Kingdom Rush Vengeance

Kingdom Rush Vengeance from 2018 flipped the entire series' perspective on its head – instead of defending the kingdom, the player now commands the army of the villain Vez'nan, who is trying to reclaim territory that the heroes took from him in previous installments. Ironhide Game Studio thus gave the fourth game a new angle on the same principle, where you're still placing units along the enemy's path, except now you are the dark force you used to fight against.

Gameplay-wise, the game expands the tower defense mechanics with unit-control elements and dark magic, adding another layer of strategy compared to purely defensive tower placement. Touch controls remain as straightforward as in previous installments, just with a new roster of towers and abilities matching the villainous theme. The series' visual style and humor remain unmistakable, just with a darker tone matching the main character and his gloomier motivations.

Vengeance showed that even after several installments, Ironhide could find a way to refresh the established formula without fundamentally rewriting the rules, keeping the series fresh even years after the first title. The reversed perspective also made sense for the series' entire story arc, since the player finally sees the world of Kingdom Rush through the eyes of the side against which they had always built their defenses.

Why play it: For series fans who will appreciate playing as the villain and a new angle on the established mechanics, rather than as a first entry point into the series.