Elder Gate

Elder Gate is a tower defence game set around an ancient portal under attack from an Abyss. The player takes the role of the last Guardian of the Portal and must stop hordes of undead from entering their world. Enemies include skeletal wolves, armoured zombies, ogres and a mini-boss called Scythe, which kills any unit in a single strike and ignores some warrior armour.

The player builds an economy by placing gold mines to generate coins, then spends those coins on defences. Available units include archers, spearmen, heavy infantry and mages, and each is effective against particular types of undead. Tactical spells include meteorites that strike an area and chain lightning aimed at elite enemies. Traps include slowing traps, barbed wire that damages armour on contact, and pressure plates that trigger volleys of fire. Enemy types call for different responses: skeleton wolves can be stopped only by ice mages, while armoured zombies resist arrows and are vulnerable to hammers and explosive magic. Ogres attack areas and can destroy the player’s structures in a couple of hits, so defences may need rebuilding during an attack.

A run consists of 15 waves, each stronger than the last, with enemy line-ups generated to challenge the player’s usual strategy. Points earned can be spent in the Guardian’s Crypt on permanent upgrades between runs, such as a 5% damage increase for all archers, reduced magicka cost and increased portal health. The game also lets players combine elements, for example placing spikes in front of a meteorite pool and finishing enemies with lightning. Its listed features include spell animations, detailed models of armoured undead and individual death animations for each monster.