To be honest, as an old player who has played all the way from the Symbian era, watching mobile games over the years have changed from stand-alone games to the current assembly line products that draw money and automatically hang up. 😔 Recently, I accidentally saw someone talking about "Empire Guard" in the Time and Space Hunter section, so I went to try it. I played it for three days at a time, and I couldn't help but chat with you.
I'm not going to brag about it, but most tower defense mobile games on the market now either force you to buy a monthly pass or restrict your physical strength. They wish they could calculate the benefits for you every step of the way. But the 0-charge mode of "Empire Defenders" instantly reminded me of the feeling of playing "Gravity Defied" on Nokia - playing purely for fun. It doesn't have fancy gift packs popping up, nor does it force social interaction. It just lets you lay out defense towers, recruit heroes, and see how 105 types of monsters are destroyed by your strategies. To be honest, this idea of "returning games to players" is really rare in 2023.
Judging from the trends in the mobile game industry, in recent years everyone has been chasing "short, flat and fast", wishing for a game in 5 minutes and a krypton gold point in 10 minutes. But "Empire Guard" goes in the opposite direction. You have to use your brain to adjust the formation at each level, and you have to take time to use your hero skills. The fact that it is "loved by millions of players around the world" just proves one thing: the players have not changed, only the attitude of the manufacturers has changed. As a veteran player, I am quite impressed that such a product can be produced in the Babel era - after all, "Time Hunter" was also a pioneer in bringing the arcade excitement to mobile phones, and now they are back to make tower defense.
If you are tired of those "click and get VIP" routine games, I really recommend giving this one a try. Getting back the focus you had when playing games is better than anything else👍