Gem Miner TD

From the new studio iFeral Games comes Gem Miner TD, a tower defense game where you defend your character instead of your base. You create the path by mining the stones, revealing gems along the way to build defenses. How long can you protect your miner from being abducted by the enemies?

Between waves you can spend eight actions either mining or placing blocks. At the end of the action period every block that had an action performed near it will reveal a gem. You are only allowed to select two gems, and since the mining process is the only way to acquire them, make sure you plan ahead! With multiple different types of gems to pick from, each with their own abilities and levels, there are countless ways to play. There is a gem merging feature where you can create stronger gems by combining lesser ones. There is a guide to show you what gems are able to be merged to create the stronger ones. This adds another layer of complexity, as it gives purpose to lower-quality gems which can be used as merge materials.

Boss enemies appear every five waves, and surviving the wave earns an augmentation. Augmentations are powerful items that provide buffs or abilities, an example being a permanent stackable stat upgrade to the nearest gem at the start of a wave. Augmentations have different rarity levels; the higher the rarity, the stronger the effect. What character you play affects the augmentations that you have access to. There is a leveling system for each character, so the higher your level, the more variety of augmentations are available.

In the demo there are two playable characters, a miner and a mage. Each starts with their own augmentation, some of which are unique to that character. The abilities include revealing nearby enemies, buffing the closest gem, and increasing its level.

Other tower defense games have a fixed defense point, but this one is unique because you defend a movable character. Instead of managing a health bar, your goal is to prevent the enemies from snatching you and throwing you into lava. Enemies navigate the path, taking the shortest route possible to reach your character, and then they carry you back to the lava pit. This process adds another layer of options for playstyles, as this method can greatly benefit status effects. So plan out if you want to have a long winding path scattered with gems or a short heavily defended path. With the randomization of gem options in each game, the choices are endless!

Release Info

Gem Miner TD started out as a Game Jam project in 2022, before they turned it into a passion project. The developers said that they were inspired by other tower defense games such as No Heroes Allowed and classic custom maps from Warcraft 3. Visit Gem Miners TD on Steam to experience the demo for yourself! This game is expected to release this year, but for further updates, visit the developer's website.