Minimalist strategy game Thronefall is now properly out after marinating in early access for over a year, and the response to the finished game is nearly flawless.
You might already recognize Thronefall for its distinct, high contrast, two-tone art style that swaps out color palettes with each level and helped it become a success during its early access tenure. Developer GrizzlyGames finally reached 1.0 on October 11, shooting the already great game to even greater heights.
Thronefall initially attracted attention for its gorgeous art and the way it mixed RTS strategy elements with tower defence, all "without the headache" that sometimes accompanies both subgenres. "With Thronefall we tried to strip a classic strategy game from all unnecessary complexity, combining it with some healthy hack and slay. Build up your base during the day, defend it til your last breath at night," the game's Steam page explains.
In case you've dip in then out of the game's slick world, Thronefall's 1.0 launch bought three different biomes along with it, including some misty marshlands, an autumnal fortress, and "a realm shrouded in darkness," as well as new equipment and quality-of-life features like the ability to cycle through color schemes on the go.
Thronefall's lightweight approach to tactical defence, and all the improvements it's seen since dropping, left it with an 'overwhelmingly positive' reception based on over 15,000 Steam user reviews.
"Each 'level' takes around 30 minutes," one player, Mugains, wrote in their review. "Plenty of modifiers to make things more difficult and plenty of unlocks to change the way to play. For the price you get as much variety as you might expect in terms of levels, but what is there is very well designed and lovingly crafted. Units, towers, and building upgrades are plentiful. There are challenges for you to complete in each zone too. Over all if you want a fun and challenging experience but one that isn't stressful or requires you to learn an entire rule book to get good at, this is a great pickup."
And if you'd like to jump in and protect the adorable little kingdoms, Thronefall has a nice introductory discount on Steam that slashes its price by 25% for the next six days.
Otherwise, check out some of the other best strategy games around.
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