The tower defense genre seemed to pretty much come out of nowhere around the time the iPhone and iPod touch were launched in 2007. While TD games are playable on every platform, there’s something about touchscreens that allowed this niche subgenre to burgeon into a massively popular genre in its own right.But let’s be honest – the genre hasn’t moved on enough since PopCap Games first released Plants Vs Zombies in 2009. Sure, there are tons of tower defense games to choose from, and some of them are pretty good. There’s the Kingdom Rush series, Clash Royale, Bloons TD, and plenty more. But none of them has ever captured the sheer personality and polish of PvZ – until, we think, right now. Let’s start with the punko manifesto video as a starting point:
Yes, Punko.io has burst onto the scene – and promises to pump a whole lot of life into the flagging genre.Developed by Agonalea Games, it’s a colorful, accessible, and deceptively deep strategy game that brings a satirical slant and a whole raft of new ideas. Plus a beating indie game heart – which trust us, counts for a lot.
Zombies! They’re everywhere, massively outnumbering the non-zombie population (i.e., you) and rampaging through graveyards. Subways, cities, and other environments besides.
Fortunately, you’ve got a few weapons up your sleeve. Some of these are actual weapons, like bazookas, while others are magical weapons, like your trusty spell-casting staff. Your greatest weapon, however, is your brain.
That’s because you can use it to come up with winning strategies to turn back the zombie tide.
While most tower defense games operate on the basic principle of unlocking and upgrading towers, Punko.io mixes things up with a full RPG inventory system, along with items, power-ups, and special skills.
This allows you to customize your character—and your entire gameplay experience—around your own individual playing style.
The zombies that you’re holding off are no ordinary zombies, but an army of zombified players conditioned to accept the same old gameplay tropes. The thing you’re defending. Meanwhile, is creativity itself.
Strong stuff.
To ram its point home and ensure that as many players as possible get to experience what Punko.io is all about, Agonalea Games has added a ton of new features to the Android and iOS versions of the game in preparation for the global launch.
There are daily rewards and free gifts to collect, discounted gear packs to buy, several new Brazil-based chapters to play, a groundbreaking new Overlap Heal feature to experience, and a whole new Dragon boss to defeat.
Basically, we believe Punko.io has the right mix of edgy, anti-system humour to become a video game franchise that sticks with you. It has a real independent sensibility, but backs that attitude up with hugely engrossing gameplay.
Punko.io is free to download and play, so we recommend you check it out. Head to the official website to check it out.
