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TOWER-DEFENSE
Inside Job Review: A Tower Defense Game That Finally Gets It Backwards (And I'm Still Annoyed)
FeatureKreep made a reverse tower defense for a game jam and somehow it's better than half the 'full releases' I've suffered through this year. I'm not saying I'm impressed, but I played it twice, which is more than I can say for most indie tower defense clones.
Paul
December 23, 2025
7
Overall Score
"Inside Job is that rare jam game that's good enough to make me wish it were a full release, which is the highest compliment my exhausted, cynical brain can muster."
First Impressions (Or: How a Game Jam Showed Up Triple-A Studios)
I opened Inside Job expecting another lazy 'reverse the genre' jam submission where someone just flipped sprites and called it innovative. Instead, FeatureKreep actually thought about what reversing tower defense means. You're not defending—you're sieging your own city to raise your approval rating. Yes, you read that right. It's political satire wrapped in strategic gameplay, and I genuinely didn't see that coming from a weekend jam project. The premise hit me immediately: destroy your own infrastructure to look like a hero. It's cynical, it's sharp, and it's exactly the kind of twisted logic that makes me remember why I loved gaming before everything became a live service cash grab. I loaded it up ready to play for five minutes and write a snarky dismissal. Forty minutes later, I was still playing. I'm not happy about this.
Gameplay: Attacking Yourself Has Never Been This Strategic
Here's where Inside Job actually earns its keep. Instead of placing towers and watching enemies pathfind to their doom—a loop I've seen since the Flash game era—you're sending units to attack fortified positions while unlocking new abilities based on how far you push. The progression system is smart: distance traveled equals new toys to play with. It creates this natural risk-reward tension where you're constantly deciding whether to consolidate your position or push deeper for better units. The game doesn't hold your hand, which I appreciate. Figure out unit synergies yourself. Learn which defenses to prioritize yourself. It's refreshing when a developer trusts players to think. My only gripe? The difficulty curve spikes hard in the mid-game before you've unlocked enough tools. I found myself save-scumming a few attempts, which felt less like strategic challenge and more like RNG punishment. Still, when the pieces click together and you break through a defensive line, it's genuinely satisfying.
Visuals and Audio: Functional Minimalism That Actually Works
Inside Job uses clean geometric shapes and a limited color palette that screams 'game jam asset efficiency,' but here's the thing—it works. The visual clarity means I can actually see what's happening during chaotic moments, unlike tower defense games that drown you in particle effects and visual noise. I could identify unit types at a glance. I knew which buildings I was targeting. Basic competence shouldn't be praise, but after reviewing games where I literally couldn't tell enemies from terrain, I'll take it. The audio is present and inoffensive. No earworm soundtrack I'll remember, no sound effects that made me reach for the mute button. Background music exists, units make appropriate noises when they act, and nothing grated on me. For a jam game made in 48-72 hours, that's honestly impressive. I've heard worse sound design in commercial releases that charged $15.
The Political Satire Angle: Surprisingly Not Heavy-Handed
The premise—siege your own city to raise approval ratings—could've been beaten into the ground with obvious political commentary. Instead, FeatureKreep keeps it subtle enough to be funny without becoming preachy. The disclaimer that they don't endorse conspiracy theories made me smirk. The core concept is satirical without shoving a message down your throat every thirty seconds. It's the kind of dark humor that works because it trusts you to get the joke without explaining it. I appreciate restraint in satire, especially in indie games where developers often mistake 'political commentary' for 'lecture the player constantly.' This doesn't do that. It presents an absurd premise, lets you play with the mechanics, and trusts you're smart enough to appreciate the irony. Rare. Very rare.
What's Missing: The Jam Game Ceiling
Here's where my grumpiness returns: Inside Job is good for what it is, but 'what it is' remains a game jam entry. There's one core mode, limited enemy variety, and once you've cracked the optimal strategy, you've seen everything it offers. I wanted more maps, more defensive configurations, maybe even a sandbox mode where I could design my own cities to siege. The unlock progression is satisfying the first time but doesn't offer much reason to replay beyond trying slightly different unit compositions. It needed procedural generation or at least three more difficulty tiers to give me reasons to return. I also wanted more unit types. The ones present are well-balanced, but by my second playthrough I was already seeing the same combinations over and over. FeatureKreep clearly had more ideas than time allowed, which is the eternal jam curse.
The Verdict on Reverse Psychology
Inside Job placed 55th overall in GMTK Jam 2023 and made Mark Brown's personal Top 20. Having played it, I understand why. This isn't just a concept executed competently—it's a game that takes a clever premise and builds actual strategic depth around it. The progression system works, the difficulty provides genuine challenge without feeling unfair (mostly), and the core loop kept me engaged longer than tower defense games with ten times the development time. Is it perfect? No. Could it use more content? Absolutely. Would I pay $5 for an expanded version with more maps and units? Reluctantly, yes. For a free jam game, Inside Job is better than it has any right to be, and I'm genuinely annoyed that a weekend project outdid so many 'full releases' I've reviewed this year. FeatureKreep earned this praise, even if admitting it physically pains me.
Rating Breakdown
Quality
7
Surprisingly polished for a jam game—no crashes, clean UI, actually feels finished, which immediately puts it ahead of 80% of itch.io.
Innovation
8
Reverse tower defense isn't brand new, but attacking your own city to boost approval ratings is genuinely clever, and I haven't rolled my eyes at a game jam concept in years.
Value
8
It's free and gave me more strategic depth than tower defense games I've paid actual money for, so yeah, fine, good value.
Gameplay
7
The progression system where distance unlocks abilities kept me playing longer than I intended, which I'm choosing to be grumpy about instead of grateful.
Audio/Visual
6
Clean geometric art style that works without being memorable, audio exists and doesn't make me want to mute immediately—that's a win in my book.
Replayability
6
Tried different strategies twice before I felt like I'd seen everything, which is about right for a jam game but nothing's pulling me back for a third run.
What Didn't Annoy Me
Actually innovative take on tower defense—reverse concept executed with genuine strategic depth instead of lazy genre flip
Free and delivers more thoughtful gameplay than commercial tower defense games charging $10-15
Progression system creates meaningful risk-reward decisions throughout the entire playthrough
Visual clarity means I can actually see what's happening, a shockingly rare competence in indie strategy games
Political satire premise stays clever without becoming preachy or heavy-handed
Polished enough to feel finished, which immediately puts it ahead of most jam games
What Made Me Sigh
Limited content means once you've solved the optimal strategy, there's little reason to replay beyond mild experimentation
Mid-game difficulty spike feels less like challenge and more like punishment before you've unlocked enough tools
No procedural generation or map variety—you're sieging the same city configuration every time
Audio exists but isn't memorable—functional background noise at best
Needs more unit types and defensive variations to sustain long-term interest
Final Verdict
Inside Job is that rare jam game that's good enough to make me wish it were a full release, which is the highest compliment my exhausted, cynical brain can muster. FeatureKreep took a clever premise and built actual strategic gameplay around it instead of coasting on the gimmick. The progression system works, the core loop satisfies, and it respects your intelligence enough to let you figure things out. Yes, it's limited in scope—it's a jam game, not a commercial product—but what's here is more thoughtful than half the tower defense games I've reviewed this year. For free, it's an easy recommendation. For a potential expanded version, I'd reluctantly open my wallet. That's about as close to enthusiasm as you'll get from me.
Inside Job
Tags
tower-defense
reverse-tower-defense
strategy
game-jam
political-satire
progression-unlock
itch-io
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