Mechanic, and a Miner. Each has abilities. The Miner, Dax, is your guy for digging into caves to find 'interference crystals' which you then destroy. Sounds cool, right? In practice, the caves are just confusing. I spent more time trying to navigate the twisty, cramped passages than actually enjoying the 'exploration.' And managing three characters, while not awful, just adds another layer of mild irritation to an already fiddly game. Why can't I just build my defenses and be left alone? Is that too much to ask?
A Few Glimmers of Non-Awfulness
Look, I have to admit, there are moments where this game actually clicks. The later defense waves, especially on harder difficulties, can be genuinely engaging. When your carefully placed gauss cannons are obliterating waves of red slimes and your shields are barely holding, there’s a fleeting sense of satisfaction. It’s rare, but it’s there. And the decision to pause enemy spawn timers during dialogue? That's a good move, Chubberdy. A small quality-of-life change that prevents me from throwing my monitor out the window. If only the rest of the game were this considerate of my limited patience, I might actually enjoy it more.
Rating Breakdown
It works, mostly, which is more than I can say for most indie 'gems' these days.
Sure, it adds some stuff, but it's still just putting turrets down to kill slimes. We did that in 1999.
It's free, so you can't really complain too much, even if I still will.
Surprisingly, the core loop kept me from Alt-F4ing, for a while at least.
It looks like a game and sounds like a game, which means it fulfills its minimum obligations.
There are reasons to go back, if you're into that sort of thing, I suppose.
What Didn't Annoy Me
- It's free, so your wallet won't complain.
- Surprisingly decent strategic depth for a tower defense.
- Hard mode offers a genuine challenge, if you like that kind of pain.
- Developer paid attention to feedback, like pausing timers during dialogue.
- Gauss cannons actually feel powerful.
What Made Me Sigh
- Energy management is a tangled mess of wires.
- Upgrading structures means annoying tearing down and rebuilding.
- The underground cave sections are a confusing chore.
- Slimes. Still slimes. Can we evolve past slimes please?
- Characters feel more like micromanagement burdens than assets.
Six months from now, I’ll probably remember Spacethumper 2 as 'that free tower defense with the annoying power lines and the confusing caves.' It’s not bad, not truly. It’s certainly got enough going for it that if you like tower defense, and you have absolutely nothing else to play, it might kill a few hours. It has some surprisingly decent ideas, but they're buried under a layer of minor frustrations that just scream 'indie game.' Chubberdy, you've made a competent game, which is saying something these days. Just don't expect me to be thrilled about it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go play StarCraft for a real tower defense experience.
Played this game? Share your score.
You rated this /10
More Like This
Creeper World 4: The Liquid Enemy Concept Is Actually... Good? Damn It.
I walked into this expecting another phoned-in tower defense clone, ready to bash it with my keyboard. But then the 'Creeper' started flowing, and my cynical heart did a tiny, unexpected beat.
Dungeon Warfare 2: So You Thought You Were a Dungeon Lord? Think Again.
Another tower defense game, great. I was ready to declare the genre dead years ago, but then Dungeon Warfare 2 came along and, grudgingly, proved me wrong. Don't tell anyone I said that, though.
Darkest Tower Review: Another Pixelated Tower Defense, But Almost Good
Do we really need another minimalist pixel-art tower defense game? Probably not. But *Darkest Tower* from Rebus almost, and I mean *almost*, convinced this old grump.
Infinitode 2 Review: My Brain Cells Are Now Optimized, Thanks I Guess
Honestly, I'm tired of tower defense. But then Infinitode 2 showed up, and for some reason, it just kept dragging me back. Developers, you almost got me to crack a smile.