Kingdom Rush 5 dev calls for feedback as new DLC’s Steam rating plummets
Tower defense games are a fantastic distillation of the strategy game format, so it’s not too surprising that the likes of Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance, Bloons TD 6, Orcs Must Die, and Plants vs Zombies remain so popular. New Kingdom Rush 5 DLC Colossal Dwarfare, however, has landed to a surprisingly stark reception. Since its launch on Thursday January 30, the expansion pack has found itself with a dreaded ‘mostly negative’ rating. Just 32% of Steam reviews are positive, a far cry from the base game’s excellent 86% score, and developer Ironside wants to know how it can change that.
Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance is the most recent installment in the long-running series of tower defense games. Arriving on Steam in July 2024, it ramps up the action with the ability to bring two heroes into battle at once and a hefty roster of characters and towers to use across its campaign and the numerous challenges thrown your way. While its user rating isn’t quite as overwhelmingly high as the 94% score held by previous entry Vengeance, it’s still a very well-liked strategy game.
New DLC Colossal Dwarfare takes you to the mysterious Darksteel Mountain in a five-stage campaign. To help you tackle the new enemies and bosses standing in your way, you’ll gain access to the lava-spewing hero Kratoa and another tower, the Cannoneer Squad. So far, however, it’s proven rather unpopular. Among the Steam reviews, the leading complaints are the value offered for the price point of $4.99 / £4.29, and the difficulty balance.
Initially, there was a sentiment that overly tanky enemies with high health and armor were making progress too much of a slog. Since launch, developer Ironside has lowered health on some enemies and adjusted enemy timings “to reduce some of the pressure at certain points.” Now, however, several reviews say that the campaign feels far too easy. To help get a better judge of the issues, the studio asks players for feedback.
“We’ve been listening to your feedback on the Colossal Dwarfare DLC, and we want to make sure we’re addressing your concerns,” Ironside writes. If you’re eager to provide feedback, you can fill out the form to give your thoughts on the pack and explain how you would rate it and why. It’s never nice to see an update for a popular game struggle, so hopefully the team is able to fix the flaws and get it back on track. “Thanks for helping us make the game better,” it says in conclusion.
Take a look through the best RTS games for plenty more ways to put your tactics to the test. Or hop into the best turn-based strategy games if you prefer to take things at a slower pace.
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