Tower defence citybuilding has reached its peak with the adorable but deadly Thronefall

I don't know about you, but I've been immensely enjoying the seeming renaissance of tower defence citybuilding games recently. The grimdark horrors of Age Of Darkness: Final Stand might be a bit too hard as nails for my personal liking, but there's something about the act of building up my little settlements and defending them against ever-larger nightly hordes that just unlocks something in my brain that says, 'Yes, more of this, please'. It's the same feeling I got from the blocky delights of Diplomacy Is Not An Option and the deckbuilding, comic-book stylings of ORX, too, but now there's a new kid that's ridden into town who I think might be the king of the lot.

Thronefall is a more minimalist take on the citybuilder tower defender, but while its bright colours might look like the distant cousin of a Townscaper toybox (it is, after all, made by the same dev wot did the equally charming Islanders), this deadly little thing is absolutely genius. It's only just come out in early access today, but I've been having a great time with a pre-release build of it, and can feel it sinking its claws into me with every attempt at its final level.

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