Cloudy review Thronefall
Our verdict · Great
A brilliant game to try on Game Pass, even if this is not usually your genre.
Pros
- Works really well on Xbox and the controller
- Multiple challenges that bring you back to levels, without doing them all in one go
- Looks simple, but the modifiers open up a lot of strategies
- A brilliant Game Pass pick, even if this is not usually your genre.
Cons
- The wrong mix of modifiers can make a level close to impossible.
On Xbox: Brilliant on Game Pass, great on a controller
See the game hub ThronefallThronefall looks easy at first. You build your kingdom by day, defend it by night, and fight on the field yourself as the King. If the castle centre falls, it is over. Made by Grizzly Games, and now owned and published by Mythwright, it arrived on 11 November 2026, and it is on Game Pass from day one. Its first expansion, Craaghelm, launches the same day.
It lulls you in. It looks simple, but it is more difficult than it looks, and because of the modifiers it offers a lot of strategies. It works really well on Xbox and the controller, and it is a game you can lose yourself in for hours.
Who it’s for
This is for players who like a strategy game they can settle into and return to, not just clear once and put aside. If you enjoy coming back to the same maps with a different setup, and you are happy playing on a controller, it is a very good fit. I would not limit it to people who already like this sort of game, though. If strategy is a genre you usually skip, this is still one I would point you towards.
If you only want a short campaign with nothing to chase afterwards, you may get less out of it than I did.
What works
That gap between how it looks and how it plays is the first thing it does well. The loop is easy to grasp, and that lulls you in, until a later night or a different mix of modifiers shows you that it is more difficult than it looks. You learn the basics quickly, then the maps and the modifiers start asking more of you.
In the day you spend gold on income or on defences: houses, mills and gold mines to keep the money coming, or walls, towers and troops to make sure those buildings survive the night. You can usually see what is on the way and from which direction, and you start the night when you are ready. Early on you might lean on the economy and a few towers. As a map goes on, the waves get harder and start arriving from more than one direction, and you have to judge when to stop feeding the economy and put everything into holding the line. Later maps also bring in specialist buildings such as shrines, temples and summoning circles, which give you more to think about than the early houses and walls.
You fight on the field yourself as the King, not just from a distance, and that is one reason it works really well on Xbox and the controller. You are out on the road with your troops, moving between fights, while still having to think about the kingdom behind you.
What I love is that there are multiple challenges, and you have to come back and do the levels again. You do not have to complete all of the challenges in one go. Each map has a list of quests, such as winning with or without certain conditions, or hitting a high score. You can clear a map, come back later with a different setup, and tick off another one. That structure is a big part of why I kept returning to it.
Before a run, on a loadout screen such as Nordfels, you choose a weapon, up to five perks and any mutators you want to take in. There are nine unlockable weapons in all. On Nordfels I had the Bow & Dagger equipped: a fast ranged attack that is strong against most units but less useful against siege engines, with a dagger strike that hits harder and comes back quicker as the target’s health drops. Other weapons, once you unlock them, change the way you approach a fight, rather than just giving you a different look.
The perks work in a similar way. You can take up to five at a time, from a list of more than fifty, and they are not only small stat boosts. Some change how you play, leaning you towards fighting as the King yourself or towards directing your troops instead. Then there are the mutators, which are the modifiers that open up so many strategies. They alter the rules of a run, so you come back with a different toolset and a different problem to solve.
There are ten maps, from mountainous Nordfels to vibrant Wildbach, and as you play you unlock more weapons, perks and mutators. There are also crowns for finishing maps in set ways, and an endless mode if you want to keep going after the main challenges.
There are boss battles as well. They start appearing as you move through the maps, and they are a clear step up from the regular waves. A night that felt under control can suddenly ask a lot more of you when a boss arrives.
Between the challenges, the modifiers and those bosses, it is a game you can lose yourself in for hours.
Why it’s a brilliant Game Pass pick
This is a brilliant game for Game Pass. It is the sort of game you should try even if it is a genre you would not normally play. Strategy, or this mix of building and defending, might not be what you usually go for, but the barrier here is low. It looks simple, the loop is easy to grasp, and it works really well on a controller, so you are not fighting the game before you have even started.
The way the challenges are set up helps as well. You do not have to do everything in one go. You can play a map, come back later with a different weapon or a different set of modifiers, and still make progress. That makes it easy to dip in and out, and just as easy to lose hours once it has you. Because it is on Game Pass, there is very little stopping you from giving it a chance.
What doesn’t work
The modifiers are a big part of why there are so many strategies, but they can also catch you out. Take the wrong combination into a level and it can become close to impossible, so you need to think carefully about the mix you go in with.
Verdict
Thronefall looks simple, but that first impression does not last long. The challenges give you a reason to come back without asking you to do everything at once, the modifiers open up a lot of strategies, and it works really well on Xbox and the controller. You can lose hours in it, and it is a brilliant game to try on Game Pass, even if this is not usually your genre.
I’m giving it 9/10. Play it.
