Ironvale Siege

Ironvale Siege is the kind of tower defence I keep coming back to because it refuses to let you autopilot. Between waves you're not just plopping down turrets, you're deciding where your limited ore goes and which chokepoint is worth fortifying.

The maps are hand-designed and each one has a trick to it. One stage forced me to abandon a tower line I'd spent three waves building because the enemy path shifted. That sounds annoying, but it's the good kind of pressure.

Performance is solid even on older phones, and the pause-anytime planning mode means you can think without the clock bleeding you dry. It's a smart, satisfying strategy game that trusts you to learn.

What we liked

• Deep between-wave resource planning
• Maps with distinct puzzle identities
• Runs smoothly on modest hardware