Ember of Varn

Ember of Varn is the rare mobile RPG that does not drown you in menus. You wander a small kingdom, talk to odd villagers, and slowly build a party of four. The turn-based combat is quick, and battles can be skipped if you are overleveled, which is a mercy on a phone.

The writing carries it. Side quests have actual little stories, and a few of them made us pause the commute to see how they ended. The art style, all warm ink lines, holds up well on a small screen.

What we liked

• Snappy turn-based battles
• Genuinely written side quests
• No forced grind