Ironvale Chronicles

Ironvale Chronicles is the kind of RPG you fire up for ten minutes and look up two hours later. Combat is turn-based with a clever stagger system — break an enemy's guard and your whole party piles on. Learning which skills chain together is half the fun.

The writing carries it. Your party members bicker, change their minds, and occasionally refuse orders if you push them too far. I ended up caring about a surly archer I nearly benched in the first chapter.

It's generous with save points and respects phone play sessions, which not every RPG bothers to do.

What we liked

• Satisfying stagger-based combat
• Characters with real personality
• Mobile-friendly save design