It’s satisfying to watch as your skills steadily improve, and its speedy nature means you’re sure to come back for more anytime you’ve got a few minutes spare. Even if it’s just to watch your crash test dummy character fly out of the car, as you hurtle into a barrier for the 100th time.

Overall, Crash of Cars isn’t quite a candidate for game of the year, but it’s something most players will likely have at least a week or two of solid fun before it moves off the home screen into the games folder. For a lot of folks, the biggest attraction to Crash of Cars will likely be the social aspect of the game — competing against strangers and friends. The more popular Crash of Cars gets and can stay, the more likely these players will be to stick around, but it’ll depend on whether new vehicles and features are introduced often enough to sustain interest.

If you’ve not picked it up yet and nostalgia is tugging at your thumbs, by all means go mobile.

These problems are merely small pebbles, though. Radical Rappelling is a pretty bodacious experience overall, and a must-try for dudes and dudettes who love endless games.

Overall, we’re pretty impressed by Men in Black: Global Invasion. It uses the licence well, improves on a number of different areas from Pokémon GO, and the gacha RPG aspects feel like the missing piece of the puzzle. Our only criticisms at this point are that it’s a bit barebones and could really use a few more game modes to feel more fully fleshed out. We’re also mildly concerned at the potential level of pay to win required for the later, more challenging campaign battles. But, if you like Pokémon GO and gacha RPGs, this is an awesome blend of the two. We’d thoroughly recommend at least checking it out.

Manifold Garden is a striking and hugely impressive puzzler – but it’s certainly not for everyone. But perhaps that’s part of the appeal. Scratch that – it definitely is.

Clean interface and menu design, engaging gameplay and a wealth of multiplayer options make sure you'll always have someone to play against.

For the price, and given the great changes to the genre it makes, Aces 3D Brick Breaker is a very fun arcade block-breaker title. It manages to do some very different things, gives you enough incentive to keep going, and surprises you along the way.

This is a game we’d ultimately recommend playing in short bursts – this way it offers a perfectly judged experience for both experienced and novice fans of the tower defense genre.

With gameplay both difficult and satisfying, Nutty Fluffies has that just-one-more-time appeal that so many games in the mobile space strive for.

Tensei is not perfect – there’s not much content here, ultimately – but we still really enjoyed our time we had with this intriguing casual title.

What Rotolla really needs is just that little something else. The main mode is great fun, but that's all there is to it, and something along the lines of a puzzle mode in which you have to work out how to line blocks up perfectly to clear each level would have been much appreciated.

To sum things up, this game was a real experience. It opened me to a new genre of games which I previously dismissed. I found myself wanting to replay stories just to try for different endings. World of Horror is an ideal title for gamers who like causal horror titles. There’s a low commitment to the stories despite the range in difficulty, and it’s easy to pick up and come back to time and time again.

Despite a little retreading, Rat on a Skateboard is a really addictive, fun arcade title. You have no excuse to pass it up. Rat on a Skateboard will reside on your iPhone until you upgrade to the next model, and maybe even after that.

Nevertheless, King of Thieves is the most compelling PvP game to come around in a long time. It’s good to be bad, so go ahead and indulge.

A simple but addictive word game that will give your brain a good workout while simultaneously helping you relax from a stressful day. The nice cartoon visuals help with that, giving you the same vibes as hanging out on campus.

Apart from reusing levels multiple times in a row, there really aren’t many downsides to the Monument Builders: Golden Gate Bridge experience. The visuals get the job done, and the sound effects do a great job transporting you back to the 1930s. The lack of worker queueing is normally a problem in games of this genre, but here it’s not an issue.

Like a game of tic-tac-toe, Kindo is best enjoyed sporadically and in small doses or you risk a quick burn-out.

Haunted Hotel: Death Sentence delivers a classically creepy experience, and it never tries to disguise that fact. There are jump scares, there are disturbing scribbles on the walls, there are shadows and red eyes watching you from every corner. And you know what? It’s fantastic. Because Haunted Hotel doesn’t pretend it’s the epitome of horror games it manages to deliver a fun and engaging experience. The fast-paced hidden object scenes and bounty of puzzle items is just icing on the cake. A dark, black, evil death cake.

Almost everything about Back to Bed seems designed with the player in mind, from the quirky narration to its speed-up button to the minimal punishment for failure. The re-purposed Surrealist objects create a unique dreamscape that is a treat to wander, and Nightmare mode provides a surprising amount of replay value.

It’s a good, lighthearted, and far less deadly trip down.

While there are a couple of missteps for Real Boxing 2: CREED, it’s a mostly solidly entertaining boxing game. With plenty of content, it should keep you hooked for a while as you learn the art of perfect timing.

Regardless of these small disappointments, each new job discovered and building constructed is still a wonderful surprise.

Joan Mad Run is an exciting blend of hyper violence, platforming nous, and pixel graphics. And if you like any of those things, it’s well worth sinking some time into.

It has a thumping and varied soundtrack, an eye-catching visual style, and a impressive range of play modes.

It’s a little game that has some real value in it’s replay potential for speedrunners, and for everyone else it’s a nice reminder of the games we used to play as kids/teens, back in the age of game cartridges and AA batteries.

Along with the classic mechanics that made the first game popular, the new rendition comes with several new modes to offer both veterans and newcomers greater variety and challenge. More polished and expansive than the original, Paper Toss 2.0 is a great new free game for wasting time and procrastinating real work.

At the very least, you can certainly say this: It’s very pretty, and very fun.

On the gameplay side I think they trimmed out a lot of the under the hood yin and yang nonsense.

Monster Hospital could have been simplified a bit to make it more instantly engaging, but the resulting product has a good amount of depth and quite a bit of staying power. It's a grind, for sure, and one that relies a little too much on in-app purchases to keep things moving, but everything else falls right into place, creating a game that's entertaining, funny, challenging, and just so darn cute!

Sure, the game isn't as deep as its PC counterparts, but it doesn't have to be. It's the perfect portable fix for fans of the genre with its flawless combat and awesome co-op option. Get the game for free, invest a little in a gem pack, and enjoy it for everything it has going for it.

By making Holidaytown a standalone app rather than an update to the existing Hometown, Zynga was able to re-envision their entire offering with a Christmas twist without upsetting the status quo.

Overall, Swift Revenge is a fun addition to the App Store. It has enjoyable characters with amusing dialogue, some nice music, and is overall fun, if a little frustrating at times. If you don't mind a game with a bit of bite, then pick this one up.

Don’t Shoot Yourself! is an interesting take on the bullet hell genre, but as a part of that genre, may not be for everyone. In this case, though, it feels like a cross between those games and the classic Snake number-eating game, so it may yet appeal to some outside of that core audience.

House of Hell might not have been amongst the very best of the original Fighting Fantasy series, but Tin Man have made the most of the opportunities afforded by the digital transition to improve on the paper version, and make it as fun as possible.

It won’t replace One Finger Death Punch, but it’ll make for a decent enough stand-in.

Like Draw Something, Can't Say That! is incredibly simple to pick up and learn, even if you haven't played two seconds of Taboo. The game moves extremely quickly, which is nice: you can challenge one opponent after another, and solving a word usually doesn't take up more than twenty seconds of your time (because you're a sharp little cookie, right?).

It just needs to be a fun little puzzle game that's well worth the price of admission. And when looked at in that light, Pudding Monsters is downright delicious.

Out There is a solidly built game that I can happily recommend to anyone looking for a proper adventure game, and to players who don't mind testing their luck over their ability to plan. It's worth mentioning that the game is largely text-based, so it's suitable for players of all skill levels.

Card Crawl is an impressively solid card game that borrows what works from other games and spins it into it’s own, unique, game.

If you're looking for more Burn the Rope fun, Worlds delivers just that, with the same great gameplay and adorable visuals. There's just more of it and, thankfully, the controls have been tweaked to make things less frustrating.

The open world aspect of Ravensword: Shadowlands is one of its big selling points, and it is fun to explore some non-linear adventures on your iOS device.

Each person who plays Piloteer will quickly do one of two things: They’ll either work very hard at perfecting the nuances of the game’s flight physics (an endeavor that takes a lot of practice), or they’ll laugh at the titular piloteer bashing her head against the park bench a few times, quickly get fed up with the game’s physics, and move on.

Whether you're a fan of the game and are always in want of an opponent, or you've never played and want a cheaper way to learn it and check it out, it's hard to beat this version. Kudos to Codito – they're quickly proving themselves to be among the masters of digital board game adaptations.

It’s not perfect, but it’s so charming that you have to at least give it a spin.

Cursed Treasure 2 is very much a game for seasoned tower defense gamers.

Best of all, it’s enjoyable - even when you sigh at yourself for the twentieth time because you were foolish and ran too fast. For those reasons, this is a particularly classy hardcore dungeon crawler.

Whether you’re a fan of the little yellow fellows or not, it’s worth checking out.

Like most games of this nature, you won’t always have something to do as you’re earning your way to your objectives — and that’s really the only bad thing to be said about it. If wishing I could spend more time in my virtual Sunnyvale is my sole complaint, East Side Games are definitely doing something right.

Our only real criticism is that this could have positioned itself as the complete Fowlst package for console, offering the original Fowlst and Super Fowlst as unlockables. For the low price-tag Super Fowlst 2 is hard to resist though, and anyone after a well presented and charming high-score focused experience should look no further.

In the end, from the graphics and soundtrack to personalisation and sizeable rewards for ad views, 3 Sprockets really knocks it out of the park with Digby Forever. It’s unlikely to hold gamers looking for a complex or entirely original gameplay experience, but for those on the hunt for something endlessly fun, it should be able to hold a homescreen spot for quite a while.

If nothing else, Heart of Surging Flame with the brand new collaborated song ‘After It All’ composed by famous Dutch DJ duo Yellow Claw is an excellent reason to download the game right now. If you enjoy strategy RPG games, Arknights is unlikely to disappoint.

Overall, Bridge Constructor Medieval nails some neat new ideas onto the Bridge Constructor formula, but it's most likely to be enjoyed by lords and ladies that already cherish physics-based construction games.

The controls in Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage are easy enough to get used to given time, however. Between the game’s good humor, varied gameplay, and interesting puzzles, it’d be a shame to sit out this voyage, even though hitting an iceberg is inevitable.

Some games make up in execution for what they lack in high concept, and Echo Prime falls into that category pretty comfortably.

If you've been curious about the fuss behind collectable card / battle games but aren't interested in match-three puzzle mechanics, Dragon Coins is a strong alternative.

Magic Duels is a great gateway to a game with nearly endless possibilities. The only downfall it has is that it doesn’t do much to expose you to those endless possibilities.

There was little doubt that an app maker as accomplished as Toca Boca would fail to take the first step from pre-schoolers to junior school age kids, and Toca Builders proves it.

One of the nicest things about QuizUp is that the game is laid out in front of you from the minute you hit start. There are no coins to collect, no "premium" categories to earn.

In the end, The Lost Shapes provides a solid, competent puzzle game experience. It doesn't quite have the addictiveness of a Tetris, but still provides a good bit of fun that should satisfy any fan of puzzle games.

Set Sail’s simplicity really works in its favor. It may not sound like there’s a lot going on, but once you start juggling four or five kinds of ships, mentally keeping track of which one needs rigging and which one needs repairing, then start digging into the price points to maximize your profits, things start to get hectic. It’s more of a mental game than a physical reflexes one, but it’s still a great twist on the money management genre.

Ultimately Decarnation is incredibly thought-provoking. Gloria’s life in the physical world is slowly falling apart, which in turn has a significant impact on her deteriorating psyche. You’ll find yourself thinking about this game even when you’re not playing it, and there can be no greater praise than that.

This is a throaty squawk of a mobile game, its swagger holding together its disparate ideas and letting them blend into something with the sharpness and fun you need to keep you glued to your phone for hours.

Those gripes aside, I was impressed with just how entertaining Gang Lords can be. It has a solid, if a bit by-the-numbers, free-to-play foundation, and a combat system that’s a heck of a lot more strategic than it first appears.

Layer wields simplicity effectively and efficiently to deliver an experience that’s simultaneously simple and complex in every regard.

If you’ve been looking for a merciless rhythm/puzzle game that spares the long tutorials and cutesy mascots, Neurokult is an ideal mate.

Is it as good as the TV show? Well, that all depends on why you enjoy the TV show. If you were hoping it’d capture the existential torment and the pointlessness of cycles of violence, then you’re going to be disappointed. But the punching and kicking? Yeah, it pretty much nails that.

Really, one of the lone bummers in The Universal Weapon is that it’s pretty short.

A game that feels so inviting that you'd be a fool to turn away. Come to the light.

Bacon Escape utilizes intricately designed levels to challenge players’ reflexes and planning, but its focus on high-speed obstacle dodging results in a more fast-paced and frantic experience. As in Nono Islands, mastering levels will require multiple playthroughs and committing upcoming hazards to memory, but the smooth controls, interesting platforming layouts, and adorable cast of characters make even subsequent attempts a joy to replay.

Wonderfully presented and is not too bad a companion game when out running errands or walking the dog. Because of that context though, it's likely to be underplayed quite a bit. Still, if people are looking for something new and creative, then this is certainly the game to try out.

A near-flawless victory for mobile gamers.

The game is short so this initial installment will entertain you for a couple of days depending on how fast you play.

People that missed the first title will get their hands on this and find it to be extremely unique, and people that loved Defender Chronicles for being great in 2009 will get more of what they liked.

If you're easily intimidated by difficult or frustrating games, you might be better off dosing yourself with acid than playing Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin. But if you like things rough, Tentacles is more than happy to challenge you.

While it's no Skateor Tony Hawk, that's perhaps the most surprising thing of all: the fact thatsomewhere along the line, Penny Timestops being an advergame, and starts feeling like a trippy skate session more than worth the price of admission. In a sea full of games shilling pet food and restaurants, you could do a lot worse than to shell out for this wild ride.

Its combat is unique and extremely satisfying, its 52 levels offer plenty of challenge, and while long-term players will be putting down the $4.99 for unlimited energy, you can easily get a free taste of it is enough to know if it’s worth the money.

Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze is a lot of fun while you play it. It just that happens to be a double edged sword. It leaves you rushing through it, then longing for more. It’s a promising start to a potentially very interesting story. It just needs longer future episodes, and a slightly more challenging set of clues and puzzles to live up to its potential.

If you’ve somehow never played the first game and are in the wheelhouse for the inside jokes that Knights of Pen and Paper II relies on so heavily, you’re likely going to find it a creative and clever revelation.

When I played Chaos Rings on the iPhone, the visuals seemed razor sharp. On the iPad, it looks like the game's environments were simply enlarged from lower resolutions, hence the fuzziness.

An incredibly robust package that should keep any tower defense fan busy for quite some time.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Dreamer's take on the endless runner genre. It could have tried to rest on the loins of its charming graphics, music, and premise, but instead it went the full mile and offered up a unique style of gameplay.

The need to keep your finger on the screen throughout gameplay means #breakforcist is a better experience on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad mini than on the larger iPad devices. High scores are likely to come with some serious cramping on the iPad 4 or iPad pro for example.

Cover Fire by Genera Games is a rich and compelling rails shooter designed with Apple’s 3D Touch in mind. Yet, even if you’re not able to take advantage of the aim and shoot 3D Touch mechanic, there’s a lot on offer across both the Android and iOS platforms.

As far as RPGs go, Fearless Fantasy is far from the best. But it does some pretty cool things with gesture-based fights, offering RPG fans a new way to partake in RPG-styled combat.

Even without much real-life influence, Virtua Tennis Challenge accomplishes one key goal: portable tennis action. It may be pricier than most mobile games, but if you enjoy hitting the fuzzy green ball, it'll be well worth your time and cash.

Fort Meow has combined the joys of fort-building and cat-flinging into one charmingly atmospheric experience that’s worth a first, second, and beyond play—as long as you have a cat-free iPad at your disposal.

We found A Musical Story easy to lose ourselves in, despite the difficulty. Others may not be so forgiving, but if you’re looking for a new rhythm action title for your Switch this is an almost essential purchase.

While it may not do anything radical for the endless running genre, AdvenChewers quietly creates a lovely gaming atmosphere that's worth its weight in bubblegum ten times over. Great for quick runs and extended playing sessions alike!

Fantasy Adventure is a fun, quality game. The little control quirks aren't anything new for games in the genre and never become so much of an issue that they ruin the experience, and there's more than enough content to keep folks busy for a while. It's a shame that it's kind of obnoxious to search for, though.

There isn’t another baseball game out for mobile devices that walks the line between arcade action and sim quite like this one, and even though it leans toward the arcade side more than a little, it’s still versatile enough to be fun for a wide range of sports gamers. It can’t be overstated just how nice it is to be playing with the real MLB teams this time around, so if you were on the fence about previous Tap Sports Baseball titles, that should be enough to get you to jump in for 2017.

Tiny Dice Dungeon is still very much worth a roll if you're a fan of RPGs.

An excellent little game that manages to do something with a genre that's been all but played out for a while. It's a lot of fun and incredibly entertaining. Plus, it contains 75 different levels to play through, so there's a lasting appeal here.

For those who make it through the first 50 puzzles, there is a promise of more challenges coming soon. Even without more levels, the reasonable $0.99 download cost is a value for the experience.

If Vainglory is missing anything, it’s probably some kind of overall system of progression, one that rewards the truly dedicated by allowng them to customize their builds a little more.

It's a simple game with a simple goal in mind, and because it's so adorable it's going to attract some attention. Be patient and try not to shout at the IAP section, and you'll be rewarded with a very pleasant casual puzzle game.

The game is full of those small touches that can easily go overlooked, but indicate true love on behalf of the developers: the golden crown that appears on your unicorn when all stars have been collected; the little speech bubble from the King when he's inside a fish cannon, saying "I'm in here!"; or the fact that one of the King's power-ups is an actual green sticky hand.

The game features challenging, inventive, and just plain fun gameplay that will test even the best of players. Besides, look into those little orange eyes: you can't say no to that, can you?