Looking for games like Kingdom Rush: fantasy tower defense, waves of enemies on a path, heroes, and bosses that force you to rethink your defense? Astrakeep, Djoox Studio's tower defense game, shares that foundation and takes it somewhere new. Your defenders are heroes you place on platforms, and between battles you build a kingdom of floating islands, raid rival villages and team up with an alliance. Astrakeep is coming soon to Android.
What people love about Kingdom Rush
Kingdom Rush is a tower defense series by Ironhide Game Studio that has become one of the genre's best-known names on mobile. You defend a medieval fantasy realm by building towers on fixed spots along the paths, from archers and mages to soldiers and artillery, backed up by heroes.
What players are after comes down to a few things: a colorful fantasy world, levels where placement matters, varied enemies and memorable bosses. When people search for games like Kingdom Rush, they want that same feeling with something fresh on top. For a wider look at the genre, see our guide to free tower defense games.
What Astrakeep shares with Kingdom Rush
Paths, waves and placement
In Astrakeep, enemies follow the path and arrive in waves; your job is to let none of them through. It all comes down to where you put your defenders: you tap a platform to place one, and a poorly planned defense gives way before the final wave.
Heroes with special attacks
Your heroes attack on their own, and their special attack charges up during battle, ready for you to fire with a tap whenever you choose. Lyra the Archer unleashes Arrow Rain, Orin the Mage calls down his Arcane Meteor, Nyx the Sorceress summons a Blizzard. Our page on tower defense games with heroes introduces them all.
A fantasy world full of bosses
Shadow goblins, stone golems, spectral bats: Astrakeep's bestiary is pure fantasy too. The campaign has 18 chapters of 5 levels, and each chapter ends with a different boss, from the Crystal Dragon of the Frozen Peaks to the Void Hydra of the Void Citadel, by way of the Lich of the Forgotten Necropolis. Bosses come with powers of their own: summoning reinforcements, shields, healing, teleporting or flying into a rage. If these worlds are your thing, read our page on fantasy strategy games for mobile.
What's genuinely different
Heroes instead of towers
This is the big one. In the campaign, Astrakeep doesn't have you build towers: your heroes are your defense. You place one per platform, starting with 6 platforms and unlocking a 7th and an 8th by upgrading your Barracks. Each hero has a role: rapid fire, area damage, a melee fighter who blocks ground enemies, frost, or bombs lobbed from far away.
Heroes that grow over time
Your seven heroes level up to 40 and earn up to 5 stars with shards. Epic heroes are summoned at the Summoning Altar with tokens you earn by playing; Legendary heroes can be bought in the shop or earned with 40 fragments, one for each daily chest you open.
A kingdom to build between battles
Every level you win brings in wood and stone. That loot grows the Kingdom of Astra: 4 floating islands and 10 buildings, including the Rune Forge, which raises your heroes' damage, and the Arcane Academy, which speeds up their special attacks. Construction keeps going even when the game is closed.
Other players and alliances
Astrakeep doesn't stop at the campaign. You train troops to raid five rival villages, then other players' kingdoms on the world map. Your own kingdom is defended by your heroes, even when you're offline. You can also join an alliance to help each other and chat; territories, alliance wars and alliance bosses are planned in the game.
If holding the walls is what you love most, see our page on castle defense games for mobile as well.
Who is Astrakeep for?
You'll enjoy Astrakeep if you love fantasy tower defense and the idea of growing a team of heroes appeals to you more than upgrading towers. You'll also enjoy it if you like coming back to a kingdom that has moved forward while you were away, and playing alongside other people. If you want a purely solo game, the campaign is the heart of Astrakeep, but its social features (attacks between players, alliances, chat) need a connection.
To prepare for your first battles, our Astrakeep campaign guide covers the chapters, the bosses and placement tips.
Frequently asked questions
Is Astrakeep a Kingdom Rush clone?
No. Both share fantasy tower defense along a path, with heroes and bosses. But in Astrakeep your defenders are heroes placed on platforms rather than towers, and the game adds a kingdom to build, raids against other players and alliances.
Is Astrakeep free?
Yes, it's free to play with optional in-app purchases. The game states that everything is sold at a listed price with no paid random draws, and that gems never buy summons.
How many levels are in Astrakeep's campaign?
90 levels, split into 18 chapters of 5 levels. The fifth level of each chapter is a boss, and each chapter requires a certain Crystal Tower level.
Where can I play Astrakeep?
Astrakeep is coming soon to Android. The download buttons on the game's page will go live as soon as it's out on Google Play.
