Ahead of the Game - Gear Hero Clash twists tower defence with cleverly connected cogs
Time to gear up
- Connect cogs to maximise unit production
- Merge cogs to level up your defence
- Keep your castle intact for as long as you can
It's all about keeping the wheels turning in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be another tower defence that could surprise me, Gear Hero Clash comes slamming the proverbial gauntlet on the table to prove me wrong. This adorable TD lets you connect gears together to propel your units forward against a relentless swarm of foes, and my goodness is it incredibly enjoyable.
I know it's supposed to be exactly what you'd expect from the genre - with waves of enemies charging at you to challenge how long you can survive - but the gear-based mechanics add a delightful little twist that I've honestly never seen before in something like this. Essentially, you collect coins after each wave, then use said coins to buy cogs to prep for the next wave.
The cogs can either be different melee and ranged units you need to attach to your central cog, or speed-ups that boost how fast you can generate new units. Since they work in one big gear-powered mechanism, you need to make sure all cogs are connected to each other to get everything to work.
You can also merge similar lower-level cogs to upgrade them, and watch optional ads if you want to add extra cogs in your machine. After defeating the boss on each stage, you get to retreat to the main menu and upgrade your units, unlock your skill tree, then go out on another run. And while the loop doesn't reinvent the wheel (or cog), it's still very, very satisfying thanks to the lovely cog-connecting twist.
The visuals add to the charm, of course - even the enemies are so darn cute that I actually feel bad each time one of my knights smacks a big-nosed goblin and it goes flying off the screen. Sure, they might be out to invade my castle, but they really have no business being this adorable.
So, how do you play Gear Hero Clash?
It's currently in its early access phase on Google Play, so I expect the devs are still tweaking and fine-tuning everything to perfection before its official launch. It does feel pretty polished at the moment in my opinion, so here's hoping they'll bring its cogwheel-turning defence mechanisms to the world soon!
