Rift Riff - Tower Defense Twist Inspired by Thronefall

• DEVELOPER: Adriaan de Jongh, Sim Kaart, Matthijs Koster, Franz LaZerte, Professional Panda
• PUBLISHER: Adriaan de Jongh
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Tower-defense
• RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2025
• STARTING PRICE: 6,99€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

Back when Thronefall first hit Early Access in 2023, it was one of those games that felt like it was doing something different and was just fun to play. Then, when it fully launched in 2024 with tons of new stuff and improvements, it became a game you really couldn’t miss. So, it’s no surprise that other games are starting to take inspiration from it, and that’s where Rift Riff comes in. This is a tower defense game that keeps things simple. You play as this mysterious, cloaked character called a rifter, and your job is to jump through these spacetime rifts to collect this valuable “juice” while strategically placing towers to fight off waves of monsters.

Surprisingly chill for a tower defense game

The game has two main parts. First, there’s a hub world where you pick which levels you want to jump into, what towers you want to use, and what upgrades you want to buy. Then, you jump into the combat part where you have to defend your base called Extractor. You build towers on specific spots that are marked on the map. There are different kinds of towers you can choose from, you’ve got your basic turrets that just shoot at enemies, but also more specialized ones that can lure monsters in different directions.

The monsters themselves act in different ways. Some will just charge straight for your Extractor, while others will try to take out your towers first. And some can even be tricked into going to certain spots on the map, so you have to be smart about where you put your towers to control where they go. You collect cores called “bits” during the waves of enemies, and that’s what you use to build and upgrade your towers. Then there are things called “prisms” that you get for surviving a rift, and those unlock new rifts to explore, different towers to build, companions to help you, and even more upgrades.

Rift Riff is a surprisingly chill for a tower defense game. They’ve made it really easy to experiment on spot. If you put down a tower and it’s not working out, you can just sell it back for the full price – no penalty. Plus, if a tower gets destroyed, it comes back at the start of the next wave. And even if you die, you just respawn with all your towers still in place, so you can quickly try a different strategy without having to start the whole level over. This really takes away a lot of the usual frustration and makes you feel more comfortable trying out different tower setups.

“Rift Riff easily forgives mistakes”

Rift Riff has a really enjoyable core gameplay loop

Each level in Rift Riff usually throws about three to five waves of monsters at you. Sometimes, there are even alternate versions of the same level that mix up the enemies to make it harder or give you special challenges, like not being allowed to use certain types of towers or trying to stop any enemies from getting too close to your base. You can also build new towers and upgrade the ones you have in real-time while the fight is going on. However, the game doesn’t have a huge number of different towers to choose from and there aren’t really any special combinations you can pull off between towers or any hero characters to use.

To put it simply, Rift Riff has a really enjoyable core gameplay loop that keeps getting better as you play, so you’re not stuck with the same basic stuff the whole time. There are a good number of different maps and enemy types to keep things interesting. And while I did enjoy trying out all the different towers, I sadly found myself often going back to the same few that just seemed the most effective, even though the game does give you suggestions on which towers might be good for a specific level. Some towers just feel really underpowered, like the sniper tower that takes forever to shoot and only targets one enemy.

There’s this little extra thing you can do in the levels, collecting flowers for bonus “bits” which adds a tiny bit of exploration. The main campaign has over 20 levels, plus those alternate versions and special challenges, so there’s a decent amount of content to play through. However, if you’re looking for a deep story or some kind of endless mode after you beat the campaign, you won’t find it here.

“If you’re looking for some kind of endless mode after you beat the campaign, you won’t find it here.”

Really clean and simple design

What does make you want to play again is that the waves of enemies are different each time, and those challenge tasks can really test you. The alternate levels with tougher enemy combinations also crank up the difficulty. But once you’ve unlocked everything, there’s not a whole lot of long-term progression to keep you hooked. The developers have mentioned they might add more content later on, so that could definitely help with the replayability down the line.

The worlds you jump into in Rift Riff, like desert canyons, forest ruins, and snowy valleys, all have detailed pixel art style that almost looks like a pop-up book. Even though the maps aren’t huge, they’re designed really well, with bright colors and small details to see like portals and old ruins that add a bit of mystery. Your main character kind of a clumsy hero, stumbling through the rifts with goofy animations and funny mouth noises that remind me a bit of Hidden Folks.

The towers you build are easy to understand and do their job well, and the little animations when you upgrade them add a nice touch. The game has a really clean and simple design, so you can always see what’s going on, and it’s easy to follow where the enemies are going. However, the backgrounds don’t really do much, and there aren’t any environmental dangers besides the portals, which feels like a missed chance to make things more interesting. The game has this charming mix of old-school pixel art with a modern, polished feel, but compared to how detailed and minimalist Thronefall looks, it feels a bit basic.

“The waves of enemies are different each time, and those challenge tasks can really test you.”

For its price, it’s absolutely worth it

Overall, Rift Riff is a really charming and simple take on tower defense, letting you really control where the enemies go and being super forgiving if you mess up. Its colorful pixel art, the quick, engaging action, and the funny, quirky feel of your character make it a game that Thronefall fans should definitely check out.

However, the main story is pretty short, and there aren’t a ton of different towers to play with. It feels like a really polished and fun experience, but it’s also a bit brief. At its price point, it’s a great little indie gem that casual players and anyone who enjoys tower defense games should jump into for its easy-to-pick-up gameplay and charm. But if you’re a hardcore strategy fan looking for something really deep and complex, you might want to consider if it offers enough for you.

Review copy provided by the publisher

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