Editors’ Choice celebrates the very best apps and games—handpicked by App Store Editors around the world.

Thronefall delivers one of gaming’s great juggling acts. By day, you’re a brilliant builder—fortifying your kingdom’s defenses against an imminent assault. By night, you’re an epic warrior—commanding troops and fighting invaders. Turns out, tactical strategy and empowering action make for a thrilling combo.

We knew we loved it when: We experienced our first huge battle. In each level, you build a fortress from scratch, repelling enemy waves leading up to a final assault. Facing that climatic confrontation as a rookie, we wondered if our towers, troops, and the mighty general we controlled could defeat the fearsome ogres and intimidating catapults approaching from all sides. (Spoiler: We won!)

Biggest surprise: The astonishing depth. Placing resource-generating mines, houses, and harbors fuels your war chest, which you can use to upgrade crucial defenses. Fields laced with explosives. Towers that fling fireballs or, in a twist, heal your own troops. The strategic options feel limitless.

Our favorite moment: Taking down the massive sea monster at the end of the fourth level (Frostsee). Experimentation is crucial in Thronefall—and it took a few failures to realize that maxing out walls and towers was useless against this beast. Once we shifted our strategy and upgraded our general with magic armor and deadlier attacks, we pulled off a decisive victory.