Thank you Gius Caminiti for providing us with an Early Access preview code!

Throughout the years I have enjoyed playing and reviewing several tower defense, rogue-like, and automation games. Tower Factory combines all of these popular game genres into one masterpiece in the making. Tower Factory was released into Early Access last year and has received regular updates, despite being made by a solo developer. On Steam, the reviews are “Mostly positive” and I can see why!

Tower Factory offers three game modes to appeal to different types of gamers. Classic Mode is your typical tower defense experience that focuses on protecting your factory while collecting resources with as much automation as possible. Strategy Mode has all of the above, but lets you pause the game while designing your base. Resource collection does not happen while the game is paused. Expert Mode has tougher enemies for those who are looking for real challenge. I preferred the Strategy Mode and found the base difficulty challenging enough.

Like other tower defense games, you’ll have to protect your factory from the onslaught of enemies that will increase as your base expands. At first, your defenses are on the boring side with acorn cannons and ballistae. As you play through the 6 (with 3 more planned) levels, you’ll earn coins which can unlock other tower types such as: buzzsaw throwers, rocket launchers, catapults, flying cannons, hidden spikes, mushroom cannons, resin barrels, bombard cannons, electroball towers, hammer towers, and power crystals. You can also use these coins to unlock production units like more efficient miners, furnaces, and wood harvesters.

To make all of these contraptions, you’ll need lots of resources, and you’ll need to collect and utilize them efficiently. You’ll need to chop down wood and mine stone, coal, and iron. Once the resources are gathered, some will need further processing to make higher-end items. The next step is to bring the resources to your factory using conveyor belts. You can spend game coins to unlock the ability to construct underground conveyor belts.

While having less than ten levels doesn’t sound like a lot, the resources, enemy base, and light crystals are in different spots every time you play. The randomized levels really add to the challenge. There’s a lot of variety and unique challenges to each level type. For example, the desert-themed levels have scare resources, and the winter ones require utilizing heating furnaces to offset the subzero temperatures.

When you start a level, things are peaceful at first. There’s a fog of war, which means that you can’t see too far from your base factory without building towers of light. You’ll have to prioritize gathering wood and stone as soon as possible in order to build your first acorn cannon. Enemies will begin to trickle in, and you’ll need to ramp up your defenses to keep up with the influx of foes. As they are defeated, you’ll earn a new resource, light essence. While maintaining your defenses, you’ll need to keep expanding your vision radius to uncover treasures chests, light crystals, and, ultimately, the enemy’s base. When it comes to treasure chests, they will usually have resources or game coins; both are welcome! To win a level, you’ll have to collect enough light crystals to topple the enemy fortress, or defeat the boss that will arrive at the designated time shown when selecting the level or highlighting its base. While beating a level via crystals will open up the next map, it’s highly recommend to defeat the boss at least once to unlock the resource they’re gate keeping.

A recent patch allows the player to speed up the gameplay if desired. The ability to save mid-game is in the game’s development roadmap, but it’s not available yet.

The graphics are colorful and relaxing. It has a cozy game feel to it. There’s a wide variety of enemies, including mushrooms, mages, orcs, bats, and more. The bosses are typically bigger versions of the normal foes with the ability to strengthen nearby allies. Upon a foe’s demise, they’ll go up in smoke, so there is no blood shown whatsoever.

The bosses will make noise, but the regular foes are generally pretty quiet. Each weapon and resource gathering machine has their own sound effects too. The background music is pleasant and calming. The soundtrack is available to purchase for $4.99 on Steam.

Tower Factory is well polished and runs well without any slowdowns or crashes. It’s playable on the Steam Deck but has disclaimers about small text, and the touchscreen may be needed at times.

The target release date for Tower Factory is Q4 of 2026. I look forward to checking out the finishing touches and future updates. If you enjoy tower defense, rogue-like, or automation games, you’ll love Tower Factory.