Deadstone

Deadstone is an ambitious indie hybrid developed and published by Timeslip Softworks that attempts to fuse several familiar genres into a single, systems-driven experience. At its core, it is a twin-stick shooter, but layered on top of that foundation are tower defense mechanics, light RPG progression, and a narrative framework set against the backdrop of a collapsing Martian colony. Rather than focusing purely on reflex-based shooting, the game asks players to think defensively, manage resources, and gradually shape their character’s capabilities over time, creating an experience that feels more strategic than many games in the same top-down action space. The setting places players on Mars during a biological catastrophe that has turned much of the planet’s life into hostile, infected creatures. You take on the role of Blake, a private security contractor who becomes deeply entangled in the survival of the settlement known as Deadstone. While the overarching story follows recognizable science-fiction beats—corporate secrets, runaway experimentation, and desperate colonists—it is presented with enough structure and context to give purpose to each mission. Dialogue exchanges, briefings, and environmental cues help ground the action, making the campaign feel like more than a sequence of disconnected combat arenas. Gameplay is built around defending territory as much as eliminating enemies. Missions typically involve waves of infected attackers converging on objectives such as colonists, supply points, or extraction zones. Shooting alone is rarely sufficient, especially as enemy numbers increase, so players are encouraged to deploy defensive tools like turrets, mines, and automated weapon systems. Deciding where and when to place these defenses becomes just as important as aim and movement, and successful runs often depend on thoughtful preparation rather than raw aggression. This blend of real-time action and tactical planning gives Deadstone a distinct rhythm, where moments of intense combat alternate with brief pauses for strategic adjustment. Character progression adds another layer of depth. As Blake gains experience, players unlock stat upgrades and perks that meaningfully influence playstyle. These improvements can enhance survivability, weapon effectiveness, or utility, allowing players to specialize gradually rather than becoming universally powerful. Progression feels steady and earned, reinforcing the sense that you are preparing for increasingly dangerous encounters rather than simply reacting to them. Equipment upgrades further support this loop, as new weapons and gear options expand tactical possibilities without overwhelming the player with complexity. Mission variety helps keep the campaign engaging over its duration. While combat remains the central focus, objectives shift between defensive holds, patrols, escort missions, and rescue operations. Environmental modifiers such as reduced visibility during dust storms or nighttime conditions subtly change how encounters play out, forcing players to adapt their approach. The inclusion of local cooperative play adds another dimension, allowing two players to coordinate defenses and combat strategies together, which can significantly change how missions unfold. Visually, Deadstone reflects its indie origins, with functional but dated graphics that prioritize clarity over spectacle. Environments are readable and enemy silhouettes are easy to identify during hectic battles, which is essential given the game’s pace. While the visual variety is limited and repetition can set in, the presentation does its job in supporting gameplay rather than distracting from it. The audio design, particularly weapon effects and ambient music, does a better job of reinforcing tension and atmosphere, lending weight to prolonged defensive encounters. The game is not without its shortcomings. Enemy variety is relatively narrow, and extended play sessions can expose repetitive patterns in how threats behave. The interface can feel clunky at times, and some systems lack the polish seen in higher-budget titles. Difficulty spikes can also be uneven, occasionally forcing players to replay missions until their upgrades catch up with the challenge. These issues highlight the constraints of a small development team, but they rarely undermine the core experience outright. Despite these rough edges, Deadstone succeeds because of how confidently it commits to its hybrid design. It does not try to streamline away its complexity, instead embracing a layered approach that rewards planning, persistence, and incremental improvement. For players who enjoy top-down shooters but want more strategic involvement than constant run-and-gun action, the game offers a satisfying middle ground. In the end, Deadstone stands as a solid example of indie ambition outweighing limited resources. Its combination of action, defense planning, and progression systems creates a surprisingly deep experience that appeals to players willing to engage with its mechanics on their own terms. While it may not rival genre leaders in polish or scope, it delivers a compelling and thoughtful take on survival-focused action, making it a worthwhile choice for fans of tactical shooters and system-driven gameplay. Rating: 7/10

This is a really enjoyable game! Great price, too, I recommend it if you're into both twin-stick shooters and tower defense games. It's essentially a hybrid of the two genres, done very well I'd add, with gunplay that reminds me of Teleglitch in some ways (or maybe Neon Chrome). The writing is heads and tails above most indie games, most tower defense games period, and literally every twin stick shooter I've ever played. Though it also has a goofy mode that makes the story more farcical, and a no-story mode for a much more arcade feel. I actually get a Fallout vibe from the text exchanges in this game, and I'm not talking Bethesda's games, I mean the original. This is high praise. The gameplay is well balanced and there are a number of ways to succeed depending on how you develop your character and the gear you choose to bring into battle. I'm currently playing it with emphasis on the twin-stick aspect by getting my Speed and Accuracy up, but if you want to go more the TD route you can focus on your Mechanics stat to be able to deploy lots of defenses so you don't have to mop up the creeps as much yourself. I really like this particular freedom of choice for the player. To the dev, I'm super impressed and this was money well spent. Thanks for the really cool game. To fellow Steam users considering the purchase, I'd say this is a Must Buy for fans of the two genres, even at full price - if you see a sale, nab it!

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Simple cheap fun. The developer is pretty active in the forums so that's nice to see, and admits this first game is a bit primitive. It's a shoot-em-up where you are a single character taking on waves of zombies. It's pretty mindless fun for a couple hours. There are some RPG elements to help you keep pace with the increasing challenge and if you build up your turret capability, it's even got a little tower defense in it. There's also a survival mode. I got this game in a bundle with the developer's second title, Vigilantes, which is the one I really wanted, but figured I'd give Deadstone a shot. Play on the easy difficulty and you can finish the campaign (45 missions) in under 8 hours. It's not great by modern standards, but a quick diversion. On to Vigilantes!

A really good game I loved the story and I really hope to see a sequal. You rarely see anyone trying to do a game that would be not simple survival horror but to fight back. So I'm really looking forward to a sequal.

Deadstone is a simple game that's deeper than it appears to be, but ultimately, how much that RPG elements added to the character is a bit suspect. Basically, you play a mercenary who were forced to evacuate Icarus station over Mars. You made your way to the Deadstone colony, and it seems to be attacked by... zombies. Initially, there is only you, and a pistol, and you have to be accurate and fast to make sure there are no leakers. Every leak means one death in the colony. Too many leaks and you have no colony left. Later, you get mines, then turrets. Then different types of turrets (sniper, auto, shotgun, etc.) plus enhancements like auto-repair, autoloader (no need to reload manually), thumper (knocks back attacking enemies), self-destruct (takes out enemies before dying), etc. You also get later access to SMG and LMG, shotgun, and sniper rifle, multiple models of each. Personally, I'd stick with SMG/LMG all the way. The terrain doesn't vary, as you are defending a colony. Though periodically, you get a "rescue" mission, where you need to survive for two to three minutes against all comers, but you may get a few turrets to help. You also periodically get an "arena" mission, where you don't get any turrets, but you can mvoe around a lot and hopefully, survive for about 3 minutes. Enemies get deadlier. First, it's just zombies, then zombie dogs, then command-type (rallies other zombies), then soldier-type (with guns), dogs with dynamite packs, and finally, phasing shamblers (short distance teleport). And you usually kills a few hundred at a time. To take them out, you have guns, mines, and turrets. You have unlimited pistol ammo, but you are limied in carrying MG ammo, rifle ammo, or shotgun ammo. And you *can* run out. The game turns into RPG in that you have four main stats: CONstitution, ACCuracy, SPeeD, and MEChanical aptitude. Speed affects how fast you more, and your sprint speed, CON afffects your HP and how long you can sprint, and how big fo a gun you can wield (some of the heaviest guns require CON=12), ACC affects how accurate your shooting is, and MEC affects how many mines and turrets you can place. With MEC=12 I was able to to put down 18 minutes and 4 turrets. I'd imagine you can go to 5 turrets if you want to go that high. In practice, the ACC rating affects bullet spread and chances for critical hits, which doubles damage. But if you have enough bullets, or have one of the abilities to scrounge up more bullets, then it won't break your bank. As you don't get the extra weapons and whatnot for free. You earn 'credits" after each mission, usually based on kills and how many colonists you saved. CON basically controls which gun you get to use. While the best LMG requires CON=11, you don't need it to survive. It's just nice to have. Some fo the perks are a bit tongue in cheek, and some of them are just replicating attribute gains. Some of the more memorable ones include DEATH ROBOT, which gives you a sidekick that has its own weapons and will shoot enemies in range automatically, and follows you around. Another would be auto-loot, where the powerups you gained from shooting enemies dead, will come to you automatically, instead of you run over them to collect. There are dozens of perks to choose from, and depending on your stats, more can be enabled as you go along. So what's the problem? The narrative, while scientifically accurate, is also a bit of a snoozer (as in boring). Perhaps that's why they also included a farcical alternate narrative as a bonus alt campaign. Also, the defense mission do get a bit old. Another complaint would be inability to move turrets... You can only demolish (which loses 25% of 1000 spent, before upgrades) and rebuild. There really is no "strategy" per se. Once you get turrets, things got easier, but not that easy. Turrets can be damaged or even destroyed. Placement is crucial. Turrets don't have the engagement range that you do, so you will be doing most of the killing any way. Mines barely slow the zombies down, but any help is better than no help. ALl in all, the game is simple, effective, and provided hours of entertainment. For those who want more challange, there are muliple levels of difficulty to chosoe for the main campaign, as well as challenge yourself in survival mode. There's even Ironman (single savegame) mode.

Awful. Belongs on a Flash gaming site. Mediocre even then.

A pretty decent base defense game. Sometimes a man just wants to shoot an incoming horde of zombies, and Deadstone gets the job done.

The basics of top-down shooting with some turrets to aid you are fun enough, but the gameplay really gets repetitive over time. Very little variety in enemy types means that once the last new enemy has been revealed you will be doing the same thing over and over again for far too many missions to complete the campaign. There are a wide variety of ways to level up your character, but the options don't feel very meaningful and I don't believe they have any significant effect on how things play out.

Horrific. Clunky controls, slow, plodding menus and dialogue. The graphics are worse than a grade-school comic book drawn by a kid. They're insultingly bad. There's just nothing here to enjoy. This would have been an OK game in 1978. Playing it in 2022 is unconscionable.