Comparison

Orbital Defense Protocol vs Retro TD

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Orbital Defense Protocol

Features
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Orbital Defense Protocol is a fast, focused, portrait-mode tower defense for iPhone and iPad. Place turrets, set traps, call orbital strikes, and hold the line through 10 sections of escalating hostile waves. CORE LOOP • Drag turrets onto the grid during prep. Tap to upgrade, sell, or specialise. • 6 archetypes: Pulse, Railgun, Frost, Blast, Gatling, and Command. Each upgrades in three channels (Damage / Range / Rate) and forks into a permanent specialisation at tier 6. • 5 trap and ability cards: Spike Strip, Slow Goo, Knockback Plate, Orbital Strike, and Stasis Field. Drag to deploy. • Tap MONSTERS to see the next wave's hostile profile — HP, speed, armor, shield resist — and pick the right damage type. DESTRUCTIBLE BATTLEFIELD • Walling off the path is legal. Hostiles will pound your turrets to rubble — every tower has hull HP, every enemy has melee DPS. • Rocks blocking your line of fire? Tap them. Spend $50, clear the tile, reroute the enemy path. • 7 hostile archetypes: BASIC, FAST, TANK, FLIER, SHIELDED, HEALER, BOSS. Each has its own counter. CAMPAIGN • 10 sections Ɨ 20 waves = 200 levels. • 5 difficulties from Easy to Extreme — adjustable per run. • Persistent top-scores leaderboard tracks your best clears and wipes. NO FRICTION • No ads. • No in-app purchases. • No network required — plays anywhere. • No data collected, no analytics, no tracking. Built for one-handed portrait play. Boots in seconds, drops you straight into the build phase. Set a difficulty, tap ENGAGE HOSTILES, and defend.

About

Retro TD

Features
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Build mazes. Watch creeps puzzle through. Hold the line. Retro TD is a hexagonal-arrow tower defense game. Place towers along the path, upgrade between waves, and survive against creeps that follow the arrows you've drawn. Tight, decision-heavy play — no filler, no grind. AI-GENERATED LEVELS Describe a shape — spiral, figure-8, knot, hourglass, twin loop — and the game generates a new level matching it. Each generation uses one credit; the Starter Pack includes 4, and you can top up when you want more. WHAT'S INSIDE • 30 hand-designed campaign levels, from gentle tutorial to boss-tier • Four tower types with directional aim-lock • A radial build menu that keeps your finger out of the action • Game Center high-wave leaderboards on every level • Reduced Motion option in Settings • Portrait, single-handed play IN-APP PURCHASES • Starter Pack ($2.99): unlocks levels 11–30 and includes 4 AI level credits • Credits 4-Pack ($1.99): four additional AI level credits SHARING Custom levels can be shared with friends by tapping an import link. Levels are filtered for objectionable content; long-press any received level to report it. No ads. No tracking. No account required.

Screenshots

Orbital Defense Protocol4 screens
Retro TD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Retro TD at Free against Orbital Defense Protocol's $0.99. Orbital Defense Protocol's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Retro TD is free to download; Orbital Defense Protocol costs $0.99 up front. Retro TD sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Orbital Defense Protocol asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Orbital Defense Protocol versus Retro TD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOrbital Defense ProtocolRetro TD
Price$0.99Free — better
Update frequency—Every 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB11 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperCarlos NietoDoug Barrett

In-app purchases

None

Orbital Defense Protocol

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Retro TD

One-time2
  • 4 AI Level Credits$1.99
  • Starter Pack$2.99

Questions

Is Orbital Defense Protocol free?
Orbital Defense Protocol costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Retro TD free?
Retro TD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Orbital Defense Protocol or Retro TD have ads?
Neither Orbital Defense Protocol nor Retro TD shows ads.

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