Cookies Must Die features awesome slo-mo action, but suffers from having a repetitive structure.

Early Worm uses a proven gameplay formula but then fails to build something particularly compelling around it.

The White Door is a brief adventure with some frustrating puzzles, but a really awesome vibe.

Swag and Sorcery can be rewarding, but only if you can put up with its inelegant design.

Simulacra 2 struggles to get you invested in its shallow, clumsy narrative.

This roguelite feels tuned for distracted play, which makes it feel pretty flat.

This pretty puzzle game gets a lot of things right, but ultimately doesn’t feel that satisfying.

If it weren't for its pretty terrible free-to-play model, Overdox would be (and sometimes is!) one of the most thrilling battle royales out there.

Undead Horde has a lot of ideas for how you can manage your dead army, but doesn’t really provide situations that let you do much with these options.

SimpleRockets 2 celebrates and rewards tinkering, experimentation, and lots and lots of patience.

Dear Esther is a bit of a conundrum. Its extremely slow pace is key to making its tone work, but it can also irritate you to the point that it takes you out of the experience. It also creates an incredibly impressive and intricate set of contrivances to deliver its narrative, but said narrative turns out to be somewhat underwhelming. It’s clear that Dear Esther is a special game, and it deserves praise for going so far outside the lines of what games traditionally try to do. But in doing so, it also sets you up for a grand revelation that never really materializes.

Football Drama is an ambitious and experimental management sim that is both alluring and a bit maddening.

Again, there are plenty of great pieces to read on the ins and outs of what makes Dead Cells a great game. This mobile version is that exact game, but it’s a little harder to enjoy on this particular platform. So, unless the iOS version of the game is the only way you can play Dead Cells or you want to have yet another way to play it, I’m not sure why you’d get this version over the ones that came out last year.

GRIS is a visually arresting experience, but otherwise not particularly memorable.

The ideas in Farm Punks have a lot of potential. I can see a good version of this game hiding somewhere inside of it. It’s not just the monetization to blame, here. Even if Farm Punks was a fully premium experience, its underdeveloped gameplay undercuts its interesting premise.

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

It’s really tricky to create satisfying traversal challenges when you put players in control of an object that can move freely in any direction. I have a lot of respect for Witcheye for taking on this huge design problem, especially since there are times when the game really feels like it delivers compelling solutions. Unfortunately, these moments are spread across an uneven experience that is hard to control.

I’m not sure Journey is best experienced on mobile, but it’s still a fantastic game. If this is the only way you would play it, you should definitely do so. The compromise in bringing Journey to the App Store didn’t significantly impact my enjoyment of it. All of the most important stuff is still there, and that’s worth celebrating.

If Hamsterdam was a little tighter and shorter, I think I would have enjoyed its prompt-based gameplay a little more. There are times where it does really fire on all cylinders, but by that time, you’ve already played so much of it that the payoff doesn’t necessarily feel worth it.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar feels like an rpg that doesn’t know what it wants to be. In its pursuit of trying to have every classic rpg system crammed into it, it doesn’t take the time to tell you about them or why they might be important. It just creates a digital checklist for you that’s miles long. For an rpg that you might want to play on the go for a good long time, that might not be such a bad thing, but it could be better.

If you want to take your loot shooting on the go, I can’t think of a better game to pick up than Gigantic X. It’s top down shooting is fun and satisfying in its own right, and the game has varied and interesting gear to keep you on the grind.

I’m glad that Hyper Light Drifter is on mobile, but it doesn’t exactly seem like a great fit. Between the slow ramp up and performance problems, it’s probably best to play this game elsewhere if you can. If you can’t, it’s still possible to enjoy the game on iOS. I did, but I probably would have had more fun with it on console or PC, assuming those versions don’t have similar issues.

There are definitely some rough edges to P1 Select, but the core of what’s here is so cool and creative that they’re easy to look past. Do yourself a favor and go play P1 Select. It’s hard to imagine a more imaginative roguelike in such a tight little package.

I can’t even begin to imagine how Sky was made. It’s ultra-smooth visuals and seamless multiplayer feel like they can’t work on a mobile device, yet they do. This is indeed an achievement, and I cannot deny that. Once I start playing it though, it feels like I’m smearing a painting. Everything is so beautifully composed, and then I come along to fly into a wall or get hung up on a ledge. This happens so frequently that I don’t really like spending time in Sky, which is a real shame.

TEPPEN is a surprisingly fun collectible card game that makes good use of Capcom characters.

Although it doesn’t end in an especially satisfying way, I still really enjoyed my time with Forgotton Anne. It builds a really cool world and animates it beautifully. It even contains quite a few touching character moments and explores interesting ideas. These things are rare in games, particularly on the App Store, so its flaws are worth looking past.

Minit has some neat tricks up its sleeves, but I lost interest in looking for them before I finished it. The looping mechanic is one that makes for a great pitch and first impression, but it gets old very quickly. This isn’t to say there aren’t things to enjoy about Minit, but they were probably far more enjoyable a year ago when the game was fresh and you were playing it with a controller

Serial Cleaner is a flat stealth action experience with few redeeming qualities.

The extremely slow pace of Infectonator 3 makes it hard to enjoy.

Aside from some nice art, there’s not a whole lot to enjoy about Very Little Nightmares. From top to bottom, the game feels poorly conceived. It doesn’t work as a horror tone-piece, a puzzle game, or a mobile experience, which is a pretty big problem if you’re trying to make a horror-themed puzzle game on mobile.

This digital deck-builder is a great title for genre veterans and curious newcomers alike.

The Gardens Between is a beautiful puzzle adventure that you need to experience.

Astrologaster’s premise makes it interesting, but its writing and voice acting make it truly special.

This multiplayer golf game is an uneven mix of high highs and low lows.

Ordia is a truly special platformer that knows exactly what it’s supposed to be.

Whispers of a Machine stumbles on just about all fronts. It has a lot of systems that commingle in a confusing way, a story that feels both unconfident and hackneyed, and–to top it all off–the mobile port leaves quite a bit to be desired. All around, this is a pretty disappointing outing, especially considering Clifftop Games has already proven they can make great adventure games on mobile.

This gacha games plays more like an idle game, while ditching some of the worst parts of its contemporaries in the process.

Rolando: Royal Edition is a faithful and loving remaster of a dearly beloved ten-year-old game, for better or for worse.

Photographs is a picture perfect mobile game you absolutely can’t miss.

The latest Rush Rally game has an impressive amount of modes and control options, making it the most approachable racer on mobile.

This War of Mine: Stories benefits from presenting a smaller, more focused story about the casualties of war.

Game of Gods is a fun and unique spin on the Clash Royale formula, provided you can put up with or pay to opt out of its ads.

Scorcher is a runner with somewhat interesting mechanics, but only its visuals make it a standout game.

JackQuest is a brief adventure that runs out of ideas shortly after it begins. There are a few interesting platforming sections in the game’s small map, but other than that, it feels pretty lifeless. Even among the pool of mostly disappointing Metroidvanias on mobile, JackQuest rates pretty low.

What this tactics game might lack in production values, it makes up for with its fast-and-loose approach to design.

This FMV game certainly has a quirky charm to it, but its narrative unravels to the point that it can’t deliver a satisfying conclusion.

There’s a fair amount of stuff to fight through in Immortal Rogue before it gets enjoyable, but it’s all worth it. Despite a few rough edges, the action offered here is worth investing time in, as it grants some very interesting and satisfying rewards that transform it from rote brawler into a varied action roguelite with huge replay value.

This platformer has neat ideas, but doesn’t execute on them in the best ways.

Evolution’s is a great board game, and this digital version is a solid (though not ideal) way to play it.

Knights of the Card Table has a few irksome features, but is otherwise a solid dungeon-crawling card game.

Star Traders: Frontiers's ambitious variety and depth of systems allows you to have a unique experience each and every time you play it.

Tacticool has a pretty lame tone to it, and its free-to-play design is kind of messed up, but the game itself still manages to be surprisingly fun. Without paying, you can have a good amount of fun here with the game’s tactical gameplay. That said, if you plan to put any serious amount of time into Tacticool at all, be prepared to spend money if you want to stay competitive.

BackFire’s difficulty curve might make you hate it at times, but its design is fair enough that you’re always jumping back in to see if you can best it. What helps is that the game has an ingenious upgrade system that always lets you make progress, even if you’re just banging your head against a level repeatedly. Oh, and I almost forgot the best part: all of this feels completely intuitive and easy-to-control on a touch screen. Do yourself a favor and get BackFire. It’s one of the best arena shooters available on the App Store.

Alien: Blackout looks great, but doesn’t quite capture the feeling of being stalked by a Xenomorph.

Almost all physics games reach a point where they feel too chaotic to be fun, and Hang Line is no exception. The game’s early levels show a lot of cool promise, but that falls away quickly to reveal levels full of unpredictable and annoying hazards that feel like they’re there to try and suck money out of you.

Tap! Captain Star is a foul combination. It’s equal parts mind-numbing clicker and super-aggressive ad machine. I can’t think of a single good reason for anyone to play it.

Supercell is very good at making their derivative games look good and original, but they need to start doing more than that.

If having a mobile version of Gone Home is the only thing that will get you to play this game, grab it. Otherwise, you might want to play it elsewhere.

Rebel Inc. is fascinating and fun, but if you find a strategy in the game that works, it works just about everywhere. This doesn’t bode well for a game that doesn’t really have enough story or other content to it to switch things up dramatically, but somehow I still find the game fun. It’s just oddly satisfying to walk through the steps of returning a region to stability, even if the way you go about it is largely the same every time you do it.

Chuchel is a silly little game that feels like you’re playing a weird animated short at the beginning of a kids movie. It’s creative, bright, and charming, but all of those qualities are somewhat transient. As long as you’re making your way through Chuchel with no roadblocks, it’s delightful. If you have to sit through any repeated animations though, it can feel like a chore.

This game borrows heavily from Sirvo Studios’s Threes! but the result is a game that feels completely unique and brilliant.

Super Fowlst incorporates Spelunky into its mishmash of influences. This would be incredible if not for the game's kind of slow start.

Kingdom Rush Vengeance proves there is still room for new, great tower defense games on an App Store that sometimes feels overloaded with them. Although it still has some annoying monetization stuff in it, Kingdom Rush Vengeance is the biggest and baddest the series has been. A few IAPs doesn't change the fact that this is a must-buy.

Spitkiss is a platformer that feels tailor-made for mobile. Its unique setup and mechanics let a game with simple touch controls feel like a challenging and rewarding experience. For anyone thinking Spitkiss may not be for them because of its subject matter, don’t let that stop you from playing one of the best mobile platformers out there.

Black Paradox is essentially a retrowave version of Steredenn. It's fine, but definitely familiar.

Idle Skies is all about waiting for your wealth to pile up and occasionally interacting with your planes. While it's a decent enough option for a game you want to be able to check on minimally, for most of us, it's likely to seem a fairly lackluster experience.

This dungeon crawler offers an interesting change of pace, but suffers from too many technical issues.

This cross between Ghostbusters and Kero Blaster takes too long to get interesting.

Wish there was a more Halloween-y version of Downwell? Candies n' Curses might just be your best bet.

10tons makes some amazing shooters on iOS, but Tesla vs. Lovecraft--while solid--doesn't quite top their previous releases.

I don’t love Reigns or Game of Thrones all that much at this point, but Reigns: Game of Thrones combines the two properties in a way that—though simple—is surprisingly enjoyable. It’s fun to feel like you’re in control of Westeros, even if it’s only for a little bit before you meet some terrible demise. There’s enough clever things that Nerial does with George R.R. Martin’s fantasy universe that makes Reigns: Game of Thrones worth checking out if you have any affinity for the show or books.

It may be a bit of a steep price point, but Monster Hunter Stories absolutely oozes quality and has plenty to keep you busy with.

Dragalia Lost is a fine game, and I bet it will be a successful one too. I’m all for quality, new gacha games, but this is not how I want to see Nintendo operating in the mobile space. Despite being a decent game, Dragalia Lost doesn’t feel Nintendo-like at all. Instead, it feels like a polished up version of the games we’ve all already seen on the App Store, making Nintendo’s mobile efforts really feel like an afterthought rather than any sort of space for exciting new game developments.

Unfortunately there's little to love here, which is a pity, because the game formula itself is one that has plenty of promise. But with so much lag and such intrusive ads, you'd have to be both incredibly patient and incredibly lucky in order to make any real progress in the game and have decent hopes of winning a few rounds. Even if you're a fan of the territory-grabbing mechanic, give this one a miss.

Aside from the mildly interesting conceit, Ammo Pigs doesn’t have a lot going for it. It feels old and thin, and does very little to make what is there feel interesting or nostalgic. There are droves of better 2D action platformers on the App Store, most of which will leave more of an impression on you than Ammo Pigs will.

This puzzle game has its fair share of issues, but it’s worth seeing through to the end.

The sequel to Alphabear doesn’t change things up too much, but that’s ok. It’s still pretty great.

This puzzle adventure is full of half-baked ideas that result in a pretty forgettable experience.

The fun of The Company is in using your phone in weird and creative ways to solve puzzles. Even when you immediately figure out what you’re supposed to do on a given puzzle, actually using your device’s full feature set to to solve puzzles is incredibly satisfying. If the game was only these kinds of puzzles, it would be a must-buy, but—unfortunately—The Company also features some not-so-great puzzles that really drag down what is otherwise a stellar puzzler.

Wall Kickers is a great little package. It probably won’t be your next obsession, but it’s not a game that really feels like it’s shooting for that, either. This is just a good game to have on your phone when you want a minute or two of satisfying action, and it delivers on this front in spades.

Overall Sling Drift has the potential to be a fairly entertaining game, but the squishy physics make it tougher than it should be, especially if you don't spring for the in-app purchase.

This multi-layered puzzle game can be extremely rewarding, provided you have the patience for it.

Hungry Dragon is a simple but wonderfully chaotic free-to-play game with lots of rather bloody fun to be had.

Golfing Around is good, simple fun. If you just want a golf game that resembles old school titles like Fuji Golf, this game definitely delivers. Golfing Around is only really disappointing if you know going into it that the creator behind this game used to have ideas like what if slo-mo platforming and also golf? and is now just presenting a no-nonsense golf game with a course creator. It just feels a little underwhelming compared to his previous output, even though this effort is perfectly pleasant for what it is.

Despite being a game about holes, Donut County is a remarkably complete experience. It’s got the charm and silliness of something like Katamari Damacy, but with some added depth, interesting character work, and compelling storytelling to boot. This is an absolute must play.

This puzzle game is equally compelling as an endless score-chaser and satisfying narrative game.

Even if you're not a fan of stealth games, Sneak Ops is fast-paced, clever, and fun enough for everyone to enjoy.

This brawler has a ton of neat stuff going on in it, but the combat leaves something to be desired.

If you like the series, this one should definitely be on your list, and if you’re completely unfamiliar with Shin Megami Tensei, it’s still worth checking out if you’re a fan of RPGs in general. Undoubtedly there’s some grinding to be done the further you get - especially if you want to avoid microtransactions - but that’s fairly standard for this type of game, rather than being unique to Liberation.

Asphalt 9: Legends is the best of the series so far. While it may lean a little more toward the casual side of arcade racing, it's still a ton of fun and gorgeous, to boot.

Short as it may be, Radiant One is a powerful experience that’s absolutely worth having.

If I didn’t already enjoy and know how to play Lightseekers going into playing this digital version, I’m not sure I’d have much of anything positive to say about it. It’s rough-looking, feels really thin, and doesn’t explain itself very well at all. I imagine this could be a neat digital companion to anyone who’s already invested in playing the Lightseekers card game (especially considering the game allows you to scan in existing physical cards you own), but as a standalone game, Lightseekers is hard to recommend.

Some rules in Pocket City are frustratingly rigid, while others are so easy to work around that they feel game-breaking. These inconsistencies ultimately make for a game that only stays enjoyable up to a limit. Although there is a pretty fun progression to the game, you never feel like you have the full freedom to make the city you want. Instead, you always feel like you have the freedom to make the kind of city that nobody wants, which is not particularly satisfying.

In a lot of ways, holedown feels like the mobile game equivalent of comfort food. It’s something that’s extremely enjoyable from time to time, but too much of it may not be the best thing for you. If this fits the bill of what you want in your next mobile game purchase, than go ahead and give holedown a try, but if you’re looking for a substantive experience on your phone, you may want to look elsewhere.

Where Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 felt like a reinvention of the series, Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 just seems like a continuation of pre-existing ideas. There’s more things to do and a greater variety of ways to do them, which is great, but it’s also a bunch of stuff that feels pretty familiar. This familiarity makes Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 feel a bit unsurprising, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still fantastic.

This driving game can feel amazing, but only really if you have the right equipment to play it.

Identity V is a little waffly in its introduction, but the actual game is great fun and feels pretty slick on a smartphone.

Up Left Out may not be the most detailed or complex puzzler on the App Store, but it celebrates simplicity and is a lot of fun.