It's a solid game, and aside from the turrets sometimes switching targets before killing the first enemy, I can't really complain about how it plays. It does what it was intended to do.

But the way the game is designed bothers me a little bit, because like a tower defense game - where each level is a blank slate - you lose all the guns on your ship after each short "run" between planets.

The only permanent upgrade for your ship are the new tiles you build onto it, which are a platform for guns and other modules during your next run. So yes, while it's an upgrade that expands your capabilities, it doesn't feel like a meaningful upgrade or progression.

It doesn't make me want to keep playing and growing my ship into an optimized badass, because every level I have to start all over, hurrying to place turrets as threats arrive.

The challenge is that these turrets often have a limited ability to turn, so you're rushing around stacking clusters of firepower on different sides to stave off incoming attacks, rather than growing one cohesive arsenal. And while there's nothing wrong with that concept, it doesn't speak to me the way a normal tower defense game does.