This game is definitely not pay to win. In my opinion, the challenge level is perfect. With a bit of practice, you should be able to beat every level. Then, going back and 3 starring every level will take more skill and practice and maybe some light item usage (which you can earn via playing, since you only need to use them occasionally).

If someone is really that bad at the game that they can't even win without using a ton of items per level, then yes, it's pay to win. But if it wasn't pay to win, they would just be stuck and couldn't play at all.

The game isn't freemium either, and it's not designed to be pay to win (I'm a successful freemium game developer).

> Do these games have a large following? It's widely considered to be one of the best tower defense games on iOS.

The launch of the original Kingdom Rush on iOS had zero IAP elements; they were only added in later.

The game is definitely not pay-to-win, although there is low flexibility in strategy. (You must use all 4 types of base units.)

Mobile versione might differ, but I played it on kongregate (yay flash) and you could get to the end without paying anything.

Definitely not necessary to pay to play these games. Makes it easier, sure, but they don't have timers or super high difficulty spikes to overcome, except maybe the last level.

Definitely not the case. I have played through all the Kingdom Rush games, fully and doing all the bonus objectives, without spending a dime beyond the initial purchase. I had a great time too, and I have a pretty low tolerance for grind. I think the KR games are exceptionally well designed in this regard.

That wasn't the case with the flash version, I never paid a nickel and completed most of the challenges and the game. I recently bought Frontiers for Android and while the game has "heroes" and "gems" for sale, I havent had to buy anything to beat levels.

Aren't these the guys advertising during NFL games? I hope they have a large following.