You Gotta be Smart here - Isle of Arrows [First Impressions] Gameplay

I love tower defense games, but it’s a genre that can sometimes feel like once you’ve played one of them, you’ve played them all. That’s why I’m always excited when I see new twists on the formula, such as the more trap-oriented approach of Candy Disaster (read my review here), or the subject of this quick review. Isle of Arrows is a game that blends the strategic intensity of a great tower defense title with the adaptation required by the best board games and card games.

MY OVERALL SCORE 8/10 Isle of Arrows is a fusion of board game and tower defense, in which you place randomly drawn tiles to build defenses on an ever-growing piece of land. Tile-Placement meets Tower Defense: Isle of Arrows is a unique blend of genres that adds a new strategic puzzle element to the Tower Defense formula. Each run is randomly generated with different tiles, enemies, rewards and events. Playing through campaigns unlocks more elements to appear in the game.

Isle of Arrows gives new life to the tower defense genre. Not only are you placing your usual defense towers, but you will be building out the lane enemies travel down. This makes the gameplay never dull and always exciting as no 2 playthroughs are ever the same. The game features 3 different game modes as well, ranging from a traditional campaign to an endless gauntlet. Your objective is to build out the land and protect your core from enemies each wave. Each round you will draw a card that can either be a defensive tower, a path to extend the lane, or a special building/tile to place.