Soulgate: Dokkaebi Defense

Soulgate: Dokkaebi Defense is a collection-based lane tower defense built from Korean folklore. Summon dokkaebi and yokai allies, from the goblin with the lump on his cheek to the nine-tailed fox, the haetae and the white tiger mountain spirit, and hold back the horde marching down the five lanes of the road of the dead.

■ Summon and evolve
Summon 30 allies across four rarities and place them along the lanes. Units level up to 30 and evolve at levels 10 and 20, raising their stats a tier each time. Combining dealers, tanks, healers and buffers for the situation is the core of this goblin defense. What is coming determines whether you thicken the front line or stack damage behind it.
• Dealers for melee, ranged and area damage
• Tanks and shield walls up front
• Supports that heal and controllers that slow
• Economy units that make energy, plus a hero whose aura buffs nearby allies

■ Deck and energy
Build a deck of up to eight units. In battle six of them sit in your hand, and each one you play is replaced by the next. Every summon costs energy. Auto-build suggests a lineup and flags units strong against each enemy tribe.

■ 50 stages across 5 acts
Five acts of 10 stages each lead from the road of the dead to the underworld court. Enemy types and tactics shift with each act, and bosses guard the fifth and tenth stage of every act. Ten bosses with distinct patterns wait, from a shadow that grows with every hit to a nine-tailed fox and the king of the underworld. A composition that carried you through one act will not simply carry through the next, and that is where this strategy game lives.

■ Talismans and the magic club
Drop lightning, healing and barrier talismans at the right beat, then knock the front rank backwards with the club cannon at your base. Build economy now, or block now? That split-second call decides matches.

■ A codex and a den
• A yokai codex that fills in as you summon
• A den that gathers souls while you are away
• Feeding raises intimacy, so more souls pile up per hour
• Seven base upgrades bought with souls
• Seven-day login rewards
• A growth curve that never forces one specific unit

■ Korean mythology, kept intact
Instead of western fantasy monsters, most of the yokai and spirits here come from Korean stories. The dokkaebi is not a horned demon but the trickster who loves wrestling matches and buckwheat jelly. Talismans, the magic club and the road of the dead are wired directly into the rules, so familiar folklore keeps turning into a tactical decision.

■ Why lanes instead of open placement
Open-placement tower defense rewards finding one perfect maze and repeating it. A lane strategy game keeps the geometry fixed and moves the problem to composition: which unit, in which lane, at which moment. That is why the monster defense stays interesting after stage 20.

■ Who it is for
• Anyone who loves Korean folklore and yokai lore
• Players looking for a relaxed lane tower defense
• Collectors who enjoy gathering and raising units in a goblin defense
• People who prefer placing units themselves over auto-battle
• Anyone who wants a strategy game in one-stage sittings

Music, sound effects and language are in Settings, with seven languages available. A remove ads purchase is also offered.

Summon your first dokkaebi and hold the road.