Calorie Defenders Preview - Alpha Build (NYC Play 2020)

Calorie Defenders has a lot of potential to become something fun and wild. The tower-defense title is currently in Alpha so the build provided has some concerns but it can grow into something marvelous. With its charming food-like atmosphere the game's sprite animation looking wonderful. 

You select 1 of 3 characters; a Tomato, Broccoli, and Carrot. Each character has specific advantages such as the Tomato having a quicker shooting speed, the Carrot shooting slower but has the benefit of added damage, and finally, the Broccoli that does more damage as a melee fighter but at the risk of direct contact damage. Each character has their own ultimate ability that can turn the tide of battle when overwhelmed. In terms of platforming, each character has access to the same pool of actions and tools. Most of which are used to navigate the environment, destroy barriers, and used in the game's core systems.

You're given a finite amount of sugar cubes, these are used to create helpful items such as an onion to bounce onto higher ledges, a cactus for hurting enemies who cross its path, a Watermelon that serves as a turret that can also destroy specific barriers, and more. You can destroy these tools for return on investment of sugar cubes.

In the game's hub world you can collect more sugar cubes while also locating new areas. Each section houses a new challenge you can enter. When starting you can select an array of options to build your character options. There are plenty to choose from and a difficulty option is shown with handicaps being added but not in the build.

The control scheme does require some dedication. Currently, the tutorial is geared more towards gamepads but I was told by the developer a better tutorial for mouse and keyboard is being worked on. You also have to be in the game's tool menu to dissolve the foods you've summoned which can be annoying. A dedicated button for that will definitely make the experience more streamlined and in a tower-defense title, you definitely to prioritize the speed of the player's actions.

During the tower defense sections, you're given a preview of the enemies you'll encounter each wave. The transparent enemy encounters help you decide on the best course of action when creating your tools. With yourself playing an active role as the colorful food attempt to reach their end-goal. You're given a specific amount of enemies that can reach the goal before the mission ends and you're rated based on your performance.

The enemy variety is taken from real-world sweets with some clever designs. You have your basic Candy Corn, lollipops, snowcone clouds, and more. Aiming is a bit problematic at the moment. The projectiles will usually just lock onto the target but an aiming reticle would be much more ideal, especially a 360. Also, a map showing the overall map would be helpful when seeing how far enemies are from your target instead of just guessing. Lastly, the ability to quickly leap down from an interactive platform if a platform is available below would be great when navigating the environment.

At the moment it's your basic tower defense title but it has the ability to be a challenging and well-put-together one, especially with friends. There are cooperative and challenges available in the build but only local is available for multiplayer. The addition of more sound effects when the gingerbread house appears, feedback on strikes, and perhaps more mobility options. You currently have air hover mode for better control when jumping but a dash move would be welcoming for getting from 1 location to the next easier. Especially when in the HUB world.

Calorie Defenders has a long way to go but the edifice that it's built on is strong. It can become a challenging and hectic tower-defense title and with the charming visuals it definitely stands out.

Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed
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