Tideborne Command

Tideborne Command is a thinker. You command a small fleet across a chain of islands, juggling fuel, repairs and the morale of your crews while storms rearrange your plans. There's no twitch element here — it's all about reading the map and committing to a plan several turns out.

The clever part is how the game punishes greed. Push too far from your supply bases and a single lost engagement can snowball into a campaign-ending crisis. Learning to retreat and consolidate was the moment it clicked for me, and that lesson stuck.

The interface took some adjusting — there's a lot of information packed onto a phone screen — but once I learned where everything lived, it felt natural. This one rewards patience and a notebook.

What we liked

• Deep supply and logistics layer
• Weather that genuinely changes your plans
• Every decision carries weight