Defend your Crypt

Defend Your Crypt puts a pharaoh in charge of stopping intruders through the Wii U GamePad. Trap locations are fixed, but the player chooses which devices to unlock with earned skulls and when to trigger them as different thieves pass. Recharge time and enemy patterns make this a brisk timing puzzle rather than a free-building tower defense game. Thirty predetermined stages and a harder set of patterns support repeated attempts at a perfect defense. The central action, however, is mostly revealed early, and the campaign can exhaust its variations within a few hours. Egyptian pixel art, gory trap animations and comic reactions make crowded scenes readable; the music is less distinctive. Touch input feels natural and the reviewed Wii U build keeps its busy scenes smooth, though it requires the GamePad and uses the television for a largely unnecessary secondary view. Contemporary reviewers also reported tutorial typos. This is a judgment of that launch-era build, without assuming later patch changes. It suits players who enjoy short sessions of pattern learning more than expansive construction.

Who it is for: Wii U players who enjoy short timing puzzles and perfect clears.

Play notes: A GamePad is required; later patches are outside this 2016 review basis.