Ironcast (2015)

Even though Ironcast doesn’t have much of a story – it exists mainly to give you more chances to play the puzzle part and present you with different challenges – it has more than enough replay value to keep even casual players coming back again and again. The allure of slowly building up your might to go against the strongest villains meets an engrossing gameplay that’s accessible to everyone. If you factor in the Switch’s hybrid nature, Ironcast suddenly becomes the game you never knew you needed.

Ironcast will attract players who are into carefully selecting their elements before stepping into combat. Thanks to its interesting and well implemented mechanics, this is a game that can easily turn into an addictive experience. It should also be noted that Ironcast could use more variety and that its random components can have a disproportionate weight on the game's difficulty.

That all leads to a particularly positive impression for Ironcast, which easily becomes one of the strongest showings on the Nintendo eShop that I have played in the six months since Nintendo Switch launched. As engrossingly deep as it is engaging, I can only hope that you join us in our fight to defend Victorian England. We need you, commander.

The Switch eShop is attracting a fair few match up puzzlers of late, but Ironcast should be the first one to be considered. It might be a port, but you would be forgiven for thinking this was designed from the ground up for the Switch.

Ironcast rewards those who aren't easily frustrated by loss. The constant losing can be discouraging, but the incremental progress made through each defeat means the game eventually gets easier and more satisfying. It also helps that the only mode happens to be long enough to sustain many losses, so it'll be quite some time before players reach the end. For puzzle fans who crave difficulty, Ironcast is worth checking out.