Thronefall

Verdict

Thronefall is what happens when three designers ask how little a strategy game needs. The answer is: a map, a day-night cycle, a king you ride around to spend coins on buildings, and a night where you fight alongside what you built. There are no menus to speak of. You learn it in a minute and finish the levels in an evening or two, and almost every one of them is a small, perfect puzzle about which upgrade to afford first.

The nine weapons and fifty-odd perks you unlock, and the mutators that let you make any level nastier for extra reward, give it a second life for completionists. It will not last you a month. It will be one of the best eight hours of strategy you play this year, and at £10.99 that is a fine trade.

Towers 15 of 20

Walls, towers, barracks, mills and a few specials per map, each with a branching upgrade; plus your own king's weapon and perks. Minimal by design, and it mostly works, but map-to-map variety in the buildings is thin.

Lanes 18 of 20

Ten hand-built maps that are the best thing in the game: rivers that funnel enemies, cliffs that hide a second approach, a volcano that reshapes mid-run. Each is a single screen you learn by heart.

Waves 17 of 20

Waves are announced with the exact enemies on the way, so every night is a planning problem rather than a surprise. Escalation across a map is well judged, and mutators let you push it as far as you want.

Economy 19 of 20

Gold from mills and houses, spent by literally riding your king to a building and holding a button. The purest economy on this list, with real tension over what to afford before dusk. Nothing to buy for real money.

Longevity 14 of 20

A short game by design. Mutators, perfect-run challenges and leaderboards stretch it; a first paid expansion, Craaghelm, is due in November 2026 from the new UK publisher. Good value, not a long one.

In pictures

Report written against the Steam build current on 31 October 2026; prices read the same day.