Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis review - "An almost definitive tower defence experience"

• Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis is the latest entry in the series
• But does it manage to succeed? In many ways, it's almost the definitive tower experience
• Some small pain points hold it back, but this is well worth a buy for newcomers and veterans alike

Sometimes it can be difficult to review, or simply to play, any single entry in a long-running series. Especially one as storied as Kingdom Rush, which is now over a decade old. If you don't have the necessary experience, it can make you worry that you've missed certain elements that longtime fans may appreciate more. But in the case of Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis, I feel that I have a good enough picture of what the latest has to offer. And truth be told, it’s a very compelling jumping-on point for fans old and new alike.

Kingdom Rush 6 is an archetypal tower defence, with a few modern conveniences. You work to defend different lanes against constantly encroaching enemies, using towers which automatically fire at them. Kingdom Rush also has you placing down barracks that spawn troops whose job is to slow down the enemy and whittle away at their health so the towers can deal the finishing blow.

In terms of story, Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis takes things back to the very start, and will have plenty of interesting easter eggs for longtime fans. For newbies, however, the story is simple enough to follow as it focuses on an evil wizard trying to claim a magic sword from a good kingdom. Simple.

Admittedly, I would have liked to perhaps have had a blurb that provides the story so far, because all you really get is that Vez’nan (said evil wizard) wants this magical sword and if he gets it, then bad things will happen. But then again, it is difficult for me to complain about the story in a tower defence that, in true Newgrounds fashion, is more about smashing up enemies, rather than a deep, thrilling narrative.

Speaking of which, the art for Kingdom Rush 6 really harkens back to the days of Newgrounds and Miniclip, with colourful and stylised characters. Each type of tower, hero, unit and spell is visually distinct, and so are the maps which have plenty of hidden details to discover.

I also found the gameplay to be particularly intuitive on a touchscreen device. You have to confirm upgrades or purchases, which leaves a little bit of leeway for accidentally tapping things if you are looking at one of the towers. It also provides a little tooltip which tells you exactly what each upgrade or new tower will do. 

And I think that ease of entry is one of the big selling points of Kingdom Rush 6 because it really feels like a throwback to the early days of tower defence while having plenty of modern conveniences and quality-of-life improvements. You aren't just relying on synergizing towers - you also have different troop units that can be used to slow down the enemy, spells that can be used to damage them or boost your towers or provide other buffs and debuffs.

Of course, you also have your hero units who will offer their own skills and abilities to help shift the tide of battle. But what I really like is the fact that none of these on their own are enough to break the game. It would be very easy to have a character like Severa, a mage that shoots lightning bolts out of her hand, become something that overshadows the towers, but they are always in the position where it is good to have them to help out, but they can't win on their own.

And if you’re worried that Kingdom Rush 6 may get repetitive, don’t. Each level has its own special twists and turns. This can be anything from as simple as having emplacements or mercenary units that you can hire, to sudden map-changing events that open up new lanes to defend. It makes every level feel distinct and means that you always have a new challenge to put your mind towards. 

One of the few things I find off-putting about Kingdom Rush 6 is that, despite being a premium game, it also has microtransactions and characters that can be unlocked with in-app purchases. Considering you'd already be spending $6.99 to actually buy the game, it feels a little bit exploitative.

The music can get a bit repetitive with only one or two tracks while you're playing through levels, and, considering that you'll be getting pretty sick of them by the end, that's not really a good thing. Fortunately, this being a mobile game, you can just play your own music in the background, but still, I would have liked a little bit of variety, especially considering how varied the background art is.

All of this being said, I feel like if you want to have a straightforward but not completely basic tower defence experience, then Kingdom Rush 6 really delivers. There are still some flaws in the overall gem, like the aforementioned microtransactions, but they never really feel as though they're actively dragging the game down.

So if you are looking to step into the Kingdom Rush franchise for the first time, then I think that Genesis is a very worthy way to start. Longtime fans may not find it to be the truly definitive entry in the series, but I'd say it's a worthy new way to enjoy the franchise regardless. 

And if you're looking for other great tower-defence games to play on mobile, then you'll be spoilt for choice! Check out our list of the best tower defence games on Android for some great picks to play.

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Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis