You can sign up to get a daily email of our articles, see the Mailing List page.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

In Operation Sheep Defense [Steam] you are tasked with defending your sheep, it's a super cheap indie game that genuinely surprised me.

The developer sent in a key, so I took a quick look to see if it's not too terrible. Although, with the tiny price I wasn't expecting anything from it. It does have a few spelling issues here and there, but I expected that. What I didn't expect, was gameplay that I actually liked.

I was actually pretty impressed by it! Instead of enemies simply getting from A to B and harming you if they reach B, they have to pick up the sheep and take them to their exit point. The exit point could be further across the map, or back at the starting point.

It has another element I did find interesting: Levels don't always have a fully pre-defined path for enemies. Giving you more space to build towers, which adjusts the enemy path. Blocking their path will result in destroyed towers, but it's flexible enough for you to sometimes make your own choke points.

What makes it more amusing, is that your sheep will actually attempt to walk back to their original place, if you manage to destroy the unit that captured them. This gives you a chance to protect them, but it also gives the enemy another chance to recapture them away from your main area. A simple, yet very clever idea for such a game.

The surprises continued as I played more of it, including a bulldozer unit that can actually make a new road into your sheep-pen. It's actually somewhat challenging too, difficult enough at times me for me to fail missions multiple times.

What we have here is a really great Tower Defense game wrapped up in a tiny price tag. It's extremely rare for a £1.59 game to not be pants. I even got a minor chuckle out of the sheep noises when they get picked up. I'm actually recommending it.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
4 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
9 comments

Guppy Sep 18, 2017
I think the developer is a GoL user? atleast I seem to recall something that looked very much like an earlier prototype of the above beeing posted on the forum some time ago
Kohrias Sep 18, 2017
It's a lot of fun but gets challenging after a while - or that's just me not being good at it ;)
MayeulC Sep 18, 2017
"TheSHEEP Likes this article" -- :P

This game looks entertaining, I like the fact that they have to carry the sheep out.

Is there a way to bring the sheep back? (Like dispatching a vehicle to do so, which might get harmed by the incoming troops).
Liam Dawe Sep 18, 2017
Quoting: MayeulCIs there a way to bring the sheep back? (Like dispatching a vehicle to do so, which might get harmed by the incoming troops).
Nope, they make their own way back, slowly. As mentioned, they can be picked up again on their way back.
dweezil-n0xad Sep 18, 2017
Quoting: GuppyI think the developer is a GoL user? atleast I seem to recall something that looked very much like an earlier prototype of the above beeing posted on the forum some time ago
Yes, the developer replied to me in the what-have-you-been-playing topic. Meanwhile I have finished the campaign and extended campaign in Operation Sheep Defense, it's a very good TD game.
Philadelphus Sep 18, 2017
QuoteInstead of enemies simply getting from A to B and harming you if they reach B, they have to pick up the sheep and take them to their exit point.
QuoteLevels don't always have a fully pre-defined path for enemies.
QuoteWhat makes it more amusing, is that your sheep will actually attempt to walk back to their original place, if you manage to destroy the unit that captured them. This gives you a chance to protect them, but it also gives the enemy another chance to recapture them away from your main area. A simple, yet very clever idea for such a game.
Those three things are also core features of the excellent tower defense games Defense Grid & Defense Grid 2, only you're protecting your energy cores from aliens. I wonder if they provided inspiration for this game? If you like it you might enjoy them, though only the second one is on Linux.
TheSHEEEP Sep 19, 2017
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: MayeulC"TheSHEEP Likes this article" -- :P
Oi, you have to at least spell it right! :P
spdr870 Sep 19, 2017
Thanks for the review! I am glad you like it.
I just pushed an update to fix the spelling issues.

Quoting: dweezil-n0xadMeanwhile I have finished the campaign and extended campaign in Operation Sheep Defense
Kudos for finishing both campaigns!
no_information_here Sep 21, 2017
Quoting: spdr870Thanks for the review! I am glad you like it.
Thanks for bringing your game to linux. I played it for a while and found that the difficulty curve jumps very quickly upward, with very little sense of how to overcome the challenge. The first few levels are fine, but I hit a wall after a while.

I think I am a reasonably experienced tower defence gamer (completed: defence grid 2, kingdom rush, OTTTD, dungeon warfare, defender's quest) but your game started to kick my ass at level 6. Maybe that is your intention, but it makes me want to stop playing instead of feeling like I am getting better...

Just a little feedback :-)
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.