Kingdom Rush Frontiers

Kingdom Rush Frontiers is the tower defense sequel from Ironhide Game Studio. Players build defense towers on limited build sites along fixed enemy paths and hold off successive attack waves. Where the fixed structures fall short, mobile heroes, reinforcements and activatable abilities help.

Frontiers takes the gameplay of Kingdom Rush into new areas. Deserts, jungles and the underworld change the enemy mix and call for different combinations of towers, heroes and upgrade paths. The focus is on planned single-player strategy, not an open world or freely commanded real-time army.

Kingdom Rush Frontiers launched on June 6, 2013 on iOS. Ironhide confirmed the release the following day. The Android version followed on Sept 26, 2013. The PC port came out on Steam on July 25, 2016. At launch, it initially included only the main campaign content, with more levels and heroes due as free updates.

For Nintendo Switch, Nintendo gives Feb 27, 2020. The Xbox version was released on Mar 29, 2023, according to Microsoft Store, and is offered for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. These later releases are not new main entries. The original 2013 release date and the platform launches must be considered separately.

Frontiers is available for PC, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Xbox. Steam lists Windows, macOS and Linux. These three desktop operating systems belong to the PC version. The mobile origins explain the touch controls, while the Switch and Xbox editions support other input devices.

Nintendo confirms touchscreen and Pro Controller support for the Switch version. According to Nintendo's compatibility information, the Switch edition also runs on Switch 2, without becoming a standalone native Switch 2 release. The Xbox store lists Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, as well as Xbox Play Anywhere. Store and platform data alone do not prove full parity in heroes, extra purchases or save transfer between all systems.

Each map has fixed paths along which enemies reach the goal. Towers can be built and upgraded on marked spaces. The choice of location and upgrade direction must suit the enemy: melee units can hold chokepoints, while ranged and magic attacks hit other targets. The available resources are not enough to upgrade every solution at once.

Reinforcements and meteor strikes also allow direct intervention. They can close gaps in your defense or stop individual waves. Frontiers does require using these abilities well and gradually adjusting your fixed defense. An in-game encyclopedia helps you look up the strengths and weaknesses of enemies and towers.

At the PC launch in July 2016, Frontiers initially included the main campaign. Ironhide announced that more levels and heroes would follow as free updates. The studio explicitly describes the later Switch version as the edition with all heroes and towers.

The iOS version, by contrast, offers optional in-app purchases. Whether a hero or extra content is directly available therefore depends on the version. Later series entries such as Kingdom Rush Origins are standalone games and not DLC for Frontiers.

Steam lists for Windows a dual-core processor, OpenGL 3.0 graphics with at least 512 MB of video memory and 1.5 GB of free storage. A graphics unit with 1 GB of video memory is recommended. The Steam page also lists separate minimum requirements for macOS and Linux, including a 64-bit processor for Linux.

The historical Windows list still includes Windows XP. This does not mean today's Steam software runs on that system. The Steam client has only supported Windows 10 or newer since January 2024. For the PC edition, you should therefore distinguish between the game's original requirements and the store's current requirements.

Ironhide lists eight specialized tower upgrades and more than 18 special abilities. Advanced variants include crossbow forts, templar knights, necromancers and earthquake machines. They have different functions in combat and are therefore more than mere cosmetic improvements. Other upgrades offer support or assassin abilities, for example.

Which specialization makes sense depends on enemy paths, enemy types and other structures already built. Upgrading a tower uses resources that may be missing elsewhere. The interplay of several specializations is one of the lasting strategic features of Frontiers.

Heroes support the fixed towers as mobile units with individual combat traits and abilities. Ironhide lists 16 heroes in total for Frontiers, suited to different playstyles. They can stop enemies at critical points or reinforce a temporarily weak defense.

However, the selection is not automatically unlocked identically in every version. Ironhide describes the Switch edition explicitly as a version with all heroes and towers. The iOS product page, by contrast, lists optional in-app purchases. That is why you should distinguish between the game's full hero lineup and what a specific store version actually includes.

Besides the regular campaign, the official game descriptions list the modes Classic, Heroic and Iron, plus three difficulty levels. This lets you replay familiar maps with higher demands. Progress depends mainly on whether tower placement and abilities work well with the enemy waves.

Steam lists single player, achievements and cloud saves as features. A co-op mode or competitive multiplayer is not listed in the official product features. Frontiers therefore remains a strategy game, with replay value coming from alternative defense approaches and tougher challenges.

Frontiers takes you through deserts, jungles and underworld areas. The routes differ in enemy groups, fixed paths and special boss battles. Ironhide mentions sandworms, shamans and creatures from underground regions, among others. On selected maps, special units join the fight.

The different enemy traits call for tailored combinations of towers and heroes. The official stores sometimes list different total enemy counts, so no supposedly exact figure that applies across all versions is given here.

The Switch edition supports, according to Nintendo, German, English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Korean and Chinese, among others. Steam also lists German interface text. However, check the exact language options on each platform store.

For Switch, Nintendo lists handheld, tabletop and TV modes, plus touchscreen and Pro Controller. Steam offers achievements and cloud saves, while Microsoft lists Xbox achievements, cloud saves and Xbox Play Anywhere. The iOS version can be played offline according to the App Store description. A blanket cross-platform sync cannot be inferred from this.