Journey TD: Roguelite Tower Defense with Maze-Building and Leaderboards

Indie developer Chris has been quietly crafting Journey TD, a solo project that started as a love letter to classic Warcraft 3 tower defense maps and grew into a deeply layered roguelite experience. The game’s central twist is that your towers aren’t just static defenses—they are the maze. Enemies always take the shortest path, so every placement reshapes the route and demands careful planning.

Roguelite Runs and Tower Drafting

Each run begins with a draft, pulling from a pool of 168 towers spread across five elements. You’ll need to adapt your strategy on the fly, merging three identical towers into a more powerful version and grabbing power-up drafts, boss wave challenges, and even black market potions to survive. At set intervals, a DPS Arena tests your build’s raw damage output, with the total score determining the quality of your loot chest.

Three Distinct Maps

The game currently offers three environments, each with a unique mechanic. The Forest map features a winding river, bridges, and a cliff plateau that rearranges into a fresh layout every run. In the Graveyard, a Wheel of the Dead spins blessings and curses onto your elements, keeping you on your toes. The Desert introduces a Djinn who curses you—and lets you gamble your way out of trouble.

Deep Progression and Competitive Play

Beyond individual runs, you can gear up your builder with loot that includes rarities, affixes, refining, and salvaging, while also growing a skill tree. Collecting a card for every tower fills out an album, and over 380 achievements unlock titles and skins. For those chasing the top spot, leaderboards track every map, mode, and difficulty, complete with a live score band that races your own best run. A special Colosseum mode puts everyone on the same seed, map, and element set each round, fighting for a spot in the top 100.

With wave counts of 150, 300, or Endless across six (and a secret seventh) difficulties, Journey TD aims to satisfy both casual adventurers and hardcore leaderboard chasers. The developer has been open about using some AI-assisted pixel art while working with an artist to hand-redraw assets, ensuring nothing is generated during gameplay.

What do you think of blending roguelite drafting with classic maze-building tower defense? Would you dive into the Colosseum’s competitive gauntlet?