Myth Defense: Light Forces

In the olden times, mythology attempted to explain the inexplicable. Where do we come from? Where are we going? How long will it take us to get there?

The battles of gods, men, and beasts were parables - metaphors about how we should live our lives and why the world appeared to us as it did. Myths brought hope and understanding to a population besieged by uncertainty.

Myth Defense: Light Forces, from Smartpix Games, doesn't follow in those footsteps.

Instead, it's an allegory for the hopeless alienation of modern life. It tells us that, no matter how hard we try, everything we build will be overrun by goblins and bats.

Myth Defense is a tower defence game that's spread across a number of battlefields. Each of these has its own terrain, ranging from icy tundra to squelching swamp, and its own victory conditions.

At its simplest, you have to stop waves of enemies from travelling from one side of the map to the other. At its most complex, you're guarding multiple invasion points whilst protecting a central defensive position.

To aid you, you're given a variety of different towers and traps, all of which are upgradeable the further you get into the game.

Some of these fire arrows, while some of them fire globules of pulsating magic energy. Others slow down the progress of your almost indefatigable foe, whilst yet others pummel their evil heads with large lumps of stone.

Special orbs that you collect as you play can be attached to your towers on the fly, increasing their range, damage, and other useful attributes.

The enemies you're forced to dispatch range from skittering goblins to hellish, armour-clad giants. You'll also have to combat enormous spiders, blood-thirsty vampires, and helicopters. Every one you kill gives you more gold, which you can then spend on more defences.

The first few times you play a round of Myth Defense, you'll be struck by its unflinching cruelty. Your base will be overrun and your people slaughtered, probably because you didn't pay enough attention to those bats.

Airborne creatures will quickly become the bane of your existence, ripping to shreds your carefully laid maze of defences by flying over them. Watching your lives deplete and your kingdom fall to ruin is one of the most disheartening experiences mobile gaming has to offer.

Myth Defense is a difficult game, and one that requires patience and a large investment of time. Luckily, though, your efforts don't go unrewarded.

Once you've discovered the nuances and tactics that are hidden beneath the almost masochistic difficulty settings, you'll find yourself planning ahead, saving your resources, and building a system of defences that will stand the test of time.

Modern mythology might not concern itself with hope and certainty, but it does deal with the harsh realities of life. Myth Defense is no different.

Helicopters will constantly undermine you and you'll often find yourself overwhelmed by mace swinging orcs.

But if you get beyond that, you'll find a rich, engaging and highly rewarding experience.