Defend the Rook

Defend the Rook is a well‑crafted, approachable hybrid that rewards planning and experimentation. Its turn‑based tempo and deep choice space make for satisfying tactical puzzles, and randomized upgrades keep runs lively. However, uneven difficulty scaling, occasional runaway synergies, and some overlapping subclass identities prevent it from reaching higher marks. A great pick for players who prefer thoughtful strategy over frantic tower defense, with room for balance polish.

One Up Plus has come up with a little gem of a game, and despite its faults, it plays well, looks pretty and provides a challenge. Defend the Rook definitely ticks more than its fair share of boxes and I am really excited to see what is coming out of the studios next.

Defend the Rook is a solid roguelike-tower-defense-tactics game.  It’s a unique spin on a handful of genres that I like, but it has some control and difficulty issues that hold it back.

Defend the Rook is a rogue-like tactics game that's challenging enough to make you earn your victories while keeping you ready to try again when it beats you. If you like strategy games, this entry is worth adding to your Switch library.

Defend the Rook is a great example of what happens when you have a really solid foundation but ultimately don’t end up doing much with it. While I enjoyed my time with the game I couldn’t help but feel as though I was playing some kind of extended demo. Yeah, it was fun, but it got same-y really quickly. And that is definitely not good when it comes to roguelikes. Would I recommend Defend the Rook? I’m not sure, honestly. I guess I wouldn’t steer you away from it if you wanted to buy it, but, unless they start adding content (which they should because what they have is fun!), I don’t know that I’ll be chomping at the bit to suggest it to people that I talk to.

Overall, Defend the Rook is super fun. If you like Rogue-lites, tower defense games, and even those who like board games will most likely love this little game. It’s a pleasure to play, and the Switch version is just as good as the PC version for once!

When it comes to tactical strategy the Switch has been blessed with both some variety in takes, ranging from more long-form RPG-oriented fare to much quicker pick-up-and-play roguelike challenges...