Dinsun Review
AR is still a gimmick in my book, and Defend It! doesn't do much to change that opinion. It’s neat for about five minutes—watching robots crawl out of your actual living room wall is cool. But then you realize you’re just pointing your phone at nothing and tapping. It’s shallow, tiring to play for long periods, and the tracking is never quite as perfect as the trailers suggest.
It feels like a proof-of-concept. As a gamer who grew up with light gun shooters, I see the potential, but the execution here is just 'fine.' It’s something you show your friends to prove your phone can do AR, then you delete it to make space for a game with actual depth. It’s a literal wall-shooter, and about as exciting as that sounds after the initial 'wow' factor fades.
Overall Stats
Pros & Cons
- Clever use of ARKit for wall mapping
- Interactive physical gameplay
- Good 'wow' factor for AR newcomers
- Extremely shallow gameplay loop
- Physical fatigue from holding the phone
- Tracking issues in low light
Technical Report
Performance: Requires good lighting and a flat wall surface to track properly. High battery drain.
- Motion-based aiming
Audience Fit
Buy if: You want to test out your phone's AR capabilities with a simple shooter.
Skip if: You want a game with depth, strategy, or a reason to come back tomorrow.
- AR Dragon
- Knightfall AR
- Angry Birds AR
Reviewer Context
- Reviewer: Dinsun, 40-year-old critical gamer
- Hardware: iPhone 13
- Playtime: 1 hours
- Status: Played a dozen rounds
