Iron Tide Command

Iron Tide Command asks you to hold a shoreline against waves of raiders using a handful of towers, units and a tight resource budget. Maps are small enough to read at a glance, which suits touch controls far better than sprawling RTS layouts.

I liked that each mission is a puzzle in disguise — you figure out the right mix of defenses, then execute under pressure. Losing usually teaches you something, and restarting is instant.

Because the campaign is stored locally, I played most of it on a train ride with no signal. There's a sandbox mode too, so once you finish the missions you can keep tinkering.

What we liked

• Readable maps built for touch
• Missions that reward smart planning
• Offline campaign plus a free sandbox