Crownstone Survival has you rebuild the kingdom of Avalon in this retro city builder as it opens pre-registration

• Crownstone Survival has opened pre-registration on iOS and Android
• The heroic city builder RPG combines construction and defence in one package
• But it does have a few quibbles that might hold back an otherwise interesting release

While mobile is usually known for its smaller-scale takes on genres, the city builder is surprisingly comfortable here. And the latest to let you build your own metropolis is none other than Crownstone Survival, which you may remember from Catherine's Ahead of the Game, which has just opened pre-registration for iOS and Android!

Crownstone Survival puts you in the shoes of a successor to King Arthur, in a world where the legendary hero unleashed a mysterious curse which petrified most of humanity. You and your usual band of plucky heroes will need to venture out, solve the mystery of what happened and slowly build your own land of Avalon into a bastion against the forces of darkness.

I picture you there in Avalon

As Catherine put it, at its core, Crownstone Survival is a pretty standard example of the city builder genre, in the vein of something like Clash of Clans. You'll place buildings, gather resources, wait out timers and all that good stuff.

However, as she pointed out, there are some interesting elements here, specifically with your heroes who will be tasked with defending your city at the same time. That means flashy abilities and flying spells. Of course, all this is tempered by more than a few seemingly computer-generated assets cropping up.

I'm cautiously intrigued by Crownstone Survival. The city builder genre could use a very light take on it, but with some engrossing RPG/defence gameplay. That being said, I do agree with Catherine that some of the assets border on the generic, and it can take away from the experience.

Still, if you want to hone your strategic thinking, then after you've pre-registered for Crownstone Survival, you can also take a look at some of the other options out there on mobile. Take a look at our list of the best strategy games on Android for some of our choice picks!