Iron Frontier

Iron Frontier splits your day into building and your night into defending, and that rhythm is what kept me hooked. You lay out walls, towers and supply lines during calm hours, then watch it all hold or crumble when the raiders come. There's real planning involved, not just plopping down buildings. On touch controls it mostly works, though pinch-to-zoom during a hectic defense can get clumsy. The game lets you slow time or pause to give orders, which saved me more than once. Battery-wise it's average; the busy night waves are where your phone heats up. It's not the prettiest strategy game around, but the systems are solid and matches feel earned rather than random.

What we liked

• Clear day-and-night build-then-defend loop
• Pause-to-command option for tense moments
• Layouts reward genuine planning