Real-time strategy (RTS) games often involve developing and managing a town while fending off enemy attacks, which can be quite the time-consuming endeavor. Titles like Civilization, Total War, Stronghold, and Warcraft can easily monopolize weeks of your time. However, Thronefall is intelligently crafted to provide a quick rush of satisfaction from successful tactical choices while minimizing the time commitment typically needed for traditional RTS games, resulting in a challenge that feels both rewarding and manageable.
In Thronefall, you’ll step into the role of a king tasked with creating a flourishing kingdom as you unlock various regions. You begin with a central castle that can be upgraded by using your treasury’s gold for extra benefits. Each day presents strategic choices for your funds. Will you prioritize constructing barracks for different warrior types? Should you fortify your burgeoning land with walls? Or is it better to invest in homes and agricultural plots to boost your income apart from defeating nightly enemy waves? Perhaps constructing defensive towers with archers is a wise investment. As night descends, your monarch leads available units from the barracks into battle to fend off attackers and protect your castle from destruction.
The premise of Thronefall, while uncomplicated, provides a captivating challenge rather than dull simplicity. It encourages efficient planning and strategic dominance over your foes. For instance, after establishing your new kingdom, your initial focus might be acquiring homes for income generation. Surviving the first night against enemies could lead you to invest in defensive towers armed with archers and a protective wall. With each victory, you can enhance your fields, reinforcing them to explode upon enemy contact or upgrade your towers for improved range or fire rate. Each choice is straightforward yet impactful, and you have all the information necessary to guide your strategic decisions.
This elegant simplicity extends to enemy encounters. Before night falls, you can view enemy spawn points on the map, complete with icons indicating whether they are melee warriors, ranged assault units, or flying attackers. Such information allows you to optimize your defenses—for example, reinforcing the wall facing the direction of an impending attack. Decisions about upgrading barracks or towers can also be informed by the revealed enemy waves.
Engaging in combat is equally thrilling within Thronefall, blending strategic gameplay with action-oriented mechanics. You can command units produced by barracks on the battlefield with just a button press. An upgrade path even allows units to attack while following your monarch. Your royal character possesses a dash ability when at full health, continually deals passive damage, and can unleash powerful attacks that recharge over time. Dying isn’t a setback; you’ll respawn shortly after failure.
Everything unfolds seamlessly with minimal distractions. The visual presentation in Thronefall is remarkable, ensuring clarity in identifying allies, foes, buildings, and user interface elements during intense gameplay. The color palette is striking, building designs are instantly recognizable, and upgrades are clearly marked. It’s delightful to see unit specialty icons when selecting them and monitor enemy types anticipated for the forthcoming night phase. Such thoughtful details enhance the overall experience!
Although Thronefall delivers a significant gaming experience, I found myself wishing for additional levels, as the existing content is so engaging. Completing areas rewards players with new weapons, perks, and mutators that provide influence over future gameplay sessions, each weapon boasting unique active and passive skills that can shift your strategy. The limitations on perks encourage careful planning, while mutators can introduce unexpected challenges, amplifying enjoyment.
However, I can’t dismiss the allure of the endless mode, where gameplay essentially turns roguelike. Here, you select your gear for each round, determining the setting, weapon, and two perks. While perks remain constant, your weapon selection changes with each encounter. The unpredictability of this mode captivates, pushing players to endure against increasing difficulties, allowing for varied and engaging gameplay.
In summary, Thronefall stands as an exceptional RTS from Grizzly Games, skillfully borrowing mechanics from past strategy and tower defense genres and presenting them in a sleek, minimalist format. The choices you must make are straightforward and meaningful. The upgrade systems are intuitive, and the missions are manageable in size. While I wished for more content, the replayability on higher difficulties offers a lasting challenge and enjoyment.
Thronefall can be found on the Nintendo Switch and PC.
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