Emberfall Saga

Emberfall Saga is a proper little role-playing game shrunk down for a touchscreen, and it's one of the best surprises we've had this year. You lead a party of four through a dying kingdom, fighting turn-based battles where positioning actually matters. Each character has a clear role, and the skill trees are small enough to understand but deep enough to let you build toward something.

What won us over is the pacing. Story beats arrive quickly, battles rarely overstay their welcome, and there's an autosave so you never lose a fight on a bumpy train ride. The writing is dry and funny in places, which we didn't expect from the gloomy art.

If you want a hundred-hour grind, this isn't it. Emberfall Saga is tight and a touch short, and we mean that as a compliment.

What we liked

• Turn-based combat with real positioning decisions
• Writing that's genuinely worth reading
• No stamina meters or energy timers