Welcome to Countdown Tower Defence.

Voting

https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-jam-2026/rate/4826821

Theme

This game was written for the GMTK 2026 game jam with the theme: Countdown.

Gameplay - Video

Development - Breakdown

TBC

Review - Video

TBC

Story

Time itself is running out. The ancient sands have become the battlefield between two mighty factions. Will you command the Kingdom of Kemet, defending Egypt from an endless undead invasion, or lead the fearsome Legion of Anubis as they march to claim the living world?

Build your army, strengthen your forces with powerful upgrade cards, and survive increasingly dangerous waves of enemies. Every second counts - defeat your enemies before time runs out, earn precious time by surviving, and push back the opposing army before your countdown reaches zero.

Gameplay

Countdown Tower Defence is a fast-paced tower defence game set in Ancient Egypt. Place units strategically along the battlefield, manage your resources carefully, and create powerful combinations to stop increasingly difficult enemy waves. Each faction features its own unique units, from humble warriors and shambling mummies to mighty Disciples of Horus and terrifying Mummy Pharaohs.

Developer Comments

I wanted to create something quite different this jam. I've made strategy mechanics before, but this is my first proper attempt at building a complete tower defence game. It was also a great excuse to dive further game balancing, and data-driven gameplay using Unreal Engine 5 and C++. Getting the countdown mechanic to feel tense while still being fair ended up being one of the most enjoyable challenges but also making up random units I love that stuff.

What I did well

• Created a fully data-driven card and unit system.
• Implemented two playable Ancient Egyptian factions.
• Built a reusable wave spawning system with scalable enemy costs all mathmatically driven.
• Created a flexible upgrade system for cards and units.

What I would do better next time

• Add more maps, enemy types, and upgrade cards.
• Improve the UI.
• Don't plan a day long DIY session in the middle of a jam!

New things I've learned

• Building scalable tower defence mechanics in Unreal Engine 5.
• Designing a reusable data asset system for units and upgrades.
• Creating flexible wave generation and balancing systems.
• More C++ to make the game even more performant.

Known bugs

• As with every game jam project, expect a few rough edges!
• I forgot to add an ending! :sob: Its basically endless mode unless you die :( sorry

Assets used

• Polygon Ancient Empire by Synty Studios.
• Narrative Tales by Narrative Tools Inc.
• Unreal Engine 5.

Developer

Created by D3Kryption Studios.
https://d3kryptionstudios.com

Voices

- LemonDrizzle (https://lemiyu.com/)
- Me (https://d3kryptionstudios.com)