Thronefall

While there are a whole slate of excellent tower defence games - be it Plants vs. Zombies, Defense Grid, Dungeon Defenders, Orcs Must Die!, Iron Brigade, and so forth - I personally and strongly believe the greatest tower defence series out there is Bloons TD. It's straightforward, effortlessly entertaining, widely available, and hugely thrilling to watch thousands and thousands of balloons being popped by an army of defences. It's a winning formula in so many respects, but it now has a very strong competitor.

Over the past week, I've spent a bunch of time playing GrizzlyGames' Thronefall and boy am I impressed. The idea of this game is very similar to Bloons, in that it's minimalist, straightforward, and has a very core and clear set of objectives. You hop into one of several biomes, build a castle in a very specific and often difficult to defend location, and then hold off wave-after-wave of attacking enemy either by physically chopping them down as a playable character or by utilising a slate of defensive structures to slow the assault and deal with the immense odds.

It's a game that is all about strategy but barely about economics. The financial element of the game, which can often be one of the most complex parts of a tower defence title, is as limited as simply earning gold coins from certain buildings and from defeated enemies and then using these coins between waves to build new structures or upgrade their potential. We're not talking about crazy finances and numbers here either, as a construction or an upgrade might cost four coins in the earlier stages, and then advance as high as into double-digits. The point is, Thronefall is by design a very simplistic formula, but it's by no means an easy game.

The concept of making all the additional fluff streamlined and basic means that all of the challenge of this game comes in its strategic elements. Do you construct a second archer tower and build a wall blocking a chokepoint or do you upgrade your mill to increase gold gain? Do you build a barracks hosting spearmen or an archery range with crossbowmen? Do you spend coins improving your castle to unlock further upgrades and make it harder to destroy, or do you improve your defences instead? These are questions you have to ask on a wave-by-wave basis and while they may seem straightforward, when you're staring down a wave where hundreds of enemies barrel toward you from four different directions, the strategic complexity can become a little more overwhelming.

The beauty of Thronefall is also how it's quite hands off. Once you build a defensive structure, it will act without any need of the player's involvement, and the same goes for the computer-controlled ally soldiers you can recruit. They can be ordered around and set to defend specific areas or to move to the player's position, but when it comes to battling enemies, they will act of their own accord. This means you can devote all of your time to filling in where needed as the main controllable hero that can attack and more quickly manoeuvre thanks to its mounted design. And GrizzlyGames gives you plenty of ways to customise this to your own needs, as you can unlock new weapon types and tools by completing levels and reaching new biomes.

And that's about all there is to know about Thronefall. You have these few moving parts and you have to put them to good use in your own creative manner to defend your castle for a specific number of waves to 'beat' the level. Sure, there are some additional elements baked in, be it endless levels and challenge modes, or even modifiers that make the experience harder and over 50 perks that can be set before a mission and that are earned by levelling up, with experience attributed to how well you perform in each level. But these are minor additional features that enhance the experience and make it either easier or harder, depending on what you're searching for on the day.

Thronefall is also a fantastic game for those looking for a quick fix. Waves might last for a few minutes and there may be around 15 waves per level to overcome. But, you can save, quit, and then return to each level after every round, making it ideal for those looking for a game to chip away at for 15 minutes here and there, in the same way that Bloons has always thrived in this manner.

I will say that sometimes the ramp up in difficulty can feel almost merciless and cruel, with some waves being a breeze and then the next making you hope and pray for divine intervention. Also, while the presentation and the art direction is beautiful, vibrant, and memorable, there is room for improvement in regard to some of the more intricate elements. A proper explanation of which unit is which and what category (human, siege weapon, monster, etc.) it fits into would be immensely helpful, especially on the Nintendo Switch where the distant perspective can make it a challenge to determine the exact nature of what enemy is coming at you on a smaller display. Thronefall is clearly geared for larger screens, be it a docked Switch or a PC, as when in handheld mode on Nintendo's device, it can be a nightmare to keep tabs on everything that is happening to these minute sprite-like characters.

But frankly these are minor frustrations in the overall whole. Thronefall is a truly lovely and delightful indie that excels by offering a streamlined, intuitive, and thrilling tower defence formula. The various challenges and gameplay modifiers mean that there is tons of content to unpack and enjoy and the art direction and strategic range ensure that Thronefall never disappoints. For a game that you can pick up on Steam or on the eShop for just over £10, this is pretty much a must-play.