Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break

The developers of Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break refer to it as a tower defense game, but this is ultimately a game that transcends genres. One minute it feels like a normal tower defense game, and then things take a complete 180 as you become a boulder hurtling down a hill and attempt to demolish a castle's doors. Every area and level in Rock of Ages 3 feels completely different than the one before it, and it is a wonderfully charming experience despite a few hangups.

The storyline in the Break mode of Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break tasks you with progressing through different timelines in human history. Players will have to go up against different historical figures like the Giant from the Odyssey or Julius Ceaser. These retellings of history have been injected with humor that is heavily inspired by Monty Python, and all of the characters are pulled straight from famous art pieces from different time periods. The absurdity of the humor works really well with Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, and helps elevate it to brand new levels.

The main gameplay loop is a mix of obstacle course and tower defense game. You are tasked with defending their castle from their opponent's rolling rock by setting up defenses that can block the path, ones that throw projectiles, or others that try and knock rocks off the course. This means that you will need to use all of these defenses strategically in order to either destroy their enemy or slow them down enough that they can't do as much damage to the player's castle.

You will need to watch out though because their opponent will be doing the exact same thing during matches. After setting up defenses, players will be able to turn into a rolling rock themselves and try to get to the other side where the opposing castle is. Avoiding an enemy's attacks can be difficult, so you will need to stay on your toes and continue building up speed. This way once they reach the castle gates they can do the maximum amount of damage possible. Turning into a rock is a lot of fun, but it also teaches what kind of defenses are more or less effective when used against opponents.

In between the main tower defense battles against major historical figures, there are also an assortment of other game modes that players will be able to check out. My personal favorite is the skeeball game, where you have to race an opponent through an obstacle course and try to launch their rock into a hole on the skeeball board. Whoever racks up the most points wins. There are also modes where the player has to defend their castle against a horde of rocks, another where players have to roll a lit bomb to a castle's gates before it explodes, and many others as the game progresses. Those who want to make it to the end of Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break will have to become skillful at these game modes though, as they give out stars that can be used to unlock later levels.

All of these different game modes help break up gameplay considerably and stop things from becoming stale or boring over time. Some of the star amounts to unlock a set of levels can be pretty high later in the game, which means that players will most likely wind up being forced to replay levels in order to earn as many stars as they possibly can. This can become very draining and boring in the latter half of the story mode, especially if players get stuck on a level for a long time.

One of the biggest issues that I had while playing Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break was the controls for PC. Trying to control the rock using a keyboard and mouse was extremely difficult, and getting through the first few levels took a lot of time and effort. The control scheme doesn't give players the amount of control that they need to move a three-dimensional rock around obstacles. Upon switching to a controller the controls began working a lot better and I had more control over my actions and movements. Some players may have better luck with a keyboard and mouse, but a controller will help those that are having a lot of trouble.

Once players make their way through the storyline they should definitely take a look at the level editing Make mode. This gives players complete control over building their own courses. This means they can terraform their own map, add in environmental hazards, and make their levels as easy or difficult as they wish. These levels can then be used to play with friends or even uploaded for the community so that anyone can check out the levels that are created. This is a lot of fun and having access to community levels gives players even more content to check out if they can't get enough of Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break.

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break Review | Final Thoughts

Despite some wonky keyboard controls and being forced to replay levels, there is so much content in Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break that players could potentially play this game for months on end and never run out of things to do. It is exciting to play both alone and against opponents, and there is also a level of charm and added with the humor in the game that isn't seen much in the tower defense genre. Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break has something to offer to just about anyone.

TechRaptor reviewed Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break on PC using a Steam code was provided by the developer. The game is also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia