We Love It's Guide to…
Build and upgrade defensive towers to redirect alien waves, protect power cores, and survive increasingly demanding attacks.
Released 08 Dec 2008
Reroute Alien Waves
Defend Power Cores
Build Tower Mazes
Defense Grid: The Awakening is a unique spin on tower defense gameplay that will appeal to players of all skill levels. A horde of enemies is invading, and it's up to the player to stop them by strategically building fortification towers around their base.
Developed by Hidden Path Entertainment · Published by Hidden Path Entertainment









Aliens are attacking a base and trying to steal its power cores. As the defender, you must stop them from carrying the cores away before they are all lost.
Place towers along enemy routes to attack incoming waves and influence where they travel. Manage resources as you choose among tower types with different attack properties, placements, and upgrades.
The campaign spans 20 levels with varied layouts and enemy types. Challenge modes add different starting conditions and objectives, while medals reward stronger results and efficient defenses.
Reviewers often enjoy planning tower placements and enemy routes, managing resources, and adapting strategies to different maps. Many also value the challenge modes and replayability, while some find the harder medal goals demanding. A few mention technical problems on modern systems or find the narrator annoying.
| Platforms | Windows |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 87 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| Demo | View demo on Steam |
| DLC / extras | 6 listed on Steam |
| DRM / EULA |
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| Content notices |
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| Metacritic | 81/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |
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