Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance, Ironhide Studios’ latest instalment in the epic saga, opens pre-registration

If you are a mobile player looking for a Tower Defense game to indulge your lust for epic battles, one of your first choices is, obviously, the Kingdom Rush series – Ironhide Studio’s masterclass of the genre. Well, it’s time to cheer as the newest instalment, Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance, has opened for pre-registration.

Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance slots in after the story of Vengeance, where you played the role of the series’ baddie, Vez’nan. After conquering the realm, the Dark Lord’s joy was short-lived, finding insurmountable evil in the heart of his new castle. Outmatched, our evil conqueror is now forcedto join his Dark Army with the valiant warriors of Linirea, to form the titular strained Alliance.

What does this mean for gameplay though, besides a pretty badass story setup? Well, it means you’ll be commanding the strangest set of bedfellows you’re ever likely to encounter as goodies and baddies join together to take on their new foe. During battles you can now control two heroes simultaneously (good or bad), which opens up a huge realm of new tactical possibilities, with never-before seen combinations of heroes and towers. You can take your pick of twelve unique and powerful options, from either side of the moral spectrum.

There are 12 epic heroes available to command in Alliance (all of which are new to the Kingdom Rush franchise), including Vesper, a commander of the Linirean forces who earned his laurels after Lineria fell by mustering as many troops as he could find to crusade for King Denas, and return him back to his throne. He is a battle-hardened hero with multiple well-honed skills. Wielding a bow, he can fire arrows to stun enemies, or ricochet for more damage. Or, use his sword to simply chop through your foes.

Even two heroes can’t defeat this threat alone, so you will need backup from Kingdom Rush’s legendary towers. You will be able to reclaim some of the classics such as the ever-faithful Archers, or embrace the new in the form of the Dwarven Flamespitter, or the fantastic-sounding Eldritch Channelers, resulting in a massive 15 options.

You can use both Dark and the Light towers to create new morally grey defense/battle strategies. Demon Pits spawn aggressive Imps to harass foes, with most of their damage coming through the master exploder skill, where they blow up and apply burning. Unfortunately, any remaining foe then marches on, so why not back up these hellspawn with a, probably deeply conflicted, Paladin Covenant? These heal themselves in battle and can employ a Veteran to confer extra armour, providing a bulwark to halt the advance as your Imps continue to go pop.

You will advance your army across 16 stages, set to the backdrop of three different kinds of terrain, from deep forests to dangerous caverns, and populated by over 32 different deadly enemies, all rendered in Kingdom Rush’s iconically endearing art style, as well as hiding a host of easter eggs and the humour that has made the series so beloved. To keep you coming back to fun, there are three different game modes to play with each stage, with different settings and conditions to conquer.

If you are still on the fence about pre-registering for Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance, allow us to shove you off it by mentioning Ironhide’s pre-registration reward. iOS and Android players will be able to claim a Special Pack of boosts, including one Handful, two Call of Blackburns, and four Cluster Bombs… because what does a fragile alliance need more than some gratuitous explosions?