With all the game-related goodies we heard about at this week’s iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 event, we decided to focus on mobile gaming for this week’s “Awesome Apps” installment.
Whether you’re searching for a jaw-droppingly stunning platform game, an excellent RPG card game, or a unique messaging game based on a hugely popular TV series, we think we’ve got what you’re looking for.
Check out our picks below.
Super Powerboy
Resembling Super Mario Bros. crossed with a Pixar movie, the stunningly gorgeous Super Powerboy is a platform par excellence.
Comprising 45 missions across 5 different locations, the game is a joy for any platformer fans who remember the genre’s 1990s heyday, while also incorporating some neat RPG-style upgrade elements and surprisingly intuitive touch-based controls. Highest of recommends!
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $1.99
Get it from: App Store
Samorost 3
One of the best adventure games in years, Samorost 3 arrived on iOS this month, having previously made a name for itself on Mac and PC. The game follows the adventures of a space gnome who uses a magic flute to travel the universe in search of answers to its origins.
If you’re a newcomer to Samorost, that description probably means next to nothing, but this is a truly amazing title that is recommended to anyone who enjoys adventure games.
The nine alien worlds the game let you explore are so beautifully realized and fleshed-out that at times exploring them feels less like a game and more like you’ve stumbled across a particularly unusual David Attenborough wildlife documentary.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $4.99
Get it from: App Store
Mr. Robot:1.51exfiltrati0n
A bit like the 2015 chose-your-own-adventure game Lifeline, which let you communicate with the survivor of a spaceship crash advisor through text messages, Mr. Robot:1.51exfiltrati0n uses a messaging app interface as its high concept premise.
This messaging app is supposedly on a lost phone you’ve discovered outside the Fun Society Arcade at Coney Island, which belongs to a black hat hacker about “commit the biggest cybercrime the world has ever seen.”
Taking place between during the first season of USA Network’s Golden Globe Award-winning drama, the game lets you interact with characters from the show through messaging to drive the high-tech narrative forward. If you’re a fan of Mr. Robot, or just want to check out a unique game whose mechanics are a little different to most, this is certainly worth downloading.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $2.99
Get it from: App Store
Pathfinder Adventures
A tremendous mobile adaptation of co-op tabletop game Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Adventure is an RPG card game for your iOS device. Players create a character in a class such as fighter, wizard or rogue, and then develop them by picking cards and rolling dice.
Along the way, you customize your individual decks to hone your character, while forming new alliances, gathering items and spells, exploring strange lands, and battling enemies and other challenges. As you can see from the above (excellent) trailer, there’s something admittedly retro about the concept — but it absolutely works.
If this sounds like the kind of thing you’ll enjoy, then rest assured: it’ll live up to your expectations.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free
Get it from: App Store
