Single-player games like Hold the Core
Below are 11 single-player Steam games similar to Hold the Core, ranked by player overlap. Every pick carries Steam's Single-player category, so multiplayer-only titles or always-online games don't sneak in. imho.run pulls the category data from Steam directly — Single-player here matches what the store labels.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like Hold the Core page.
Ranked picks
- 1
Zero Bugs Given
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with Hold the Core.
Zero Bugs Given is a tower defense / roguelike game designed with the ambition of making every run different from the others. Every wave, a pair of bonus and malus will force you to adapt in the best way you can. Build your defense and try survive as long as you can!
- 2
X-Morph: Defense
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
Unique fusion of a top-down shooter and tower defense strategy. You are the invader! Use destructive weapons or lead your enemies into a maze of towers. Strategize in the build mode by carefully selecting various types of alien towers or throw yourself right into the heat of the battle.
- 3
Sanctum 2
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
Sanctum 2 is the sequel to the world’s first Tower Defense/FPS hybrid game. Pick from four unique character classes and embark on a mission to protect the oxygen-producing Cores from hordes of deadly aliens who are threatened by their existence.
- 4
Infested Planet
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
Command a team of 5 elite soldiers against an alien horde of 100,000. Surrounded on all sides, you must outmaneuver and outsmart the enemy.
- 5
Anomaly: Warzone Earth
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
Lead an armored squad through the perils of this reversed tower defense action-strategy game!
- 6
Sanctum
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
You think Tower Defense games are all about building? You thought wrong. Sanctum is not your average Tower Defense title. When the havoc starts, you get to join the fray! As one of the world’s first First Person Shooter - Tower Defense games, Sanctum has taken the best of both worlds to deliver an epic, one-of-a-kind experience.
- 7
Unstoppable Gorg
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
Defend the solar system from fearsome aliens by sending satellites into orbit in revolutionary tower defense action!
- 8
Anomaly Defenders
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
Anomaly Defenders is the closing installment of the Anomaly series. The original incarnation of the Tower Offense sub-genre had players controlling humans fighting alien invaders. Now, the tables have turned. The human counterattack is underway and the alien homeworld is under threat.
- 9
Bitloop
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Hold the Core.
You steer a drone's orbit while it fires for you. Ride close to break the vault faster, ride wide to live longer. Strip the ring, crack the core, fall to the next vault. A one-stick roguelite about orbital mining.
- 10
Conquer for Glory
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Strategy with Hold the Core.
A side-on strategy game about raising armies and conquering a dark fantasy world. Lead one of eight races, break the enemy line with troops, monsters and unique abilities, and take the map kingdom by kingdom.
- 11
Roll and Die
Single-player alternative to Hold the Core — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy with Hold the Core.
A push-your-luck dice roguelite. Greed gets you power. Greed gets you killed. Keep the rolls you like, push the rest, and pray you do not hit a skull. Climb the Pit to the god who runs it.