Top ten games of 2019 for iPhone and iPad

Mobile games are still quite popular, but may be out of focus for users, who have preferred PC titles and consoles. That's why Apple tried to fix the situation with its Apple Arcade subscription service. And us Macworld and PCWorld We're big fans of Apple Arcade. Also, you can take a look at the games we like best available on the service so far.

But not even subscribers live the owners of iPhones and iPads. That's why we've sorted out the top ten games released throughout 2019 that can be purchased outside of Apple Arcade, directly from the App Store.

Ordia ($ 2.99)

Ordia looks a lot like the angry Birds: Pull your avatar with your finger and it will shoot in the direction you pointed. But to what the similarities end. Here you have an eye-like bubble that rises through the mud, so make your platform vertically, not horizontally. Along the way, you move on to other "goo" for support and calculate peak catapults, until finally you break the surface at the end of the phase – and perhaps into the next stage of evolution.

It is a simple concept and not particularly original. But the excellence of Ordia lies how well he executes this concept on three worlds and 30 challenging levels.

Hyper Light Drifter ($ 4.99)

Hyper Light Drifter It's an action RPG that's only three years old, although its pixel art style makes it look like a relic of my childhood. almost as timeless as the digital adventures of the 1980s, and combines minimalist artistic stories about a “tramp” suffering from a mysterious disease, with the extracted gameplay of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Also notoriously intense, but the touch controls are well translated (aside from some annoyances, such as having to go too far to improve health). I recommend playing with a controller.

Dead Cells ($ 8.99)

Dead cells refers to the hero of the Motion Twin game, which basically a bundle of cells that glide over the bodies of beheaded prisoners in their cells. The game looks dramatic but fun. And the same happens with Dead cells, which as well as Castlevaniais a 2D game that relies on exploration and return through various levels. The main difference is that these levels are randomly generated.

Dead cells It's a difficult game, mainly because it has a permanent mechanism that makes it start from the beginning every time you die. Fortunately, you can keep up the boosts you get and unlock better weapons – and with each attempt, dead cells become a little easier to control. However, it is good that it supports controls, as I found the touchscreen a bit complicated for my taste.

Sky: Children of the Light (free)

Sky: Children of the Light It is a visually stunning game about empathy, cooperation with other players, and puzzle solving, framed as a tale about restoring spirits in their proper place between the constellations. As in previous games by developer Thatgamecompany, Flower and Journeyits appeal springs from the intensity of emotions you feel while playing, rather than competing or fighting prowess. At first, I thought in-app purchases drowned out the intensity of this experience, but luckily they are benign.

It's short and simple, and you can even set the controls to play with a finger if you prefer. Earlier this year, I regretted that it was not released with control support, but this support finally arrived in September.

Call of Duty Mobile (free)

Call of duty You are in a comfortable position in the gaming world. In August, the new Modern warfare impressed the console critics and in October Call of Duty Mobile It has emerged as what may be the best shooting game on a smartphone of all time. Not just a good FPS for mobile: it looks like Call of duty that is played in traditional video games. This mostly happens on maps and team-domination and killing modes of five against five, but you also feel the 100-player battle royale that resembles the Blackout map of Modern warfare. You can play with touch controls or a gamepad.

It's free to play, so as you might expect, you'll find some microtransactions. However, they are benign and you can play almost anything without losing a dime. The price? You will be reminded in almost every shift that you may be spending a few dollars in the store.

Star Traders: Frontiers ($ 3.99)

The many influences of Star Traders: Frontiers suggest that it should be little more than a forgettable satellite on the worlds of Star trek, Mass effect and at Firefly, but the game manages to exert its own gravitational force. The Trese Brothers originally released it for PC last year, but its attractive combination of strategy and interpretation makes it a good fit for mobile devices. And while there is so much to do here, it rarely seems too complicated.

The glow of Frontiers It's partly because of your personality. Other space games rely too much on known science fiction tropes, but Frontiers It features a galaxy where space pirates trade with other corsairs while dressing up as eighteenth-century gunslingers or monarchs. This individualization is also not merely a demonstration, as each crew member plays a vital role in combat missions and planetary exploration. Free from strict devotion to existing properties, Frontiers You can go to places where few other space sims haven't been before.

The Gardens Between ($ 4.99)

I spend a lot of time wondering what I could have done differently in my life, and why I'm so attracted to The gardens between. This ingenious puzzle lets us see what big differences small changes can make. With finger movements, you shift time back and forth around two friends, allowing them to subtly alter their actions so that they can climb the peaks of small islands made from the debris of their memories. And there lies another theme: this is a game of learning to move forward – both material goods and people.

Not always able to use gameplay to communicate their messages. Some elements seem to exist only for a good puzzle. Even so, it can make an emotional impact, especially because of the strength of its human heroes' animations and the frightening notes of its soundtrack. Like a good poem, short and powerful. Remember to buy the game on iOS because the Mac version is very expensive.

Telling Lies ($ 6.99)

Telling Lies It's the kind of game that will make you want to stick a piece of electrical tape on your device's camera. You play as an NSA agent and are tasked with gathering the story behind a traumatic event by watching and listening to secretly recorded one-sided video conversations from a large cast of characters. Your work will get the most important clues from what you hear, so you should pay attention to the relevant references in this conversation. This is not always easy, as you soon realize that some of these idiots are shameless liars.

Just like the previous story of Her story, Telling Lies it plays almost entirely through video, although playbacks can change dramatically because you have to choose which files to analyze. Here's something not to lie about: the phenomenal cast is one of the best detective games on the App Store.

Forgotton Anne (Free to try, $ 9.99 to unlock)

First, "Forgotton" is not a typo in English, and that's the least weird thing about the weirdness scale in this awesome narrative-based platformer. Secondly, if you ever wanted a game in the world of a Studio Ghibli movie, Forgotton Anne It's probably as close as you can get.

Anne herself is an Enforcer (a kind of cop) and one of only two people living in a kingdom where all forgotten things end when they are lost. The citizens of this place consist of everything from talking guns to fridge-freezers, and Anne jumps between them with some awkward platforms. Good thing telling a good story is always the main focus here. Anne can't die, and she doesn't even have a health bar. Even so, you will find many other games on the iOS App Store with so much heart.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game (free)

If you are enjoying the new series The witcher with Henry Cavill on Netflix and are looking for a game in the same scenario, a great time to check out Gwent. a standalone version of a collectible card game that was designed to The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt 2015 (one of the most acclaimed role-playing games of all time), and much like Hearthstone.

A word of caution: card games are unconventional, and I really avoided it while playing The Witcher 3 because I couldn't understand it. Fortunately, it's a little easier to understand iOS and there's a thriving community of active players when you're ready to play against anyone other than AI. It is also getting a lot of support from developers, as a new popular expansion just fell a few weeks ago.

Rolling: Royal Edition ($ 2.99)

Nostalgia is not always justified, as old games and movies are usually not as good as we remember them. But Rolling: Royal Edition an exception. This popular and colorful 2008 game has disappeared from the App Store for a few years, following changes in iOS architecture, but still wonderful enough to warrant the near perfect score we made in our original review.

The goal is to use the iPhone tilt controls to roll ball-like characters through jigsaw puzzles, stepping stones and other elements before you can advance to the next level. a good return for the days when the tilt controls were full length, and Rolling It is a reminder that few games since then have used them so efficiently. Fortunately, it was launched exactly the way it was – which means that it isn't overloaded with microtransactions either.