Looking for games like Raid: Shadow Legends: a roster of heroes to collect, a summoning portal, a team to build and power up? Astrakeep, Djoox Studio's hero tower defense game, shares that collecting loop but fights differently: your heroes stand on platforms along a path and stop waves of shadow creatures, rather than trading turns in a duel. Astrakeep is coming soon to Android.
What people love about Raid: Shadow Legends
Raid: Shadow Legends, published by Plarium, is a hero-collecting RPG. You gather champions, put together a team, send it into battles and keep strengthening your roster over time.
What draws people is the collection itself: meeting new characters, working out which ones fit together, and seeing a team improve. People who search for games like Raid: Shadow Legends usually want that same attachment to a roster of heroes, in a different world or with different fights. If you'd like to see how heroes work in a defense game, start with tower defense games with heroes.
What Astrakeep shares with Raid: Shadow Legends
Heroes with roles and rarities
Astrakeep has seven playable heroes in three rarities: Rare, Epic and Legendary. Each has a role and a special attack, from Lyra the Archer's rapid fire to Sylvara the Empress's dragonfire.
Summoning
At the Summoning Altar you summon Epic heroes with tokens. The odds are shown in the game (an epic hero card is 6%, epic shards 34%, rare shards 60%), and an epic card is guaranteed within 10 summons at most. You can summon one at a time or ten at a time.
Growing your team
Heroes level up with your resources, up to level 16 (capped by your Crystal Tower), and earn up to 5 stars with shards. A hero at maximum level and 5 stars awakens: in assaults, an awakened power replaces their special attack. See the Astrakeep heroes guide.
Playing against others
Heroes aren't only for the campaign. Your formation defends your kingdom when a rival attacks, even if you're offline, and against other players your 3 best heroes hold the line.
What's genuinely different
| Raid: Shadow Legends | Astrakeep | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Hero-collecting RPG | Hero tower defense with a kingdom to build |
| Fights | Your team of champions fights in battles | Heroes are placed on platforms along a path to stop waves |
| Your input | Managing your team | Placing heroes and firing charged special attacks with a tap |
| Roster | A large roster of champions | Seven heroes, each with a distinct role |
| Beyond fights | Strengthening the roster | A base of 4 islands and 10 buildings, raids and alliances |
None of this makes one better than the other: it's a question of whether you want a deep roster or a small cast you place with care.
Placement matters as much as power
In the campaign, enemies follow the path and you tap a platform to place a hero. Kael the Knight blocks ground enemies while ranged heroes do the damage. The campaign runs to 110 levels across 21 chapters, and every chapter ends with a boss.
Your kingdom powers your heroes
The Rune Forge raises their damage, the Barracks their health and the Arcane Academy charges special attacks faster. Construction keeps going while the game is closed.
How to choose
- A big roster to study and optimize: pick a hero-collecting RPG.
- A smaller team you place by hand: pick a hero tower defense.
- A home base and a group to play with: look for kingdom building and alliances, such as strategy games with alliances.
You can also read how Astrakeep compares with a classic of the genre in games like Kingdom Rush.
Ads and cost
Astrakeep is free to play with optional in-app purchases. Its own principles, stated in the game: gems never buy summons, and everything in the shop is sold at a listed price with no random draw. Summoning uses tokens you earn by playing: the daily chest, day 7 of the login streak, an expedition and one optional video a day. Legendary heroes are sold in the shop or earned with 40 fragments, one per daily chest you open. Details on what each purchase gives you.
To compare with other families of free tower defense games, see our guide to free tower defense games for mobile.
Frequently asked questions
Is Astrakeep a Raid: Shadow Legends clone?
No. Both are built around collecting and strengthening heroes. But Astrakeep fights as a tower defense on a path, with a cast of seven heroes, and adds a kingdom to build, raids and alliances.
Can I summon heroes in Astrakeep?
Yes: Epic heroes are summoned at the Summoning Altar with tokens you earn by playing. Gems never buy summons, and Legendary heroes aren't summoned at all.
How many heroes does Astrakeep have?
Seven: three Rare, two Epic and two Legendary.
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. For a first look, open the Astrakeep guide.
