Choose Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom
Choose Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's currently about 40% cheaper on the Steam Store. Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom launched in 2019.
Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom vs Chest Mate
Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom and Chest Mate both land in Strategy, Casual on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Casual on Steam. Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom (2019) is 3 years older than Chest Mate (2022). Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom is currently ~40% cheaper on Steam than Chest Mate (2.99 USD vs. 4.99 USD). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Chest Mate
Choose Chest Mate if you want an Action experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Chest Mate launched in 2022.
Both Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom and Chest Mate sit in Strategy and Casual on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom |  Chest Mate | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Casual | Action, Strategy, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 2.99 USD | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 5 reviews | 6 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | IO Games | OptizOnion |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Casual on Steam.
- Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom (2019) is 3 years older than Chest Mate (2022).
- Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom is currently ~40% cheaper on Steam than Chest Mate (2.99 USD vs. 4.99 USD).
Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom vs Chest Mate — FAQ
- Should I play Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom or Chest Mate first?
- If you want chronology, Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom (2019) came out before Chest Mate (2022). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Tower Defense: Defender of the Kingdom and Chest Mate similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Casual on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.