With a limit on the number of spells and units you can take with you, you’ll have to pick and choose the most effective tools for the task at hand. You’ll also be granted access to a bunch of different units and spells that are chosen just prior to a new battle. The evolution mechanic is actually just one small tool in the player’s belt. You can also evolve your elementals, improving their attacks or stats. A Waterling elemental may make an enemy unit wet, making electricity more effective. Elementals may interact with one another in unique ways, adding to the depth of strategy. You defend with elementals and it’s here where the Pokémon inspiration begins to appear. Riftbound takes on a fantasy aesthetic with skeletons, necromancers, reapers and more acting as your adversaries. 5 lanes split your attention, often making the early stages of a new battle more challenging than the later stages, as you need to spend your limited resources wisely to keep your foes at bay. Basic units include the Waterling who attacks, the Earthling who soaks up damage, and the Aetherling who generates energy. Placing lines of defences down is how you stop the aggressive march as you manage an energy-based resource system and juggle the cooldowns on your many units. Waves of foes will meander toward you from right to left, ready to attack.

Playing through Riftbound’s many chapters, it’s easy to see the Plants vs Zombies DNA. The title takes inspiration from both Plants vs Zombies as well as Pokémon to create an experience that looks to ‘evolve’ the lane defence genre in a new direction. Developed by Barrel Smash Studios, this husband (BarrelSmasher) and wife (BarrelCat) duo are the talents behind the project, leaving their life of modding games to create their first original project. Defend against waves of undead by choosing the right mix of defenders, spells and upgrades from five schools of magic.Riftbound is a Melbourne-made lane defence game that’s just marched its way onto the PC platform. Riftbound is the explosive easy to learn yet uniquely deep lane-defense strategy game.

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