Cosmic Dust & Rust

You manage a ship in a space-based tower defense game, preparing it for combat by upgrading internal systems and placing turrets and other defenses in designated spots.

When combat begins, you take manual control of the ship’s main cannon and can fire its weapons and superweapons alongside its automated defenses. Enemies have destructible parts that can be targeted.

Side missions provide aluminium and gold for upgrades. Improving the ship’s weapons and defenses shapes how it handles later encounters.

Reviewers who enjoy the game often point to its mix of ship preparation and hands-on shooting, especially manually aiming the cannon instead of relying only on automated defenses. Ship customization and upgrades, impactful combat, and targeting enemy parts also receive praise. Other reviewers describe the loop as repetitive or poorly balanced, and some mention resource grinding or difficulty spikes.