The horde is coming over the bridge. Behind you: your gate, your walls, your kingdom. In front of you: hundreds of orcs, armoured knights, battering rams — and something with wings. Hold That Gate! is a fast, punchy castle defense game where every battle comes down to one bridge and one question: dare you open the gate?
One Bridge. One Gate. No Way Around.
No mazes, no endless maps. Every fight happens on a single stone bridge over a deep gorge. The horde charges from the far side, your fortress stands at the near end, and everything in between is yours to defend.
Easy to pick up, hard to master. A quick battle fits into a coffee break — but the last wave will make you lean in.
How You Hold the Line
🏹 Man the Walls
Place archers, battle mages and catapults on your walls and towers between waves. Every defender can be trained into a different role — rapid-fire marksmen or volley archers, chain-lightning storm mages, catapults that rain stones over the whole bridge. Same wall, very different fortress.
🚪 The Gate Is Your Biggest Gamble
Keep it shut and you’re safe — for now. Open it and your knights hold the gateway, every kill pays extra gold, and the horde rushes in… right under your portcullis. Wait for them to crowd the gateway, slam the gate shut and crush them. Get the timing wrong and they’re inside your walls.
⚔️ Send Out the Knights
Archers in the back you can’t reach? Open up and send your knights charging onto the bridge. Cut them down — and call your knights back before they’re surrounded.
🔥 Pour, Roll, Burn
Roll a giant log down the bridge to flatten the front of the horde. Pour boiling pitch at the gate — and watch a single fire arrow set the whole pool ablaze. Scatter ice caltrops, fire every catapult at once. The best moments come from combining them.
🃏 Pick Your Power Mid-Battle
Between waves you choose one of three upgrade cards: twin arrows, wider blasts, stones that shatter into splinters, frost that slows the horde… Every run builds a slightly different fortress.
Enemies That Make You Think
The horde doesn’t just get bigger — it gets smarter. Armoured knights shrug off arrows. Shield bearers protect everyone behind them. Banner bearers drive the whole army into a frenzy. Battering rams go straight for your gate. And at the end of every kingdom waits a boss that tests everything you’ve learned.
A Realm of Kingdoms
- 🏔️ Highmarch — an alpine citadel above a glacier river, waterfalls tumbling into the gorge. Learn the art of defense here… until the dragon comes.
- ☀️ Sunspire — a desert fortress of fire. Scorpion riders, sand swarms, burrowing drills — and a sandworm that only surfaces to strike.
- ❄️ And more on the horizon — frozen fortresses, caves with swinging rope bridges, coastal gates against the tide.
Between the Battles
- 🗺️ The War Table: Plan your campaign on a parchment map and pick which gate to defend next.
- ⭐ Earn Every Star: Win, keep your gate standing, and master each level’s special challenge — never open the gate, win with only three defenders, crush four enemies with the portcullis…
- 🔨 The Forge: Spend your stars on new roles for your troops, new upgrade cards and new versions of your weapons — like a log covered in iron spikes.
- 🏆 Trophies: Every defeated boss leaves a trophy that changes the rules of every battle after it.
Follow the Siege (Built in Public!)
Hold That Gate! is made by a solo developer, out in the open. New enemies, new kingdoms, epic fails and big wins are shared along the way. Come say hi, watch the game grow and help shape it — a free demo on Steam is on its way.