Join the protagonist Lulu and Poe the gargoyle as they embark on an arduous journey to defeat and uncover the origins of the automatons, the antagonists in Gargoyles. This premium strategy title plays similarly to Plants Vs. Zombies where players strategically deploy an army of gargoyles on the battlefield, annihilating wave after wave of enemy forces.

Like Pokémon, Gargoyles’ evolution mechanic bolsters the strength of your gargoyles, adding another strategic layer to the gameplay and making battles more manageable. Most importantly, there are no microtransactions, so you’ll have to rely on your wits to survive against tougher enemies.

Level up and evolve gargoyles

From the font choices to the dialogue tags and narrative structure, Gargoyles is like an interactive storybook infused with tower defense mechanics. Essentially, the gameplay revolves around harvesting pixies to summon gargoyle pups from the Between to defeat enemies, such as Lightbats, Tetrapods, and Vaporwolves. Featuring 25 recruitable gargoyles with three evolution trees, the player’s strategic possibilities open as they progress further.

When a gargoyle reaches a certain level, choose one of the three evolution trees and it will change its appearance and grow stronger. There’s a bit of luck involved in the game, though, as every gargoyle possesses random perks. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get a gargoyle with rare perks. Furthermore, this game is a treat for completionists. With 22 unlockable achievements, it incentivizes replayability and skillful gameplay.

The best part here is that — if you’re a busy player — you can pause, save, or load the game anytime you want, so you can just jump right in after running an errand or two. Furthermore, its Easy mode, tutorials, and in-app tips help beginners establish a solid foundation of the mechanics and acclimate to the gameplay. However, the title’s visuals may not appeal to some players.

A narrative interwoven with tower defense gameplay

Overall, Gargoyles is a fascinating combination of storybook-style narrative and the tower defense genre, creating a fresh gameplay experience that will captivate and engage players. From tutorials to unlockable achievements, this game offers features that appeal to all types of players — be they complete beginners or completionists. Although the graphics are a hit or a miss, the visuals should not deter you from giving this strategy game a try.