When Upgrade Menus Get in the Way of the Game

A lot of otherwise solid strategy games trip over their own upgrade menus. Ironvale Legions is a game I really like, and yet its progression screen still takes a few taps too many to do anything simple.

The problem is that menus are where you spend your reward time. If cashing in a hard-won victory means digging through nested tabs, the reward feels like a chore. Good menus put the most common action one tap away.

When I review a strategy game now, I time how long it takes to spend earned currency after a match. Under a few taps and I barely notice; more than that and the friction starts to add up over dozens of sessions.

It's an unglamorous part of design, but it's where a lot of mobile games lose people. The battle can be brilliant, but if the space between battles is a slog, you stop coming back.