Iron Dominion

Iron Dominion asks you to think, and I respect it for that. It's a turn-based strategy set across gridded battlefields where terrain, line of sight, and unit types all pull weight. Rush in carelessly and you'll lose your best soldiers to an ambush you should have seen coming.

The campaign builds difficulty at a fair pace, teaching mechanics through actual battles rather than walls of text. There's a skirmish mode too, which I leaned on when I wanted a fight without the story commitment. Matches are long enough to feel meaningful but short enough to finish in one sitting.

It's not the prettiest game on this list, but the depth more than makes up for it. Strategy fans will find a lot to chew on here.

What we liked

• Meaningful tactical decisions each turn
• Fair difficulty curve
• Solid skirmish mode for quick matches