The best of mobile gaming
It would take approximately 34,506,455 years to play through every single iPhone game on the App Store. Well, OK, we might have made that number up, but surely we can’t be too far off.
The App Store is crammed with gaming goodies to keep thumbs busy, but not all iPhone games are born equal – which is why we’ve done the difficult job of playing through as many games as humanly possible in order to tell you which are best. After many trials and tribulations, we arrived at the list you’re about to dive into: the 50 best games you can enjoy on your iPhone today.
New: Shadow Bug (US$3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
Cloaked in shadows, Shadow Bug is on a mission to save his forest from evil by doing what he does best – slicing things up. This action platformer lets you unleash your ninja skills and slash your way through enemies as you collect glowing orbs in each level for that perfect score.
You’ll have to think before you slash sometimes as your only way to get past certain dangers is to use your enemies as platforms – oh, the irony.
New: Zenge (US$0.99/£0.79/AU$1.49)
Zenge is a relaxing puzzler that will draw you in with its thought-provoking soundtrack and calming visuals.
Each puzzle simply requires you to move shapes around to form an image that tells the story of a lonely journeyman stuck between worlds. Getting to that solution, however, is a little trickier than it looks and requires careful planning and some brainpower to ensure you make the right moves.
Chameleon Run ($1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
Fast and colorful, Chameleon Run is an autorunner that is sure to sharpen your reflexes. You’ll need to think fast and tap the screen to swap colors and match that of the platform you’re about to jump on or else you’re dead.
Increasingly difficult levels further challenge you to pick up various collectibles and complete them with certain restrictions. Collect them all and you’ll unlock even more hidden trials – and we’re really digging the impressive visuals on offer with this one.
Cattch ($1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
Colorful and featuring plenty of inventive levels and challenges, Cattch is one of those great mobile platformers that are simply worth downloading.
As you travel through the world of Cubika, you’ll need to rescue any prisoners needing your help and be wary of traps and evildoers trying to stop you – you know, the standard stuff in fantasy games like this.
Levels change, transform, and are sure to keep you on your toes as you attempt to save the day, which really helps with longevity.
Pug’s Quest ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Pug’s Quest is a charming dungeon crawler puzzler that has you guiding a heroic little dawg all over a trap-filled castle to save his kidnapped friends.
Each room randomly generates to keep the action flowing and the puzzles puzzling, so you never know what dangers await you each time you start.
Press buttons, gather keys, and see how far you can go until you lose your last life and are forced to start over again…such is this dog’s life.
Love You To Bits ($3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
Love You To Bits tells the adorable story of a boy who goes out into the far reaches of space to find pieces of his beloved robot girlfriend after she gets blown to bits. Each planet you visit is a compact-sized that you must solve it in order to retrieve a missing part of your significant other.
Vertical Divide ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Vertical Divide is one to test your division skills . This smart puzzler has you dropping blue numbered tiles on a grid. When you drop a tile on top of another, it’ll get divided, and the result will clear the same number of pink tiles below. Any remainders in your calculations will result in even more pink tiles so plan your drops carefully.
Assassin’s Creed Identity ($4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Assassin’s Creed Identity lets you create your own assassin and play missions in sandbox-like worlds of past games. Each mission gives you objectives to complete and employs tried-and-true gameplay like blending into crowds, parkour action, and distractions to ensure you get your mark and make it out alive. Gorgeous visuals, smooth animations, and classic series staples are a joy to see and play on mobile.
The Walking Dead: Michonne ($4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
The Walking Dead: Michonne follows this mysterious and often taciturn character during her absence in the comic books between issues #126 and #139. This episodic game lets you make choices that can impact how Michonne and her newfound companions deal with obstacles, the undead, and the living. Just be sure to choose your friends carefully.
The Swords ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Your finger is your blade in The Swords, a stylistic action game that tells the tale of an old martial arts master and his long-forgotten styles of swordplay. This means you’ll be using your finger to swipe at your foes in different ways: trace Chinese calligraphy, slash down incoming blades, and discover new styles as you move through simple yet captivating puzzles.
Rayman Classic ($4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Take a trip back to 1995 with the limbless hero in Rayman Classic, a faithful mobile port of the original Atari Jaguar game. Mobile-friendly controls and some tweaks here and there mean you relive those glory days anywhere you want. Help Rayman save the Electoons and discover new powers – but be careful where you land.
Stellar Wanderer ($4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Explore the far reaches of space. exploiting its resources or dominating its colonies in Stellar Wanderer. Customize your ship and gameplay style to your liking, upgrading with materials you find along the way. Choose your profession – fighter, trader, tank, engineer – and defeat other space pirates to open up areas for you to mine and discover.
Final Fantasy IX ($16.99/£12.99/AU$26.99)
A PlayStation masterpiece, Final Fantasy IX is now available on your iOS device, meaning it’s the perfect time to relive the adventures of Zidane and his friends in this moving RPG filled with action, love, and some of the most memorable moments from the series. Fully remastered character models bring a welcome update to this classic title.
Shadow Blade: Reload ($13.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
An impressive and polished platformer, Shadow Blade: Reload follows the story of Kuro as he runs, wall-jumps, and slashes enemies on his mission to save the world from darkness. Each gorgeous level will test your ninja and platforming abilities with its traps, and obstacles requiring finesse and timing to overcome.
Prism ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Elegant and relaxing, Prism is a puzzler that captivates you with its hypnotic beauty. Each geometric shape is like a piece of origami, and you’ll discover even more puzzles inside with each corner you unfold. Its soft colors and pleasant soundtrack turn this puzzler into an enjoyable meditative experience.
A Short Tale ($3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
A Short Tale is a puzzler that follows Jason as he figures out how to escape his late brother’s childhood room – after he magically shrinks to the size of a pencil. Explore and uncover clues to solve each of the brain-busting puzzles and teasers. Collect passwords, uncover hidden messages, and take photos to help you remember the combination to boxes with secret compartments. One to put your logic skills to the test.
Abzorb ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Abzorb is a tilt-based game that requires you to navigate your way around blue orbs and absorb them – but get too close to the red ones and you’ll lose precious time. The game includes 65 levels, with later ones throwing in special power-up orbs. There’s plenty going on behind the minimalistic beauty.
Kill the Plumber World ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Unlike that other game about a plumber, Kill the Plumber World lets you play the bad guys and catch the hero before he makes it to the goal. Jump on him, squish him from above, or fling some hammers his way – each level offers up a new challenge in killing him off.
Adventures of Mana ($13.99/£10.49/AU$21.99)
Relive a Game Boy classic RPG on your iPhone with Adventures of Mana, a story about friends working together to protect the Tree of Mana from the Dark Lord of Glaive. This remake updates the original and offers wonderful puzzles, mobile-friendly controls, and gorgeous visuals. Enjoy its combat system and stellar soundtrack as you fight to save the world.
Tsuro ($3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
Tsuro is a beautifully meditative board game that comes to iOS, letting you play with friends or against the computer. You and your opponents will take turns drawing cards and placing them on the board for your playing pieces to follow. The objective of this game of paths is to avoid falling off the board. As ever, it’s a mixture of strategy and luck.
Space Grunts ($1.99/£1.49/AU$5.99)
Sneak through the corridors of an alien space station and take down enemies while picking up helpful power-ups in the rogueish Space Grunts. This turn-based game only gives you three weapons to defend yourself with so you’ll need to upgrade and stock up on weaponry to take down all the aliens, robots, and security drones standing in your way.
Pull My Tongue ($.99/£.79/AU$1.49)
Pull My Tongue is a charming puzzler that requires you to pull a chameleon’s tongue and guide it to the elusive popcorn piece in each level. You’ll have to pull his tongue in such a way to avoid traps like spikes zappers while pulling switches and collecting optional stars to get that high score. 90 cleverly created levels are sure to challenge your thinking skills and keep you smiling.
Rainmaker – The Beautiful Flood ($3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
Each puzzle in this minimalistic game lets you transform into different objects and unravels a story about a mysterious rain that is flooding the world. You need to reach the exit in each puzzle you play, so you may need to time your transformations at just the right time in order to get there. Turn into a bubble, a basketball, and even a spider as you discover and solve the game’s mysteries.
Atomi ($1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
Help a lovable robot reach the atoms it needs to repair its ship in Atomi, a casual puzzler that is sure to challenge your logic skills. Each level requires you to create a path out of some shapes provided, and the trick lies in figuring out where to place each shape to ensure the path is sturdy enough. With over 200 levels and two difficulty modes, this puzzler is sure to keep you pleasantly occupied.
Open Bar ($1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
Featuring minimalistic and soothing visuals, Open Bar is a casual puzzler that has you placing tiles on the screen to clear out lines of various colors. Sometimes you may need to swap out tiles to make them all line up, and later levels increase the number of colored lines for added difficulty. Its catchy soundtrack and bite-sized puzzles make it highly addictive.
Twofold inc. ($3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
Twofold Inc. may look perplexing at first, but once you get your hands on this curious puzzler, you’ll be hooked. Each time you play, you’ll be given a grid of colored tiles and a few “requests” you need to complete by matching several tiles of the same color. The idea is to complete as many requests as possible before you run out of moves. Match tiles and keep an eye on your available moves as you put your logic skills to the test.
NeoArcade ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
NeoArcade is a collection of four arcade-inspired titles that are sure to take you down memory lane and channel your competitive spirit. Games that put a twist on Brick Breaker, ice hockey, Tanks, and Snake are great to play against the world via online leaderboards, or against a friend on the same device. Aim for a high score and rest assured you won’t need quarters to play again.
Super Phantom Cat ($1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
A colorful and upbeat platformer, Super Phantom Cat is sure to put a smile on your face with its retro-inspired levels and unique brand of humor. Jump and make your way through various worlds to collect data and stars, avoiding enemies and uncovering hidden areas and characters. A smooth soundtrack, tricky platforming mechanics, and tons of secrets await you.
Circa Infinity ($2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Leap into concentric circles in Circa Infinity, a platformer that’s as dazzling as it is dizzying. Each level requires you to get deeper inside all the spinning circles, but you need to jump at just the right moment to actually reach the next one. On top of that, demonic enemies soon appear within each circle. See if you can complete each level without dying once.
Infinite Skater ($.99/£.79/AU$1.49)
An endless runner that’s quite easy on the eyes, Infinite Skater is gorgeous to look at an a breeze to play. Your usual runner mechanics come into play here, but its stunning worlds breathe new life into the experience and feature aerial stunts, pastel colors, and spirit animals to find and befriend.
Crashlands (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Crashlands is an engrossing story-driven RPG that lets you craft and battle your way through a hilarious tale of survival and package delivery. Build weapons and tools out of you the materials you get from your surroundings and complete various side-quests for the creatures you meet along the way. Fresh and addictive, the game is sure to keep you coming back for more crafting and hilarious one-liners that are sure to make you smile.
Sky Chasers (free)
A beautifully pixelated adventure, Sky Chasers requires you to use your fingers to guide your character along side-scrolling paths collecting coins and completing side-quests for his friends. Your cardboard ship has a limited fuel supply, so you’ll occasionally have to stop by checkpoints to refuel and avoid any pesky enemies that add an element of danger to your otherwise peaceful trip. Solve simple puzzles and upgrade your ship as you enjoy its rich colorful worlds.
Playnets (free)
Keep your planet alive by tapping out any enemies that approach its orbit in the addictive survival game Playnets. Each planet you save also comes with its own set of abilities you can use when in a pinch that can stun, freeze, or zap incoming baddies. You’ll need to have quick fingers to guarantee your planets survive waves of attacks so be sure to upgrade them to make them stronger and take more hits.
Dungelot: Shattered Lands (US$3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
Tap your way through dozens of dungeons in the roguelike Dungelot: Shattered Lands. Each room you travel to requires you to tap its paths to uncover keys, treasure, or even monsters to battle. The objective is to make it to the exit in one piece but chances are you’ll die and try again until you get there. Its addictive format and leveling up features are sure to keep you coming back for more.
Click here to buy Dungelot: Shattered Lands
Lost in Harmony ($3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
An elegant blend of colors and sounds, Lost in Harmony is a rhythm runner that follows the intriguing story of two friends and their dream-world adventures. Levels have you dodging enemies that come from behind or in front and tapping on cues in sync with the music. The music, ranging from classical to modern techno, evolves as you progress, and you can even make your own levels to share with the world.
Click here to buy Lost in Harmony
World Chef (free)
Build the restaurant of your dreams and make sure you expand and manage it just right to make it beat the competition in World Chef. This management sim requires you to use your resources well to so your chefs have access to the ingredients they need to cook the foods your customers want. Money and experience will allow you hire more chefs, build new rooms, and turn your restaurant into the go-to spot on the block.
Guardian Stone: Second War (free)
Team up with spiritual guardians from the past and harness their abilities as you complete quests and try to save your kingdom in Guardian Stone. Turn-based battles require you to think on your feet and choose the correct attack that ensures you stay standing despite the opposition. Choose from over 69 guardians, evolve them, and create the character you want to play in this robust RPG.
Click here to get Guardian Stone: Second War
Exploding Kittens (US$1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
Combine cats and explosion and you have yourself a card game that’s quite the winner. Based on the physical card game, Exploding Kittens is a local multiplayer title that puts a feline twist on Russian Roulette. This means you don’t want to be the player who draws the kitten or else you’re done. Draw cards that help you avoid or move any possible explosions and figure out strategies to make sure you don’t blow yourself up.
Click here to buy Exploding Kittens
The Westport Independent (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
The Westport Independent is essentially a censorship simulator that lets you see what the effects your choices in running a newspaper have on society. Will you choose to leave out the less favorable details from your front page story or will you lambast the Loyalist Party in the stories you publish? Your employees will be affected by what you publish and so will your country and its citizens.
Click here to buy The Westport Independent
Geometry Lock (free)
Simple and yet increasingly difficult, Geometry Lock challenges you to correctly tap the screen at the right time to complete pieces of a geometric pattern. Each level gives you a different shape to reassemble and starts off a timer so the trick is to be quick but accurate when figuring out where a shape should go. Play alone or hook it up to Apple TV for four-player matches.
Click here to get Geometry Lock
1. AG Drive (US$3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
We’ve been after a decent futuristic racer on the iPhone for some time, but none of them really felt right. AG Drive bucks the trend, echoing Wipeout and F-Zero: breakneck speed is married with pitch-perfect tilt controls and suitably shiny graphics. Also, there’s absolutely no IAP, so the only way you’re going to win is with mastery and skill.
2. Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise (US$2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Explore the stylish home of a nefarious spy in Agent A, a snazzy puzzler that is sure to captivate you with its sleek visuals and ingenious puzzles hidden in the environment. Check underneath everything for any hidden trinkets, disable security systems, and keep mental notes of where you think an item is used as you play. Keep your logic skills on point as you enjoy this casual yet engrossing puzzler.
Click here to buy Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise
3. Alpha Omega (US$0.99/£.79/AU$1.49)
Anagrams and crossword puzzles combine in Alpha Omega, a game where you only get the first and last letter of each word which you’ll need to unscramble. Perfect for those who crave a challenge, this puzzler offers hundreds of levels that get harder as you progress through the Greek alphabet. Use a hint if you must, but these puzzles are sure to please purists who simply love a good word challenge without any distractions.
4. Alphabear (free)
Bears of all shapes and sizes will make you smile as you spell words with the letters on your screen in Alphabear. Each time you make a word, bears will populate your board and grow in size the more letters you use around them. The bigger the bear at the end of your game, the more points you score. Use helpful bear buddies you unlock to give you bonus points as you play through an endless array of word challenges.
5. Brickies (free)
We’ve all played brick-breaking games here and there, but Brickies enhances the familiar concept and takes it to a whole other level. You’ll still need to break all the shapes on the screen, but some of them will require multiple hits to break, for example, while others can only be hit from a specific side. Use power-ups to break through multiple blocks, but keep an eye on the timer as you play through its addictive levels.
6. Capitals (free)
Capitals is a word game that requires both a knack for vocabulary as it does for strategizing your enemy’s demise. Each match puts you against an opponent and requires you to spell out words around your enemy’s “capital” or yours. Using his letters will diminish his dominance and using yours will expand your realm. If you or your opponent loses his capital, the game is over. Plan ahead and come out victorious.
7. Chaos Rings III (US$19.99/£14.99/AU$30.99)
Chaos Rings III is one of those RPGs that will suck you in. Featuring rich colors and 3D worlds to explore, this game takes place on a floating continent and brings together a group of different characters on a pilgrimage to reach the Marble Blue planet and uncover the mysteries it holds. Fight your way through countless battles, complete mobile-friendly missions, and enjoy the gorgeous vistas as you explore its world.
Click here to buy Chaos Rings III
8. Clicker Heroes (free)
RPGs can be complicated affairs with tons of rules to master, but Clicker Heroes simply requires you to tap your screen to defeat thousands of enemies and make your way through its near endless worlds. Hire heroes to do damage for you so you can take a break from tapping and farm coins to power them up or unlock stronger allies. It’s a charming quintessential clicker game that is sure to get you hooked in no time.
Click here to get Clicker Heroes
9. Crossy Road (free)
This endless take on Frogger finds your cuboid character confronting countless deadly roads, train lines and rivers, before inevitable squashage. It’s the characters that make the game, though – a varied roster of people, animals and ‘things’ won using a one-armed bandit, fed with coins collected en route (you can just buy stuff, too, but Crossy Road also lets you earn by watching videos and bestows regular coin top-ups anyway, making it the least obnoxious free-to-play game with IAP imaginable).
Click here to download Crossy Road
10. Does Not Commute (free)
Does Not Commute is a clever game that combines driving and puzzle elements to provide you with a unique and suspenseful experience. Each chapter requires you to drive a number of quirky commuters to their destinations, and once you do, the path you just made is saved and replayed when you control the next vehicle. You don’t have much time either, so you’ll need to avoid crashing and plan your paths carefully to succeed.
Click here to get Does Not Commute
11. Drop Wizard (US$1.99/£1.99/AU$3.99)
Single-screen platformer Drop Wizard is infused with the soul of classics such as Snow Bros. and Bubble Bobble, but it’s also part auto-runner. You can only run left or right, and your wizard blasts magic on landing. Strategy, therefore, involves careful timing, to avoid and zap foes, and then kick them into a tumbling combo that will bounce about in a pleasingly destructive manner before turning into fruit. Because that’s what vanquished platform-game enemies all did in the 1980s.
12. Fallout Shelter (free)
Fallout Shelter is an addictive resource management game that lets you be the overseer of your very own vault. This means you’ll be responsible for its daily operations and need to assign your dwellers with jobs that benefit from their skills. Farm resources like water and electricity and expand your vault with more rooms and residents, but also protect yourself against accidents, raider invasions, and pesky radroach infestations.
Click here to get Fallout Shelter
13. Final Fantasy VII (US$10.99/£8.49/AU$16.99)
A game needing no introduction to console players, Final Fantasy VII lets you dive into the city of Midgar and join Cloud, Tifa, and a whole party of classic heroes on a fight to save the planet from a villain named Sephiroth. This timeless JRPG now comes with mobile-friendly controls and even some nifty cheats for those who might have beaten the game a few times before and simply want to relive the moments everyone is still talking about.
Click here to buy Final Fantasy VII
14. Framed (US$0.99/£0.79/AU$5.99)
If you’re looking for a hidden gem of a game, Framed has your name written all over it. It’s a unique puzzle game that makes good and novel use of the touchscreen.
Each scene looks like a page ripped out of a comic book and it’s up to you to guide the character through it. Starting from left to right, you have to organize each panel so that you can run through and avoid harm.
15. Game of Thrones (free – episode 1 only)
The fate of House Forrester rests in your hands in this Game of Thrones episodic series. Enjoy a gripping storyline with plot twists around every corner as you play as characters trying to keep their family strong and united. The choices you make will have lasting consequences and repercussions, so be sure to play your cards right. But as it is with any Game of Thrones episode, tragedy is inevitably followed by more tragedy.
Click here to get Game of Thrones
16. Guitar Hero Live (free)
Tap into your inner rock star as you tap your screen to the music in Guitar Hero Live, the mobile version of the console game that comes free with two songs to try. Crowds will cheer you on if you’re performance is solid, but miss too many notes and your bandmates will be seen shaking their heads and the audience will let you have it. The full game can also be played with a separate guitar controller and comes with over 40 songs and even more you can stream online.
Click here to get Guitar Hero Live
17. Hearthstone (free)
Yes, the insanely popular online card game Hearthstone has been squashed down to fit your iPhone screen – and it works surprisingly well. With less space to play with, the creators have rejigged the deisign slightly; it’s still the same game, just a bit more considerate to your thumbs. It’s also still compatible with the tablet and desktop versions so you’ll be able to play against your friends on the move. Requires at least an iPhone 4S or 5th generation iPod Touch.
18. Her Story (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
An intriguing little game that lets you play detective, Her Story has received rave reviews for its incredibly engrossing gameplay. As a British woman is interviewed about her missing husband, it’s up to you to search through the clues and discover what happened. An impressive achievement.
19. Heroki (US$4.99/£0.79/AU$1.49)
Charming, colorful, and lots of fun, Heroki follows the adventures of its eponymous hero tasked with saving his cloudy village from doom. Boasting over 10 hours of gaming, this side scroller features gorgeous worlds with secrets to uncover and menacing foes to defeat. Find collectibles, go on quests, and upgrade Heroki’s abilities to last through some impressive boss battles in this engrossing adventure.
20. Hitman GO (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Square Enix would have been on a hiding to nothing converting its free-roaming 3D game to touchscreens, and so it’s great to see the company do something entirely different with Hitman GO. Although still echoing the original series, this touchscreen title is presented as a board game of sorts, with turn-based actions against clockwork opposition. You must figure out your way to the prize, without getting knocked off (the board). It’s an oddly adorable take on assassination, and one of the best iOS puzzlers.
21. hocus. (US$0.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
If you’ve ever been mesmerized by impossible shapes and perspective illusion puzzles, hocus. is sure to take you for a spin. Each puzzle requires you to move a small red cube to reach a hole on a shape by guiding it down its sides. These kinds of geometric shapes can be deceiving so you’ll need to figure out which sides will lead to where as you solve its 50 relaxing yet tricky conundrums.
22. Horizon Chase (US$2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49 IAP)
Time was racing games were all about ludicrous speed, gorgeous graphics, and the sheer rush of weaving through a sea of cars to the finish line. Horizon Chase briefly reverses back to such halcyon days, grabs the best bits from the likes of Lotus and Top Gear, before zooming back to the present as a thoroughly modern arcade racer.
It looks gorgeous, with some stunning weather effects, and an odd but pleasing low-poly roadside-object style; it sounds great with veteran games musician Barry Leitch on soundtrack duties; but most importantly, it handles perfectly, and is a joy until the very last track.
Click here to buy Horizon Chase
23. I Am Bread (US$0.99/£0.79/AU$0.99)
24. Implosion (US$9.99/£7.99/AU$14.99)
Humans are again getting a kicking at the hands of nasty aliens and it’s up to you to stop them. Cliches aside, Implosion offers a stompy slash-and-shoot experience that feels entirely at home on the iPhone but scratches that itch when you fancy playing something that resembles what you’d find on a ‘proper’ games console.
25. Jollygrams (US$1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
Anagrams are one thing, but Jollygrams are another form of word scrambles that don’t make sense at first but say them over enough times or rearrange their syllables and you’ll get a phrase that does. Words like Plouse Hant and Band Socks will try to stump you, but think it over a bit and you’ll earn some coins and move on to the next puzzle. Use a hint if you must, but soon you’ll find it’s all a “keys of pake.”
26. Lara Croft GO (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$6.49)
Following in the footsteps of Hitman GO, which astonishingly managed to transform that series into an adorable board game, Lara Croft GO reworks the adventures of the world’s most famous tomb raider. It’s another turn-based affair, with lashings of atmosphere, finding Lara carefully working her way past traps crafted by an ancient civilisation with a penchant for blocky design and elaborate moving parts.
There are also lots of snakes and deadly lizards about, which she’s quite keen on shooting in the head. The five chapters are quite brief, but savour the game rather than blazing through, and you’ll find something that merges early Tomb Raider’s sense of adventure and solitude, Monument Valley-level beauty, and bite-sized touchscreen gaming that’s perfect for iPhone.
Click here to buy Lara Croft GO
27. Leo’s Fortune (US4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Leo’s Fortune finds gruff hairball Leo in search of his gold, which has been dropped in a suspiciously trail-like manner across typically platform-game environments. As he scoops up coins, he finds himself whizzing round Sonic-style loops, solving puzzles by manipulating the environment, and negotiating increasingly complex and deadly pathways. It’s a beautiful game, full of character, and well-suited to quick bursts on your iPhone.
Click here to buy Leo’s Fortune
28. Lumino City (US$6.99/£4.99/AU$10.99)
Beautiful to look at and even more amazing to play, Lumino City is a puzzler that’s also an adventure into a world of magic and color. Play as a Lumi, who ventures into the puzzling city following her grandpa’s kidnapping and discovers people in need of her help. Featuring paper-like visuals, the city is filled with unique puzzles for you to find and solve and is sure to charm and invite you in every step of the way.
29. Monument Valley (US$3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
In Monument Valley, you journey through delightful Escher-like landscapes, manipulating the very architecture to build impossible paths along which to explore. It’s not the most challenging of games (nor one with the most coherent of storylines), but each scene is a gorgeous and mesmerising bite-sized experience that showcases how important great craft is in the best iOS titles.
Click here to buy Monument Valley
30. Octodad: Dadliest Catch (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Play as a dad and a husband in Octodad, a hilarious game that tasks you with accomplishing basic daily tasks as best as you can so that your family doesn’t get suspicious that you’re, in fact, an octopus. Moving around in a man’s world is harder than it sounds and you’ll need to get used to your cephalopodan limbs as you pick things up, move around, and interact with people without accidentally outing yourself.
Click here to buy Octodad: Dadliest Catch
31. Operation Dracula (US$7.99/£5.99/AU$12.99)
Bullet-hell meets blood-thirsty vampires in Operation Dracula, a shoot ’em up that boasts some great top-down action, a catchy soundtrack, and a difficulty curve that makes you feel like you’re back in the 80s. Missions have you maneuvering your craft through levels that continuously assault you with enemies, bullets, and some relentless bosses so you need to keep your cool amid the frenetic violence happening all around you.
Click here to buy Operation Dracula
32. Order & Chaos 2: Redemption (free)
Get lost in the amazing worlds of Order & Chaos 2: Redemption, Gameloft’s follow-up MMORPG that comes with even more quests to sink your teeth into. Optimized for mobile, this game features a new race to choose from as well as a new story that follows your character as he or she tries to restore peace to the world of Haradon. Plenty of exploration, characters, and dangers await you in this massive adventure.
Click here to get Order & Chaos 2: Redemption
33. Pac-Man 256 (free)
Pac-Man 256 is a twist on the classic pellet-eating formula and has you racing for your life as the menacing Level 256 glitch from the original game tries to devour you. But it wouldn’t be a Pac-Man game without those pesky ghosts to avoid and power pellets and fruit to collect. Use power-ups like lasers, tornados, and even a “giant” mode to survive when things get rough, but don’t accidentally run into a dead end or it’s over.
34. The Path to Luma (free)
Save the world as you hop through the galaxy in Path to Luma, a gorgeous adventure puzzler that lets you harness the power of clean energy and explore planets to find the switches they need to power back up. As you play through the game’s 20 levels, you will have to recharge batteries, turn on windmills, or rotate planets to create new routes to explore. You’ll soon discover puzzles within puzzles that are a joy to solve.
Click here to get The Path to Luma
35. Pixel 8 (free)
You’re in store for a gallery of pixelated masterpieces in Pixel 8, a charming puzzler that tasks you with recreating paintings pixel-by-pixel before time runs out. Paintings start off simple and small, but you’ll soon be working on large works of art that span several themes and categories. Completing each one in the fastest time earns you a spot on the leaderboards as well as coins to unlock more puzzling galleries.
36. PixWing (US$3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
With its pixelated visuals and a soundtrack that is sure to make you feel nostalgic, you’d swear PixWing came out for Sega Genesis decades ago. This colorful flyer brings things into the modern age with its optional gyro controls that let you use your body to navigate your plane and it will even track how many calories you burn as you play. Gorgeous levels, collectibles, and timed challenges are sure to keep you busy in a good way.
37. Power Hover (US$3.99/£2.99/AU$5.99)
Power Hover is an impressive action game that takes you through a beautiful world to recover a village’s stolen power. Hover through deserts, oceans, and highways, and grind on rails as you make your way to the finish line, chase down baddies, or play through arcade-style boss runs and challenge your friends for the best score. Collect dropped batteries to unlock even more gorgeous and thrilling levels.
38. Progress to 100 (US$2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Progress to 100 is more than just a puzzle – it’s a cleverly unique experience that will engage all aspects of your iPhone as you figure out what you have to do to move on. As its name states, each of the 100 puzzles you’ll play gets you one step closer to finishing it, but each one also comes with a hint as to how to solve it. Repeatedly tap your screen, put your nose on your device, or move your head to solve its silly and satisfying riddles.
Click here to buy Progress to 100
39. Prune (US$2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Prune is a meditative experience more akin to the art of bonsai than your usual puzzle game, but its relaxing levels and soothing sounds will captivate you nonetheless. Each level lets you grow a tree with a swipe of a finger and then prune enough of it branches so its buds can flower in the sunlight. As you progress, shadows and red orbs will pose obstacles for your tree as they’ll block it from the sunlight and even poison its branches.
40. Race the Sun (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
The setting of the sun signifies your doom in Race the Sun, a tense and riveting endless racer that gracefully challenges you to prolong the inevitable and keep flying. Each time you start a race, you need to be mindful of both incoming obstacles that can destroy your aircraft and power-ups that can extend your flight. The world you fly through changes every day so you are always on your toes wondering what lies ahead.
Click here to buy Race the Sun
41. Rayman Adventures (free)
Join Rayman and friends as they journey through colorful worlds retrieving lost eggs and helping a sacred tree flourish. Levels in this action platformer can involve searching for hidden Teensies, beating up enemies on your path, or solving puzzles before making it to the goal. Take care of the creatures you hatch by feeding and playing with them and then take them on your adventures for a helpful boost.
Click here to get Rayman Adventures
42. Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon (US$1.99/£1.49/AU$2.99)
A game of exploration, mystery, and puzzles, Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon once again stars an intrepid eight-legged protagonist and lets you unravel a subtle story with each clue you find. Trap insects in your web as you explore the enormous Blackbird Estate, and solve some puzzles along the way too. What’s more, the game uses your location, time, and local weather to add dynamic features to your experience each time you play.
Click here to buy Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon
43. Sproggiwood (US$9.99/£7.99/AU$14.99)
Strategy is a big part of your success in this colorful roguelike, so you’ll need to plan your steps accordingly or else enemies will ambush you when you least expect it. Use your items wisely or purchase equipment to permanently own them and give your characters a fighting chance when up against some tough bosses. Just don’t be fooled by its whimsical music or deceptive cutesy design – this is one tough game.
44. Super Dangerous Dungeons (free)
Super Dangerous Dungeons is sure to bring you back to a time when 16-bit platformers ruled the world. Its 48 colorful levels feature classic traps and enemies that will keep you engaged as you turn on switches, find keys, and avoid dangerous terrain on your way to the exit. Jump your way through bottomless pits and beat giant bosses that require some finesse and careful timing to defeat.
Click here to get Super Dangerous Dungeons
45. Super Hexagon (US$2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
Ah, Super Hexagon. We remember that punishing first game, which must have lasted all of three seconds. Much like the next – and the next. But then we recognised patterns in the walls that closed in on our tiny ship, and learned to react and dodge. Then you threw increasingly tough difficulty levels at us, and we’ve been smitten ever since.
Click here to buy Super Hexagon
46. Tales from the Borderlands (free – ep 1 only)
Follow a group of unlikely friends on their quest for greatness in this episode series set in Pandora following the events of Borderlands 2. You’ll travel to familiar locations and interact with pivotal characters from the action games, but your choices are what matter most as they can come back to haunt you later on. Clever writing and a talented cast are sure to keep your laughing through each hilarious episode.
Click here to get Tales from the Borderlands
47. The Room Three (US$4.99/£3.99/AU$7.99)
Featuring more than just boxes to examine, The Room Three expands the format of the original just enough to create a uniquely tactile experience that definitely pulls you into the many nooks and crannies you’ll be entering to solve. Gorgeous box puzzles still play an important role in the game, but many other clever logic games are sure to tickle your brain and condition you to look closely at everything that could turn out to be a puzzle. Three’s a charm indeed.
Click here to buy The Room Three
48. TouchTone (US$2.99/£2.29/$4.49)
There are two sides to TouchTone. The foundation is a topical story about intercepting communications, ostensibly to make the world safer. The game itself involves reflecting signals to receivers, using a tiled grid where every item on a row or column moves as one. The story gives you added impetus to keep going, even when you’ve been racking your brains for days to come up with a solution to a particular puzzle.
49. You Must Build A Boat (US$2.99/£2.29/AU$4.49)
It’s always great when a savvy developer rethinks a genre and comes up with something that feels fresh. EightyEight Games welds auto-running to match-three in You Must Build A Boat. Deft fingerwork must be married with careful timing, matching keys as the hero approaches locked chests, or swords at the moment an incoming enemy prepares to get all stabby. Get shoved off of the left-hand side of the screen and you’re told YOU WIN!, because every step potentially adds to your coffers. There are missions to complete, abilities to power-up, and a cheeky sense of humour that sets the title apart from its frequently comparatively po-faced contemporaries.
Click here to buy You Must Build a Boat
50. Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey (US$8.99/£6.99/AU$13.99)
An immersive story, stellar soundtrack, and a fluid turn-based combat system are just a few delights that await you as you journey to the world of Orcanon and uncover the first installment of this mobile RPG. Gorgeous cutscenes accompany your characters as they travel throughout a kingdom filled with dangers and secrets. Customize your experience by crafting your own weapons and bring your friends with you into battle as you fight to save the world.
Click here to buy Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey
Source: techradar.com