Fire at Campsite

Absolutely amazing game! Should it cost ten times more, I would buy it without a slightest hezitation. A masterpiece.

I played this a lot during the alpha/beta builds from itch.io and then the Discord itself. It felt really solid. But this iteration feels very lacking. Much more focused on adding random new animals, less about actual gameplay/balance. There are no directions or instructions for the game. What I mean is, during the beta/alpha phase, they'd explain that reaching certain goals with certain mods/abilities would unlock certain things. Either that system is gone entirely, or there is just no explanation as to how to obtain them, and they are entirely different from previous ways. Usually you'd max out a particular skill, and you'd unlock a perk. This steam version? Nope. No explanation why either. Maybe I have to hit a certain checkpoint in the game, but I have no idea, nothing was ever said. I really, really liked this game when it was being built, and I really enjoyed it. The dev however seems to have focused all his efforts on adding new enemies vs making the game more "fun" for the average player. So with that being said, sadly I give this a thumbs down.

Great and cute tower defence game.

Fire at Campsite takes the familiar structure of a tower-defense game and playfully reshapes it into something far more character-driven and whimsical. Developed by Salvador Palma and published by ZOO Studios and Captcha Games, the experience places you not in the role of a strategist observing the battlefield from above, but in the unlikely position of the campfire itself. That small twist immediately sets the tone: warm, humorous and approachable, but still built on a foundation of strategy and wave-based survival. The goal is simple—survive the night against waves of increasingly bold animals drawn to your flame—but the way you achieve that goal is rooted in experimentation, build-crafting, and balancing offense with resilience. The game’s core loop revolves around upgrading your flame using a sprawling collection of augments and effects. Instead of placing multiple defensive towers around a map, you are the sole point of defense, and your success depends entirely on how well you enhance your abilities from run to run. Each wave pushes you to refine your build—boost damage output, improve area control, enhance burn effects, or invest in defensive layers that help the flame endure. The variety of augments is one of the game’s standout features. Being able to choose among more than two hundred potential modifiers means that no two runs feel quite the same, and even failed attempts tend to reveal new strategies or synergies you might want to pursue next time. This roguelite-infused upgrade system gives the game a sense of long-term replayability while keeping moment-to-moment gameplay satisfying. Visually, Fire at Campsite embraces a friendly and stylized aesthetic that complements its lighthearted premise. Forest creatures are depicted with charm rather than menace, and the environment has a bright, cartoon softness that makes the game immediately inviting. Despite that, the tension remains constant: each wave grows more aggressive, and the charm of your surroundings only emphasizes the absurdity of a lone campfire defending itself against a forest’s worth of curious wildlife. The animation work is clean, the effects are lively, and the campsite setting provides a coherent backdrop that ties the entire experience together. The art style also helps convey important information during frantic moments, making it easy to understand what’s happening even as the screen fills with approaching animals and burst effects from your augments. Mechanically, the game manages to strike a balance between accessibility and strategic depth. Players who want a casual tower-defense experience can simply enjoy the satisfaction of unlocking new effects and testing simple builds. At the same time, those who dig deeper will find that certain combinations of augments interact in interesting ways, allowing for powerful or unexpected synergies. Yet, because the entire experience is built around a single defensive “tower,” it inevitably has limitations. Some builds feel noticeably stronger than others, and certain augment paths lose effectiveness once you reach later waves. As a result, players seeking finely tuned balance or highly technical mechanics may find the game lighter than the more complex examples of the genre. Still, the straightforward structure helps maintain a brisk pace and keeps each run digestible, making it easy to jump in for short sessions. The game’s charm also lies in its rhythm. A typical run builds from calm early waves to intense late-game pressure, and it’s in those final moments—when you’re desperately hoping your flame holds strong—that the game finds its identity. The combination of playful visuals, escalating danger and the satisfaction of watching your carefully chosen augment combinations spring into action gives the late stages a distinctive energy. Even failed attempts rarely feel punishing; instead, they often push players to reconsider their approach and experiment with new augments they hadn’t tried before. This encourages a sense of discovery that keeps the experience fresh, even as you face the same campsite night after night. Overall, Fire at Campsite succeeds through its originality, charm and emphasis on build variety. It doesn’t attempt to compete with large-scale tower-defense titles or roguelite epics in terms of scope, but it delivers a polished, enjoyable experience that makes excellent use of its central gimmick. Its relaxed visual identity blends nicely with its strategic challenges, and its augment-driven progression loop provides satisfying reasons to revisit the campsite for another run. While players seeking deep tactical layers or extensive meta-progression may find it somewhat modest in scale, those who appreciate inventive design, strong replayability and a warmly humorous tone will discover a delightful and memorable indie gem. Rating: 7/10

10/10 I've been playing this game for years back when it was only on itch

Good game

Good chill game

The start is struggling and you'll die a lot, but it will get easier when unlocking stuff and upgrades. Love the design of the animals and the fire types, makes the overall game look decent and cute.

There's a lot of content compared to smaller games I've played in the same sub-genre of upgrading a tower during and between runs, I really like this one! Its got a warm cutesy style, and the gameplay requires comfortably few inputs even though you do need to make choices as you build your tower. I'm unlocking more things by doing more challenges, which will help me with harder challenges like surviving a long time. Bargaining with the shop keeper reminded me of a different game, I wish I understood bargaining in this game a little more.

[h1] Fire at Campsite [/h1] Fire at Campsite is a cute and cozy indie tower-defense game with roguelike elements. It's inexpensive, looks great, and comes with a plethora of different ways to play and strategies to try. Couldn't recommend it enough!