Year Walk is a fantastic experience that’s going to stick with me for a while. It’s haunting, mysterious, and is a must-play for those willing to stomach the dark tale it weaves. This is Simogo’s magnum opus.

If you were looking for a follow up to Card Crawl that is less complicated, this is the game for you. It doesn't hide anything behind unlocks, and presents a perfectly enjoyable solo card game that way. For fans of Card Thief though, Miracle Merchant could prove a little less satisfying.

Lego Harry Potter is simply stunning. For $4.99 you get a good 15 hours or so of gameplay and it's all excellent fun.

Stickets looks incredibly simple at first, but be prepared to sink hours into the three difficulty modes.

MiniSquadron is an elegant, intuitive 2D shooter that should delight genre fans and total newbies alike. The difficulty is well balanced, the presentation is great, and blowing stuff up is just daggone fun.

Telling Lies an ambitious expansion of Her Story’s ideas, which makes for an engrossing—but sometimes messy—experience.

Just as crazy-awesome a game as one would expect to get from the people who brought us Space Invaders-Infinity Gene.

At first I was kind of on the fence about Bug Heroes Quest, but after a leveling-up my heroes a bit and playing a few stages that are a bit more involved than the early ones I've done a complete 180. I love this game. A lot.

Bean's Quest 2: Bean Dreams delivers on its promise of being more of the first game, for better or for worse.

Fieldrunners 2 is a fine example of just how much fun can be garnered from an iOS device. Offering many hours of fun for a mere $3 is an utter bargain and Fieldrunners 2 truly deserves its title of the new king of tower defense. Now, how about an iPad version?

The entire package of Eliss is a delight. The art design has that retro feel that is not only the flavor of the day, but also fitting to the model of the gameplay.

Blending together equal parts simplicity and self-induced complexity, the game is an ideal fit on the platform. Don't even bother to debate this ninety nine cent purchase. It should become a mandatory staple of your collection as soon as possible.

This space-themed arcade game sets itself apart from others by asking players to fling around space trash like a gigantic morning star. It's pretty great.

Banner Saga 2 is one of the finest combinations of character, gameplay, and narrative that you can find. It's a game that spends as much time on being a fun and varied strategy game as it does on making you care about its world and the reasons why its characters are in the situation they are in. It's really hard to ask much more than that.

Wayward Souls is a roguelike-inspired action-RPG that sets a high bar for other games to compare to.

The very best RTS the App Store has to offer. Everything works well, the controls are tight, the story is surprisingly captivating, and the battles actually seem like battles, not chores.

No matter how much people gripe about the details though, there is no denying that Aralon is the most impressive RPG to ever hit the App Store. There are others with better stories, but Aralon is the only one that forces you to live and breathe in its fantasy world.

Despite the control flaws and the repeating levels, there is a world of good fun here. You can easily pick this up, fight a foe in a few minutes, and go back to work and still feel like you accomplished something.

An incredibly fantastic game. It can be stressful because of having multiple games to keep track of, and keeping strategies straight with multiple games is often a challenge!

If you are eager to take on new challenges with your favorite birds, then dropping $0.99 on Angry Birds Rio is a no-brainer. For those who have Angry Birds fatigue and have had their fill, there is nothing dramatically new to pull you in.

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy is a solid digitization of a compelling board game marred by an insanely steep learning curve and very little help for new players.

Blast-A-Way has plenty of outright brilliant moments, and it's sublime when a puzzle comes together just perfectly. Illusion Labs has a great feel for how iOS games should work, and it's in effect here with Blast-a-Way.

I'd highly recommend trying out more than just the first two chapters of GHOST TRICK: Phantom Detective. They're good, but just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what this game has to offer. Essential for those who like something different.

With a style like few other games out there, FOTONICA is a tricky but compelling first person Endless Runner.

Piloteer is like trying to teach an octopus with an inner ear problem how to fly a helicopter, and I absolutely love it.

Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition brings Wilson’s struggle for survival to yet another small screen.

Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! is a deeply satisfying and charming management game. Some minor control issues aside, it feels right at home on mobile. Between its great pacing, bright visuals, and satisfying mechanics, there's a lot to like here.

Super Stickman Golf 2 brings new courses, new powerups, new music, and most importantly, a turn-based online multiplayer mode to make an already-great game better.

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage manages to combine just about every physics puzzle concept out there to surprisingly great effect.

Baseball Superstars 2011 is still far from being a perfect game, and the changes in this year's version are really only minor tweaks to the overall formula. But the minor tweaks add up to make this a better game, in some ways, even if the pitching is still far from perfect.

Platform through the depths of space to make sure your entire crew dies together in this satisfying and intriguing puzzle platformer.

Not very often does a newcomer impress, quite to the level that ARC Squadron has. The visual polish, overabundance of content, and addictive gameplay all meld together into a product that even Fox McCloud would be happy to have bear his name. Don't hesitate to jump into the cockpit. This is going to be one hell of a ride, that shouldn't be missed.

A fantastic, atmospheric game with absolutely gorgeous visuals and tremendous replay value. You'd have to be insane to pass this up, although you may end up that way, regardless.

Valiant Hearts is a beautiful (and educational!) puzzle adventure title, though players will find themselves pulled away from its realism from time to time.

This game is best served for the soccer faithful who wants a deep game on the go, more than just the casual player looking for a quick game on the go.

A complex sim and one that demonstrates just how wondrous it was the first time.

Flappy who? Let Retry wash all those bad bird-related memories away on a cool retro-flavored flight... right into the side of a cliff. Over and over and over again.

Blah, blah, blah, Rodeo Games one-upped themselves again, blah, blah.

To say that Dead Space is one of the best games that we have seen in 2011 doesn't do it justice. This is one of the most immersive experiences available on the platform.

This roguelite deckbuilder isn’t perfect on mobile but it has enough charm and novelty to make it worth playing.

It's fun to play, easy to pick up, hard to master, has great animation, quirky style, humorous level dialogue, and has enough levels to keep you entertained for a good deal of time. What more could you want from an iPhone game?

The latest installment in the Dungelot series is nicer looking and harder than its predecessors.

Though it has some control issues, Oxenfree is really something special. It tells a unique story that's peppered with character moments that will stick with you. Seriously, don't pass this one up.

Vignettes is perhaps a little too mysterious, but that's a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things. It's an otherwise entertaining and stylish puzzle game that will definitely mess with your head in a lot of creative and mind-bending ways.

I don't dislike FRAMED 2, but it is one of those sequels that seems just like “more” of a previous game rather than something that pushes the core ideas of a franchise forward. While there are a few moments where this sequel tries to do some new stuff, a lot of it feels like too little, too late. If you liked the first FRAMED and want more of it, FRAMED 2 is great, but if you were looking for something more than that, you might be a bit disappointed.

This rpg is so exceptionally paced and designed that its poor storytelling doesn’t play a factor.

A quick paced game with tons going on at once, but it is beautifully balanced and everything works so well in tandem. The games bright, flashy visuals border on insanity and add to the intensity and fun. This is a superb game and it strikes a perfect balance between simple gameplay and interesting and varied mechanics.

One of the most polished, well designed tower defense games in the App Store. Each of its 20 levels are extremely well crafted, and the additional units, weapons, and RPG elements all come together to create the best game the series has to offer.

Futuristic racing... interstellar style.

Infinity Field may lack in the originality department, but it does not lack in the fun department.

Gameprom is back doing what they have proven themselves proficient at time and time again: making stellar pinball games.

While some aspects did annoy me with the combat and platforming, overall this is an extremely enjoyable action-RPG experience. The classical elements are there but it's not overwhelmingly retro, and it is definitely worth checking out.

Gasketball is like basketball, but with portals and buzzsaws. Also, it's playable over the internet, which is difficult to do with a real basketball.

As long as you aren't offended by the dark humor and enjoy a good retro platform puzzler, I think it's safe to say that Karoshi is a real winner.

At the end of the day though, even with the lack of killer graphics, I can safely say that I spent more time with Game Dev Story in one sitting than any other game I've played this year.

Influenced by the likes of Blade Runner, Gemini Rue is a great adventure game, even if its puzzles are a tad simple.

This endless runner incorporates active collection mechanics to help it stand out in such a crowded genre.

This streamlined version of Rocket League is both fun in its own right and completely free of cynical monetization schemes.

I can't stress enough just how intriguing the puzzles in Winter of the Melodias can be. It's a thoroughly enthralling and totally gorgeous adventure. It's not perfect, but it's absolutely worth it for fans of the original and the genre in general.

This best-in-class brawler makes its way to iOS in an uncompromised state, but still has the same warts of other games in the genre.

Anyone with a love of dogfighting should definitely check out Sky Gamblers: Air Superiority. With so many options for both single and multiplayer game types, it's bound to keep them entertained for a very long time.

Eliss Infinity resurrects an iPhone classic with updated graphics and a new game mode.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite isn't just a port of the PSP original; it's the best version yet.

Dragon Quest VI is a great example of the RPG genre.

Typeshift is an incredible package because of how sleek its puzzle formula is. It's not a mechanically dense game, and its puzzles are simple variants on word games that have come before it. That said, the way these puzzles are designed and presented makes Typeshift not only a fantastic word game, but the only word game I ever want to play.

The experience is just so overwhelmingly great, that it is absolutely worth playing, worth seeing and experiencing for yourself.

Angry Birds feels like it's getting a bit old, but it doesn't feel like it's Rovio's fault. There may only be so much that they can do with the core gameplay and formula, but they're at least showing that even when they could get away with a quick cash-in, they're actually trying to continue to iterate.

Virtually every aspect of Organ Trail: Director's Cut oozes style and cleverness.

Fans of Terry Cavanagh's work and even those unfamiliar with him should definitely check this out.

The game is still frantically chaotic unlike few other match–3 titles out there, and it still looks colorfully amazing.

A fascinating exploration of just how desperate people can get, as well as a gripping thriller of a game. It's the kind of interactive fiction experience that many have been craving for years. For thoughtful gaming, this is the place to go, even if you will only play this once before waiting for the next installment.

KeroBlaster, from the creator of Cave Story, nails the Japanese pixel art style of art and gameplay that many others try to imitate.

Due to the level of difficulty and its minimalist theme, Splice is going to be a bit of an acquired taste. Some will prefer more handholding and more character. For those who love to experiment, however, this is the game to gravitate towards. It's a purist's idea of heaven.

League of Evil is a supernova – shining brightly for a brief moment before it fades away.

One word of warning though is that the game is extremely difficult.

Hugely fun, very well made and is just the sort of thing that will keep me coming back over and over again in an attempt to better my scores, and hopefully those of my friends.

It's all a very potent mix, but Puzzlejuice is tough. It's great fun and those with an expansive vocabulary will particularly reap the benefits of such a crossover title. In terms of accessibility however, I didn't find it quite as addictive as SpellTower, though it does come close.

Hank Hazard is a fantastic physics puzzler. Amongst an App Store heaving with the genre, Hank Hazard stands tall, making it an unbeatable example.

Essentially, it's a soccer themed puzzle game. Figuring out the best route to take and lining up shots just right is the focus here. While it's not possible to deviate from the original plan, there are still some important physics to take into account. Unlocking Pro mode reinforces this as it takes line drawing speed into account which can change everything.

Horn is a well-crafted game that has been well thought out. The story is creative and lovingly presented, and works with the thematic concepts perfectly. Aside from very few control issues, this is definitely a great game that shouldn't go unnoticed.

Anomaly 2 is beautiful, but more of the same.

Working the brain while relaxing the soul, LYNE is a nice app that's great to relax with and get lost within.

I could see Card Thief being a disappointment to those who like Card Crawl's straightforward translation of dungeon-crawling into a Solitaire game. But, if you enjoyed Card Crawl and were hoping for a successor that would take its concepts to the next level, Card Thief just might grab a permanent spot in your game folder.

In a lot of ways, Old Man's Journey is a lot like its own protagonist. It's precious and fascinating, but has its fair share of wrinkles as well. I wouldn't let any of the technical issues with the game stop you from picking it up though. Old Man's Journey more than makes up for its shortcomings through its unique mechanics, breathtaking visuals, and emotionally affecting story.

The Room: Old Sins is an incredible game. It creates an amazing sense of place, peppers it with uniquely detailed objects and puzzles, and paces it all out in a way that makes playing it a pure delight. There may be some times where it isn’t so easy to understand how you are supposed to move forward, but these moments are so few and far between that they’re easy to look past.

This skiing game feels as effortlessly liberating as gliding over snow.

This puzzle-y, arcade-y roguelite makes dungeon-crawling a relaxing but surprisingly deep experience.

Overall I found myself enjoying the unique fun that this game provides, regardless of the far fetched storyline and re-use of the app store cliché, Zombies.

Rayman Fiesta Run operates on the principle of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and thus provides more of the great auto-running platforming that Rayman Jungle Run offered.

Who knew that zombies existed in every historic era? Don't miss out on this journey of epic proportions!

While the new boss is the same as the old boss with Anomaly Korea, that's not a bad thing, because this game still is boss.

Beyond the gameplay, the real reason to buy Plunderland is for the striking simplicity.

This classic JRPG has gotten a pretty wonderful treatment for mobile play.

There's 50 single player missions with plenty of different scenarios to enjoy and master. The online multiplayer is worth coming back to as well, though compared to some iOS-only turn-based games it feels a bit unrefined. Still, this is an impressive package for strategy fans.

It's cute, fun, easy to get into, inexpensive and (according to Chillingo) will be getting even more levels in future updates. Solving ecological disasters has never been so entertainingly surreal.

NightSky provides a unique setting with physics-based gameplay that players will only dream about.

Spartan Strike does a great job of building on the foundation of Spartan Assault.

Suzy Cube is a simple 3D platformer, but it's definitely one of the best for mobile.