20 Best Tower Defense Games to Develop a Strategy for 2025

• Developers: Hidden path entertainment
• release date: December 8, 2008
• platform: Xbox 360, PC

Defense Grid: Awakening may be one of the older entries on this list, but it has remained one of the more powerful games out of the tower defense genre over the past 20 years. You can play a major storyline that lasts up to eight hours, but like most games in the genre, there is more replayability beyond that.

When you start defending the grid: Awakening, you will start challenging your basic defense capabilities with some fairly simple levels. As you progress, you will unlock new tower upgrades and types, each tower with three different levels of functionality. Different towers have advantages and disadvantages, while some can be strong on one map and weaknesses on another. Speaking of maps, there are 20 unique maps in the defense grid: Awakening, which can be provided more with a paid map package. These maps can generate a total of 15 different enemies, and the more you play.

The changes in the enemy and the amount of their function usually make it feel like it falls right on the wire every round. While your tower may not be overwhelmed at the start of a round, stronger enemies will emerge as the round progresses and can overturn your entire strategy.

While Defense Grid: Awakening is an older game, it still captures the magic of Tower Defense. Pair it with graphics that are directly from the Halo and you have a game worth watching.