Sanctum (2011)

Developer: Coffee Stain Studios
Publisher: Coffee Stain Publishing
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Genres: Action, Casual, Indie, Strategy
Rating: 4.5 of 5, 3,354 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 9.4 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this Watch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

A frantic hybrid where you frantically build mazes and then jump into the action to personally blast enemies alongside your friends.

tower defensefirst-person shooteraction-packedcooperativestrategicchaoticcustomizable

What players say

Players are split: some enjoy the mix of tower defense and first-person shooting in co-op, while others say the ground-level camera and aging design make it feel clunky, especially compared to later games like Defense Grid 2.

Screenshots

More games like this

More by Coffee Stain Studios

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.