What are the best tower defense games for iPhone? From the oldest games like Bloons Tower Defense to new titles such as Monster Tiles TD, the Tower Defense genre is simply amazing! And as a sub-genre of strategy games, it includes some of the best mobile games of all time.
Not to mention that in a world full of fast-paced shooters and complex RPGs, it’s just nice to sit down with a mobile tower defense game where strategic planning and resource management is everything. So today, I’ve gathered the top tower defense games on iOS – including free and paid ones.
Let’s check them out below.
Best Tower Defense Games on iOS
1. Kingdom Rush
Kingdom Rush is one of the best tower defense games on iOS. Kingdom Rush has its own unique visual style and mechanics that add an even further charm. The art style looks like a medieval fantasy-themed cartoony Flash game, hearkening back to its origins as a browser-based game. The mechanics though are really where the game shines. Each stage has a set number of positions where you can set up your towers. There are several different types of towers, and each tower can be upgraded several times and eventually converted into entirely new towers that have different abilities. For instance, the main type of tower is the Archer Tower. After it is upgraded a few times, it can evolve into two wholly new towers: the Rangers Hideout, which has poison arrows and an ability that traps enemies in thorny roots, and the Musketeer Garrison, which can fire sniper rounds that can instantly kill a target, and can also fire splash damage, to hit multiple enemies at once. The other types of Towers are the Militia Barracks, the Mages Guild and the Dwarven Bombard, all of which also have loads of possible upgrades. This deep customization allows for so much variety in the way that you approach each stage. When I said that it felt like solving a puzzle when you finally crack how to beat a troublesome stage, it’s all the more satisfying with all of these variations of towers, and it feels like you really have to explore the breadth of tower options to get a full understanding of what option is best for each problem that you encounter.
The enemies keep you on your toes too. The game eases you into the different types of enemies that you encounter, but it quickly becomes challenging to keep up with the types of creatures the game throws at you. Goblins, Orcs, Wulfs, Bandits and Brigands are easy enough to just throw whatever you need at them, but eventually the game throws an enemy with an immense health pool at you, or heavily armored enemies that you have to figure out what to use against them. Shamans were one of the most frustrating enemies in the game the whole way through. They didn’t have a huge amount of health, but they could heal themselves and other units, and if you just couldn’t do enough damage, you could find yourself fighting the same Shaman for a few minutes, which gets stressful when you have potentially dozens of other enemies pushing down the lane behind him. Necromancers were another horrifying enemy every time I dealt with them. They would summon hordes of skeletons that would distract your troops and towers, so the necromancer himself, who had a shockingly high amount of health, could be a problem for several minutes; God be with you if there was more than one necromancer.
I highly recommend checking out Kingdom Rush, if you are looking for the best tower defense games for iPhone. The careful balancing act of rationing your gold, choosing your Towers, their locations, their upgrades and where to locate your troops to maximize your effectiveness, and then flawlessly navigating your way through a nail-bitingly tough level is insanely satisfying. I couldn’t put it down until I got through the whole game and I’m literally thinking about booting the game up again right now.
2. Bloons TD6
Bloons TD6 is a Tower Defense game for iOS where your Towers are monkeys, and the Invaders are balloons.
Your Monkey Towers are levelled up with the Cash (coins) you earn from popping balloons, and the game escalates from there.
Some monkeys fire glue guns, others fly helicopters, and there’s even a Submarine Captain.
You will also have one Hero, a remarkable monkey with special abilities that offer unique strategic opportunities.
Beginners will always start with Quincy as their Hero (a good all-rounder).
Completing maps will earn you Monkey Money, which, in time, can be used to unlock the Hero of your choice.
A unique aspect of this game is the variety of towers available, such as dart monkeys, ninja monkeys, bomb shooters, and even magic-wielding monkeys. At each level, you can upgrade these monkeys to give them more speed, precision, and power on every attack.
If you’re just starting with your very first tower defense game, this app could be right up your alley. As you progress through the gameplay, you’ll encounter tougher balloons that are even harder to burst.
Bloons TD 6 is an excellent game with depth and balance. I have tried many Tower Defense games for iPhone, and none of them compare to Bloons TD 6.
3. Monster Tiles TD: Tower Wars
If you’re looking for a more unique tower defense experience, Monster Tiles TD is an easy recommendation. This game stands out by mixing in some roguelike elements, which means you build a brand new maze in each playthrough – all while improving your stats and towers through permanent upgrades in between runs.
In addition, we start each run with a very small maze that we then expand after each wave by placing a random tile. The ultimate goal is to survive 50 waves and defeat the final boss.
The game even features a completely fair and competitive mode where we fight other players for the highest score possible. And while there are incentivized ads and iAPs for better gear, the free-to-play experience is great. So it’s definitely worth checking out for TD fans.
4. Defense Zone 3
Defense Zone 3 is a visual masterpiece when we talk about the best Tower Defense games. You can download the HD or the Ultra HD version on your iOS devices to have the best experience.
This game’s objective is to place towers between enemy paths to prevent them from reaching their goal. However, a unique aspect of Defense Zone 3 is that the animated attacks, towers, and enemies are hyperrealistic. Some of the towers for defense are machine guns, cannons, and missile launchers.
The game’s graphics and immersive sound will keep you hooked. However, beginners might have trouble getting the basics down as it’s a pretty complex game–expect some learning curve. However, once you get a hold of the strategic gameplay, there is no backing down. With each level, the difficulty is at its par, and with the right selection of weapons, you are in for a treat.
5. Dungeon Warfare 2
Dungeon Warfare is one of the lesser-known tower defense games on mobile, which is a shame since its level design is fantastic, which means it takes a lot of effort and creativity to beat each level.
The game is played by selecting one of its 100 levels, picking a set of traps and towers to bring into battle, and then defending against waves of tough enemies. Interestingly, we can even modify each level via runes to make them harder, eaiser, or even endless.
Many believe that Dungeon Warfare 2 is much better than DW1, and I cannot agree more with this. Not only do they have stunning graphics, but the entire gameplay is also well-crafted.
The only downside is that the Dungeon Warfare series is a bit tougher than the other tower defense games on this list. It took me a few days to figure out its gameplay. Also, this isn’t available for free, and you need to pay a small amount to download it on your iOS devices.
6. Last Walpurgis
Last Walpurgis is specially designed for iPhone users to experience the most intense battle between witches and humans. Unlike other tower defense games, this game gives you the power to gather powerful witches from around the world and help them prevent their race from going extinct.
Sounds incredible, right? The visuals are amazing, and the overall sound design makes it addictive. The game begins with a detailed intro from the Prophetic Witch, who’ll give you the responsibility to defend the Ward Stone, a stone that protects the witches. If the stone is destroyed, you lose.
In every battle, every witch fights on their own. However, you can activate their ultimate skill or power up by tapping on them to destroy multiple enemies at once. In your journey, you have to gather as many witches as you can to build an army. There are over 30 witches with their own unique abilities.
The storyline is highly compelling and almost feels like you are in a movie with spells, magic, and fierce battles. Although there are a few annoying ads, it’s free to download and play.
7. Infinitode 2
The objective of Infinitode 2 is to build and upgrade towers that will defend your character against waves of enemies.
Infinitode 2 is a minimalistic, level-based, endless tower defense game where we slowly research new upgrades in-between levels to improve our towers.
The enormous research tree, the developer’s crazy attention to detail, and the very relaxed monetization is what makes this game a unique Tower Defense game for iPhone. The gameplay experience is truly unique, and there’s enough content for hundreds of hours of gameplay.
8. Isle of Arrows
Isle of Arrows is a more laid-back game–it’s perfect for newbies who are just starting out with tower defense games. The game puts the player on an island. The goal of the players would be to make a defensive maze in order to defend the crystals from enemies that spawn at the end of each route. The game is very easy to understand but is very challenging to actually master.
Unlike most normal tower defence games, the best part about the Isle of Arrows is its randomness. The players will not be able to guess which tiles would they get and how to plan ahead for it. Unlike most static tower defence games where players would eventually find out the most optimal way of playing a map and just play that over and over again.
Isle of Arrows has a very warm and cozy vibe as a game especially in its artwork that feels very snuggly. With this artwork, one would expect the gameplay to be as warm, comfortable, and easy. This would be a huge mistake as even how fuzzy the game seems, the gameplay difficulty itself actually gets quite hard. This combination of cosy artwork and difficulty makes the game very unique.
Winning or losing does not really matter that much for this game as every run is always unique and can almost never be replicated so the best players can do is enjoy the run as long as it lasts and maybe they may even reach the end of the stage which is level 40 by planning nicely and getting a bit lucky
Overall, as said above the artwork, soundtrack, and the overall vibe of the game is very comfy, snuggly, and warm. Killing enemies feel satisfying with every sound effect of different towers and the background music that feels very soothing. Lastly, the overall vibe of the game is that feeling when you found yourself with an awkward amount of break time but at the same time, you found yourself the most comfortable and snug cafe to spend your free 30 minutes to 1 hour free time.
9. Broken Universe: Tower Defense
Broken Universe is a great tower defense game that stands out because it not only lets you select where you want your base to be placed in each level, but also gives you complete freedom to set up a maze of towers.
Although there are ads and in-app purchases, the gameplay remains fantastic. You can disable the ads via a purchase too.
10. 2112TD
2112TD is an absolute masterpiece. The first thing that strikes you when you first start up the title is how much the game’s design aesthetic is a homage to late 90s RTS titles, particularly Blizzard’s StarCraft and it does convey a sense of foreboding going into missions. In defence of human colonies in the far future, players deploy different turrets to fixed hard points in each level, but those wouldn’t be the only things at their disposal.
While some titles like Kingdom Rush practically play themselves after towers have been place, 2112TD require a fair bit of micromanaging in order to achieve victory. Turret upgrades will need to be planned and quickly accessed as you’ll definitely need the firepower to manage the hordes of unrelenting alien creatures. Careful timing of air strikes and drone deployments as well as making use of fortifications may mean sparing your command post from being destroyed.
Once you start playing this game, you’ll spend hours without stopping. The game starts in the Pluto Observatory Outpost, where you can place your towers or weapons in designated places. The weapons you can deploy include machine guns, artillery, and airstrikes. Every enemy you take down gives you resources to upgrade your defenses, allowing you to adapt your strategy as threats evolve.
Similar to other iOS tower defense games, it also has a research laboratory, i.e., Research Tree, where you can develop new technology and upgrade weapons. You can customize your weapons based on your strategies.
What 2112TD gets right that so many other games gets wrong is the impact of the player. You only have a few spaces to place towers and if you aren’t efficient you’ll lose quickly. You also need to be actively using your power ups too. The ship you are protecting each round from enemies can have a gun turret equipped or its shield upgraded each level. You can also ask for an airstrike or more crucially a drone to fly from turret to turret to guard against hostile enemies and spam a missile strike on them. This is often the turning of the tide in battles on hard mode because the towers alone aren’t enough to save you. The bosses also have a habit of smashing up your towers too and so being able to shield them where you can is key to not being decimated late game.
If you are looking for a challenge in a TD title, 2112TD is the way to go.
There are hundreds of other iOS tower defense games that are incredibly brilliant and have amazing storylines. However, these are some that I have personally played for 100 hours in total, and it was all worth it.
