Outhold - Tower Defense

What is Outhold?

Outhold is a newly released minimalist Tower Defense game that integrates Incremental (Idle) and Roguelite mechanics. Developed by Tellus Games, it was released on Steam in December 2025.

Unlike traditional Tower Defense games where you restart from scratch after losing, Outhold focuses on Meta-Progression. It combines the strategic placement of towers with a satisfying loop of permanent upgrades, creating an experience where "defeat" is just a step towards becoming more powerful.

Its visual style is clean and vibrant, offering a satisfying "bullet hell" aesthetic as your defenses grow stronger.

How to Play

The gameplay loop consists of four main phases:

1. Defend (The Core Loop)

• Objective: Protect your central base ("Holdout") from waves of incoming geometric enemies.
• Build: Strategically place various types of defensive towers.
• Manage: Balance your economy between building new towers and upgrading existing ones during the run.

2. Active Collection

• Resource Gathering: Enemies drop resources (Gold) when destroyed.
• Interaction: You must actively collect these resources (by moving your cursor or using unlocked automation) to fund your defenses.
• Active Skills: You can use abilities like the "Coin Cannon" to shoot your collected gold at enemies as a last-resort weapon.

3. The Reset (Prestige)

• Ineate Defeat: Eventually, the enemy waves will overwhelm you. This is expected.
• Retain Progress: When you lose, you keep the "Research Points" or meta-currency earned during the session.

4. Meta-Progression

• Skill Tree: Use your earned points to unlock permanent upgrades in a massive Skill Tree.
• Evolve: Unlock new tower types, passive income buffs, and special abilities.
• Experiment: You can respec (reset) your skill tree for free at any time, allowing you to try completely different strategies for each run without penalty.