Looking for games like Plants vs. Zombies: waves of enemies that keep coming, a few well-chosen defenders, and the satisfaction of a defense that holds? Astrakeep, Djoox Studio's hero tower defense game, shares that core idea. The difference is who does the defending: instead of plants you place heroes with a name, a role and a special attack, and between battles you grow a kingdom of floating islands. Astrakeep is coming soon to Android.
What people love about Plants vs. Zombies
Plants vs. Zombies, by PopCap Games, is one of the best-known defense games ever made. Enemies walk toward your house along lanes, and you plant defenders on a lawn to stop them before they reach it. It's one of the games that introduced many players to the whole genre.
What people come back for is easy to name: a rule you grasp in a minute, a funny and recognizable cast, and the planning that goes into choosing what to place and where. When someone searches for games like Plants vs. Zombies, they usually want that same readable, lighthearted wave defense. Our guide to free tower defense games shows the other directions the genre has taken.
What Astrakeep shares with Plants vs. Zombies
Waves you have to stop
In Astrakeep, enemies follow the path and arrive in waves. Your job is the same: let none of them through. The game puts it in one line: tap a platform to place a hero there, and don't let any enemy pass.
Placement is the strategy
You choose what to put on each spot, and a poorly planned defense gives way before the last wave. You start with 6 platforms and unlock a 7th and an 8th by upgrading your Barracks, so every slot counts. When a level won't budge, the game tells you to upgrade your heroes or change their placement, then try again.
Bosses with their own powers
Each of the campaign's 21 chapters ends with a boss that can summon reinforcements, shield itself, heal, teleport or fly into a rage.
What's genuinely different
| Plants vs. Zombies | Astrakeep | |
|---|---|---|
| Defenders | Plants placed on a lawn | Seven named heroes placed on platforms |
| Layout | Lanes on a lawn | A path with platforms along it |
| Special moves | Defenders do their job on the lawn | Heroes attack on their own, and you fire their charged special attack with a tap |
| Between levels | A lawn defense, level after level | Wood, stone and mana from your wins grow a kingdom of 4 islands and 10 buildings |
| Other players | Wave defense at its core | Raids on rival villages, attacks on other players, alliances |
That list isn't a ranking: Plants vs. Zombies is built around the lawn and its waves, while Astrakeep wraps the same tension in heroes, a base and a social layer.
Heroes instead of plants
Each hero has a role. Lyra the Archer fires rapidly, Orin the Mage damages whole areas, Kael the Knight blocks ground enemies in melee, Nyx the Sorceress specializes in frost and Tharok the Bombardier lobs bombs from far away. See tower defense games with heroes for the full cast and how they level up to 16 and earn up to 5 stars.
A kingdom that keeps working
The Crystal Tower is the heart of your kingdom, and its level caps every other building. Construction continues even when the game is closed, so you come back to a kingdom that has moved forward. Read about it in kingdom building games for mobile.
How to choose between them
- Pick a pure lane defense if you want a self-contained game with one clear rule and nothing else to manage.
- Pick a hero tower defense if you'd rather get attached to a team and watch it grow from level to level.
- Pick a game with a kingdom and other players if you like having something to come back to.
If heroes are the part you're curious about, games like Kingdom Rush covers another fantasy defense series, and the Astrakeep guide explains the game in detail.
Ads and cost
Astrakeep is free to play with optional in-app purchases. The game states its own principles: everything in the shop is sold at a listed price with no random draw, and gems are for speed-ups and peace shields but never buy summons. Epic heroes are summoned with tokens you earn by playing. Ads are optional rewarded videos: you choose whether to watch one in exchange for a bonus. Our page on mobile strategy games without paid loot boxes lists exactly what each purchase gives you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Astrakeep a Plants vs. Zombies clone?
No. Both are about stopping waves of enemies with well-placed defenders. But Astrakeep has you place heroes on platforms along a path, adds special attacks you trigger yourself, and includes a kingdom to build, raids and alliances.
Does Astrakeep have lanes?
The campaign uses a path with platforms for your heroes. Lanes appear in the assaults against other players, where you drop troop cards into lanes, or let the assault play out automatically.
Is Astrakeep free?
Yes, it's free to play with optional in-app purchases. Rewarded videos are optional.
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.
