Mainframe Defenders
Fair · Roguelike · 2020
Steam Deck PlayableThe verdict
NO RUSH.
Fair at $0.65. Buy it if you want it.
- Length
- 6.7h
- Value
- $0.10/hr
- Reviews
- 88% of 796 positive
Watch this gameOne alert at a price you pick.
Buy now or wait
It is 89% off today.
Discounted in each of its last 8 seasonal sales.
- Next sale
- Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4
Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.
What drives the score
How to read this
Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
About the game
MAINFRAME DEFENDERS - Turn-based tactics centered around gear and unit customization. It offers simple combat, high replayability, and tons of loot. Items don't just provide stats boost, but also offer distinct mechanics that can be combined into powerful builds.
Minimum specs
Minimum on the Steam store: 2 GB of memory, 205 MB of storage. Runs on Windows, Linux.
The value story
70 discounts in the 7 years on record, a median of 85 percent off across all of them, roughly 5 weeks apart. Today's $0.65 at 89 percent off still sits 10 percent above the floor, so a deeper cut exists in its history.
Against its own genre it lands in the top 25 percent on value. It is cheaper than 77 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 70 percent. Among the games that feel like it, Renowned Explorers: International Society ($19.99, scores 76) beats it on value, while it beats Pathway ($15.99, scores 43).
More about Mainframe Defenders
2 of the 393 Steam-purchase reviews sampled here come from buyers who refunded the game, sampled from reviews written October 2020 to August 2026. Inside the two-hour refund window, 75 percent of the 162 reviews written there were positive, against 88 percent overall, and those are 22 percent of everything written about it.
The drop-off
5% start to 4% finishA game like this has no single ending, so its score does not use the finish rate. The curve shows where players stop. Steam global achievements
What players say
If you're considering this game because you like tactical squad games like XCOM or Into The Breach, this one is probably worth a try. None of the mechanics are particularly deep or emergent, but they all work well with each other, and learning how to cobble together optimal builds so they become essentially unkillable or do 100 damage per turn or apply every status effect under the sun is pretty fun. At 60-ish hours...
2 more reviews
didnt play this for a while since it seemed like it would be a lot of work to learn, but its actually not too hard to figure out and is a really fun game once you do. complicated enough that i have to think, simple enough that i dont get a headache. my only real wish is that there were more mission types, as it gets repetitive really fast with most missions being mostly the same, but besides that its great
8/10 TL;DR Great challenging roguelite tactical game, that constantly builds time pressure and risks due to spawning enemies or stacking debuffs. The enemy variety is sufficient and requires a diversely build squad to counter all the different strengths of the enemies. Sadly the RNG of mission rewards and craftable items can screw a few of your runs. Furthermore some QoL features are missing. --- Pros: Overall look...
Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
No data upstream: critic score (Metacritic).
Cite this score
Mainframe Defenders scores 66/100 on the BANG Score (fair value) as of Oct 19, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/1184810/mainframe-defendersReviews set the ceiling, and the size of the player base moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 28, price as of Oct 18. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.