The "official" Pocket Gamer Kingdom Rush ranking - The entire series, ranked
The Kingdom started to rush in 2011 and is still rushing to plant its banner on mobile, so let's see which one should take the top spot!
- This year is the 15th Anniversary of the Kingdom Rush series!
- With over 7 entries, Kingdom Rush has become a household mobile name
- Ironhide has created a truly wonderful IP, and we're looking at its lineage
Ironhide has come a long way from releasing flash games on the internet to making what is possibly the most recognised tower-defence series in the world: Kingdom Rush.
That really tells you what you're in for, doesn't it? There's a kingdom, and they're rushing. Or rather, you're the kingdom being rushed. Either way, you'll eventually get to experience both ways if you play through the rest of the series.
Kingdom Rush ranking
It's 15 years later, and the kingdom still has more rushing. With all the stories in the Kingdom Rush saga, some have shone brighter than others, but they all deserve their time in the spotlight.The exception: Legends of Kingdom Rush
After all the expansions in the Kingdom Rush universe, Ironhide tried to experiment with a different genre with Legends of Kingdom Rush. This time around, the forces of Lineria are coming out of their towers and taking more of an on-hands (or perhaps, on-foot) approach.
With a custom squad of heroes and soldiers, you'll lead your army from battle to battle to engage in good old turn-based strategy. The series's trademark atmosphere and style remain, with a different kind of challenge and mechanics to master.
Still, it's not tower defence, and it is only available through Apple Arcade, which limits its reach and accessibility.
In any case, not all kingdoms are created equal, and neither are the forces rushing at you (or the quality of your very own rushes). And since this year is the 15th Anniversary of the franchise, shouldn't it be fitting to pay tribute to them all? So let's get to the heart of the matter and rank all the entries in the series!
1
Kingdom Rush Battles
Even though it's the latest release in the series, Kingdom Rush Battles lags behind its much more established siblings. After standing on the various sides of the continuing conflict, this time you're encouraged to stand on your own side. This is a foray into the PvP genre, where two kingdoms will rush each other separately.
Whoever builds the best defences while sabotaging the others will continue to stand proud. Although the visual style and mechanics are still there, it doesn't have the same casual, quick flow as the previous games. There's still some fun to be had, but less so when the tower defence becomes more about competition than about the actual defending.
2
Kingdom Rush: Frontiers
Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, the unnumbered sequel to the original, followed the Kingdom of Lineria as its forces sailed across the sea to reach new lands. However, upon arrival, they were forced to fight against the growing power of an evil sorcerer looking to unleash an ancient entity. It saw some returning towers and heroes along with a few new ones. While the sequel definitely had similar charm and quality to the first, it dropped points in depth and challenge. It felt like a much shorter game with fewer milestones that gave a satisfying sense of progression.
In terms of challenge, levels ranged from being easy to way too hard, with enemies that were fast, impossible to hit, or way too beefy, and this isn't even mentioning one of the hardest and most frustrating boss battles of all time.
3
Kingdom Rush
The first, the core, the OG…the Kingdom Rush that started it all. From browser to mobile, this game redefined the genre with a humorous, stylised presentation while offering a simplified yet still challenging experience.
The more you played, the more you realised that the towers aren't just structures - they're the characters. Even with the introduction of heroes, it's the towers that carry you to victory, have a voice, and are fairly diverse in more than just what they fire. You go through a range of classic themes, like grasslands, mountains, and the evil villain's evil lands. It doesn't take long to master it, and soon you'll be blasting through the levels and steamrolling over the biggest foes with ease, but it stays enjoyable.
4
Kingdom Rush Origins
Following Frontiers, Kingdom Rush did the traditional sequel thing by releasing a prequel called Kingdom Rush Origins. This entry sees us taking sides in the wood elf versus dark elf conflict as the latter attempts a hostile takeover with dark power… and spiders.
This was the first entry that saw a significant shift from Lineria's human and dwarf towers to focus almost entirely on elves and other forest creatures. It transformed both the basic and advanced towers to a point where you see how different they were from their previous forms. With a greater focus on archery and nature, a whole new way to play emerged, featuring cool environments, enemies, and a tense final battle. Unfortunately, with the elvish focus, the towers can lack variety while certain levels unexpectedly spike in difficulty.
5
Kingdom Rush Vengeance
Vez'nan, the villain from the original game, never really got a lot of development despite his consistent presence, at least not until Kingdom Rush Vengeance. As you'd expect from the name, Vez'nan escaped punishment for his crimes but suffered a significant loss of power and influence.
From that point on, he vows vengeance, and you're the guiding hand in its deliverance. As the Dark Army, you gain control over orcs, goblins, demons, assassins, dark elves, and more as you march across the lands to take out the biggest threats to your power. Although the visuals look a bit too clean considering you're playing as the baddies, the new towers and heroes with new powers still make for an amazing show. The boss fights are some of the best in the series, with a tremendous sense of buildup from the moment you enter Lineria to your face-to-face with Vez'nan's old friend, the King.
6
Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance
Before Battles, there was an ambitious choice to release a sequel that tried to combine everything you'd experienced before. Following Vengeance, Vez'nan discovered a much greater threat and was forced to forge an alliance with Lineria to defeat it, hence Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance.
With the new tower-equip mechanic refined, we can choose the five towers we want to take in battle from among the Linerian and Dark Army structures. On top of that, you get heroes from both sides, too, for the first time, getting the option to deploy two heroes to the field.
The visuals are diverse, colourful, and have regained some of their roughness. With the whole otherworld alternate dimension threat, the environments are more dynamic, weird, alien, and interesting. This spills over into the enemy and boss roster that makes for the best entry to date, which is why it tops our Kingdom Rush ranking - and it's a well-deserved win, at that!
