Emberhollow Tactics

Emberhollow Tactics is the game I kept recommending to friends this month. It's a grid-based tactical RPG where you build a small party of misfits and fight your way across a fading kingdom. The whole campaign lives on your device, so long flights are no problem.

Combat rewards patience. Positioning, elevation and turn order all matter, and the difficulty ramps up just fast enough to keep you learning. Between battles you upgrade gear and pick dialogue that nudges the story in small ways.

It's not the flashiest game visually, but the writing carries it. A few of the mid-game maps drag, and I'd have liked a faster fast-forward button, but those are small complaints for something this generous offline.

What we liked

• Full campaign with no connection
• Deep but readable combat
• Characters worth caring about