2014 was a crucial year for apps and games in particular. Phrases like 'console-grade gaming on mobile devices' have been flying around for years, but this year finally proved all those words true, as we saw some of the hallmark PC and console games of the early 2000s arrive in their full glory on iPhones and Android smartphones. We're talking about titles like Bioshock, Oddworld, Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate, and others.
With this tacit admission of the gaming capabilities of current day smartphones and tablets, it's worth taking a separate look at all the best new games for iPhone and Android that arrived this year. This walk down memory lane consists of more than two dozen games that we have listed in reverse order, going from some good titles to the ones that really grabbed our hearts with their graphics, gameplay, and overall execution.
Which were the best Android and iPhone games of the year? With no further ado, take a look as we list our favorites right below.
ALONE is a handcrafted, intense survival journey through space. Navigate caves, rip through rocky debris, dodge rocks and comets and test your endurance as you pursue ever higher scores in this ultra fast, procedural runner.
Tasked with the mundane-sounding challenge to cross the road in this retro-styled, colorful game, you will die a thousand times until you find the perfect timing to switch between the busy lanes.
Table Tennis Touch is a very realistic table tennis game that will please most those who wish to put in time and effort to master a game. It’s easy in the beginning (and has fun arcade single-player challenges), but its difficulty quickly goes up, and as you get to play with other opponents, it becomes almost as difficult to master as real table tennis.
An action-RPG of near-console quality, Battleheart Legacy can brag about having fluid gameplay with excellent graphics and a rich character development scheme. It also provides long hours of gameplay, making up for the above-average price. Kudos to developer Mika Mobile for not plaguing the game with in-app purchases as well.
Telltale's The Walking Dead has been quite the hit among fans of the show, the comic, or adventure games in general. It puts people in the desperate, zombie-infested world, as created by Robert Kirkman. It is an episodic interactive adventure that has its story split up in 5 episodes per season. On most platforms, the first episode is usually free, providing a sample of what the game is about, and if one desired to continue the adwenture – they have to fork the cash for the other 4 episodes.
If you love the thrill of a real challenge, or if you're just a hardcore fan of platformer games, VVVVVV should definitely be on your wishlist. The music rocks, the graphics are sweet, and the gameplay... well, it will make you want to throw your phone against the wall. But you know you'll be coming back for more only minutes after you hit that quit button.
In Heroes and Castles the Undead Horde and their Orc and Goblin allies are right at your castle gates, the King is on the brink of death, and you (in a 3rd-person perspective) have to save the castle from annihilation.
Mediocre AB's Smash Hit is a cathartic, harmonious "smash obstacles in your path" experience. Available for free on Android and iOS, the game puts in you a Portal-esque test lab setting in pale colors and tasks you with throwing metal balls at fragile objects, such as glass pyramids, walls, and doors.
Unlike every space game ever, Out There eschews the combat in favor of questing, decision-making, harvesting resources and dealing with the final frontier's harsh living conditions. It's like a game book, only in motion and with striking comic visuals. You pick up the role of an astronaut that wakes up from cryonic sleepy-sleepy in an unknown part of the galaxy.
RÉPUBLIQUE, a stealth-action game, takes you through the perils of government Big Brother surveillance in the Internet Age. It all starts with a desperate call from Hope, a mysterious woman trapped inside an oppressive totalitarian state. You can help her by hacking the nation's elaborate surveillance network and guiding her through a maze of chilling adventure.
Thomas Was Alone is a puzzle-platformer that presents itself in a minimalistic graphic style, and tells its story through the narration of famous voice actor Danny Wallace (hint: he is Shawn Hastings in Assassin's Creed), accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack, courtesy of David Housden. The point of the game is to beat its 100 puzzles by controlling different "characters".
Wayward Souls is a fantasy role-playing, rogue-like game, which will transfer your character to some gloomy and dreary dungeons. You guessed it right, you won't be alone there, as the dungeons are brimming with life – of course, we are talking about unfriendly creatures, which will love to annihilate you.
The Room games are two of the best titles you'll ever play on a mobile device. It's hard to say whether the first game or the sequel is better, but let's just note that the second games has bigger rooms and even more elaborate contraptions to deal with. Which might not be a good thing for some of you,as the puzzles you're solving could prove quite challenging at times. You have to keep your eyes peeled and your logic in prime working order.
FIFA 15 Ultimate Team by EA SPORTS features over 10,000 players from over 500 licensed teams. Plus, over 30 real leagues and stadiums. Build a dream squad of footballers and put them to the test. From the English Premier League, La Liga, and MLS, to the German Bundesliga and beyond.
Leo's Fortune tells the adventure of Leopold, the Grand Inventor of Greatest Engineering. He used to be rich and fortunate, but a clever thief stole his treasures and left all the coins on the road like breadcrumbs to follow.
2048, as the name suggests, is a numbers game. The goal is simple, and the first few minutes of gameplay – deceptively easy. Your aim in 2048 is to multiply blocks of numbers until you reach the number 2048 by merging any identical numbers on the screen. So two blocks with 2 make a 4, and two 4's make an 8 – all the way up to 2048.
NBA 2K15, the newest game in the annual basketball series, has made its way onto iOS and Android, featuring upgraded graphics, new player animations, and realistic gameplay. Also, it costs a hefty $7.99, but that might be a reasonable price to save you from bothersome in-app purchases.
Missing some squad-based alien-killing action? You might want to check out XCOM: Enemy Within, the sequel to 2012's XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Developer Firaxis says the game offers the same core gameplay as its predecessor, but it's loaded with more content to have fun with. New content as in new types of soldiers, abilities, enemies, maps, missions, and a multiplayer mode.
Vainglory and is an action-strategy-RPG mix, or a so-called MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), much like the famous DOTA and League of Legends games from PC. It is developed specifically for touch-based controls.
In contrast to the previous games, Anomaly Defenders is a classic tower defense. The game takes place years after the previous titles and it seems that the humans have won the war on Earth. Now, in Ender's Game-style, the residents of Earth have taken things over the top and are on a genocide mission against the aliens. You play as a human commander, who doesn't agree with Earth's aggression, and who has been recruited by the aliens to help them defend their homeworld.
Threes! is one of the best designed games you'll find on mobile. It doesn't have flashy graphics, and the gameplay falls into the "easy to learn, but difficult to master" category. The game exudes personality in every aspect, and it is painfully obvious that a lot of love went into its development. The game is essentially a matching puzzle, but gets very complex very quickly.
#3: Flappy Bird
Price: -
Genre: Helicopter game
Not available for download on iTunes and Play Store
Flappy Bird is a very simple, yet very difficult helicopter game. Players have to tap the screen to keep a bird in flight while avoiding incoming pipes - touch any pipe and the bird dies. This maddening level of difficulty had quickly won it a large following, but the game developer decided to pull the game from app stores in its prime days. You can still find an Android APK to play it, and despite its limited availability, the craze around it makes it one of the unforgettable games of the year.
Monument Valley tells the story of Ida, a princess in a strange, ever-changing world of impossible 3D-esque constructions, looking like something that came out of the mind of MC Escher. White and pure, Ida walks around this blocky, pixel-perfect world that you rotate and transform to reach an altar or a door that lead you from one fantastical environment to another.
Modern Combat 5: Blackout is finally out for iPhone, iPad and Android. The fifth instalment in the Modern Combat first-person shooter series comes with even better graphics than before, a rich, story-driven single-player mode, as well as a fun multiplayer options where squads of players face each other in battle.
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