NodalBastion is a delightful mixture of tower defense and incremental progression
NodalBastion blends the steady gratification of incremental games with the tactical tension of tower defense, and it rarely takes its foot off the gas. It’s a design that encourages long sessions, persistent tinkering, and plenty of “one more run” decisions. If there’s a caveat, it’s that the default visual effects can be a bit overwhelming out of the gate—but the core loop is compelling enough to keep you pushing through.
What sets it apart
Rather than laying out familiar mazes and fixed towers, NodalBastion starts you with a single square core and asks you to expand outward via a lattice of linked nodes. Each new node placement is dictated by a timer, and when it’s up you’re dealt a small, randomized selection of node types along a timeline. That mix could include offense, support, or utility—so every choice is about squeezing value from the hand you’ve been given, not the one you wish you had.
This rhythm is where the incremental DNA shines. Unlocks from previous runs steadily diversify your node pool and upgrade paths, changing how you evaluate each roll. Early on you might prioritize basic defense to stabilize; later, synergies emerge that reward clever routing, buff chaining, or specializing entire branches of your network. The result is a strategic puzzle that evolves as your meta-progression deepens.
Designed for repeat runs
Failure isn’t a dead end—it’s the engine. Hit a wall, return to the menu, spend your hard-earned resources, and try a new build with fresh tools. The loop is brisk and satisfying, especially once you’ve banked enough upgrades to experiment more freely. Enemies keep scaling and mutating to match your growth, so the pressure remains constant even as your options expand.
“The AI wars are over. You are the last intelligence — defending the final core against ever-evolving humanity. Deploy nodes, expand your network, and neutralize endless hostile intrusions. Harvest data and install upgrades to adapt with every iteration.”
That premise neatly matches the gameplay: you’re the calculating mind, continuously learning from each iteration, optimizing paths and refining your toolkit to survive the next wave of intrusions.
Hands-on notes
- Network-first tower defense: Build outward from a single core, linking nodes that define both your territory and your capabilities.
- Time-gated deployment: A placement timer forces you to think on your feet rather than endlessly theorycraft.
- Randomized node lineup: Each placement offers a small, shuffled set of nodes, nudging you toward adaptive strategies and new combos.
- Progress that sticks: Harvested data feeds unlocks and upgrades, reshaping your “deck” of node options between runs.
On the presentation side, the default screen effects can be a bit much during busy waves. If you’re sensitive to visual clutter, you may want to tame the flashier elements before settling in for longer sessions. Once you acclimate, the clarity of the network view and the cadence of node drops do a lot of heavy lifting to keep decision-making readable.
Demo availability and platform
A demo is live on Steam, and there’s a Linux build included—nice to see for a genre that often defaults to Windows-only previews. Be warned: this is the kind of demo that quietly eats an evening. There’s enough progression in place that unlocking everything it offers can take a surprising amount of time, and that’s a good sign for the full release.
Release outlook
The full version of NodalBastion is currently slated for March 2026. If the team sticks the landing on balance and visual readability—while preserving the delicious tension of its timed, randomized node placements—it could carve out a distinctive spot in the tower defense space.
Bottom line
NodalBastion’s fusion of incremental progression and node-based tower defense makes for a smart, replayable loop. It rewards improvisation, makes failure productive, and constantly tempts you into another run. Turn down the visual bombast if you need to, then settle in: there’s a rich network to build and plenty of data to harvest between now and launch.
