Slowly building on the previously successful format, it throws in some much needed additions to ensure that this doesn’t feel like a reskinned version of a game you’ve already played. It’ll be interesting to see what new innovations are added to the genre in the coming months. This could be a very positive early sign of a genre keen to not stagnate.

If you fancy yourself a dab hand at amateur surgery, or you just like the idea of using a lighter to attach a healthy lung in the space you just cut a diseased one out of with a chainsaw, then this is exactly the sort of game you should be looking at getting.

Simple though it may be I actually really like this control scheme as it lets me focus all of my energy on moving and aiming.

So no, this isn’t Rocky IV, which as everyone knows is the best Rocky film. But it’s not Rocky V either, which everyone knows is the worst. It’s sort of somewhere between Rocky II and III. So like… Rocky II.V. There’s fun to be had here, just don’t expect it to be the sort of fun that you’re going to come back to time and time again.

Proof that these brands should have been on mobile all along. Took you long enough, Nintendo, but here’s hoping you stick around for a while.

Retro Winter Sports 1986 is dedicated to its retro stylings, and that works as much to its detriment as it does its benefit. But it’s still well worth checking out even if you’re not a fan of the past. Or, you know, you weren’t born in the past. It’s both an interesting glimpse into how games have changed and a great example of why they have. There’s a swirl and a pop to the experience that’s engaging for the most part, even though it does fade once you’ve finally managed to get your fingers to do what the game wants them to.

Party Hard is the sort of game that’s more fun when you play it in small doses – maybe one level at a time. The whole “wander around and murder pixel people” thing is an entertaining idea, and -almost cute in a way — but if you try to zip through it all at once, the levels will start to bleed together (no pun intended) and you’ll likely tire of it in short order.

Royal Detective: Queen of Shadows builds a solid gameplay base with an equal balance of exploration, item-based puzzle solving, hidden object scenes, and mini-games. Wrapped around that is a stunning audio-visual package that draws you in from the very beginning. It’s a high quality adventure game with enough twists to keep you engaged all evening.

All in all this is the sort of game that’s great to spend a few hours with. It stretches you in the right directions, tickling your grey matter in ways that other experiences don’t. Along with making you think about what you’re doing, this is a story that will really make you think. And that’s exactly the sort of thing we need more of.

Glitch Fixers – The Powerpuff Girls doesn’t bother with throwing overpowered bonuses at you, or sullying the water with needless extras. It sticks to its core concept and it’s a good one. Without the programmable interface, this would have just been a very simple platformer, but by mixing things up, it’ll stick in your memory for a while to come.

I think it’s a decent platformer with fantastic visual and audio style. But I do think it’s a shame that it can’t quite stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the games it’s obviously trying to aspire to.

Dark Parables: Ballad of Rapunzel is well-built and all around entertaining. The visuals are richly detailed, the voice acting and animations smooth and engaging, and the puzzles keep you interested without being overly obtuse. The one drawback actually stems from the game’s artwork. With such detailed objects and set pieces, it can be tough to pick out individual items at a glance.

In the end, Fantastic Beasts: Cases From The Wizarding World does exactly what it sets out to do — but you can’t help but feel that it could have done a little bit more. As it stands, it’s perfectly fine, and it’s going to find a sizable audience. It just doesn’t fizz and sparkle with the sort of magic you might be expecting.

Unlike other games a bit like this (such as the many Glu celebrity games), there’s no storyline to follow, luring you in a little more each time. The real allure to Design Home is for those people keen to own a home but without the space or finances. They can live out their dreams of designing a home just how they want it to look, without spending any real money or significant time on the results. As a form of dream making, it fits the job. Even if its longevity isn’t quite there.

And that’s what keeps you coming back to Hop Swap – its simple yet beguiling platforming. Nitrome has always been great at offering logical in-app purchases and it’s a similar case here. You don’t have to spend real money if you don’t want to, and you’ll still get the full experience. That experience being a platformer that reminds you of how great touch screen gaming can be when implemented correctly.

Swap Sword is still quite fun, but with that lack of refinement, it’s one step away from greatness. You’ll find yourself wishing it had more going for it than it does. As a simple Match-3/roguelike, it’ll entertain you for a little while, but don’t be surprised if you end up longing for more from your experience.

Archery King might try to lure you in with promises of new locations and fun secrets. Yes, they are in there somewhere, but its pacing is off. It’s too slow to throw in the interesting stuff, and once you get there, it frequently feels like too little too late. In the fast moving mobile marketplace, games need to hold your interest far more quickly than Archery King ever really does.

There’s also a lot of different currencies to keep an eye on, with ships needing multiple different materials for different things. On the plus side, Battlestar Galactica: Squadrons does a reasonable job of explaining it all, and it sort of makes logical sense.

ISLANDS: Non-Places does make for an interesting way to relax and kill time if you’re looking for something fairly mindless. Or heck, if you’re looking for something that looks weird and you just want to stare at it for a while, here you go. But if you’re looking for something more involved, or any sort of brain-teasing challenge, chances are you’ll be disappointed.

There’s an awful lot here to like. If you’re a fan of old fashioned leapers then you’re going to be in your element here. And if you’re not, well there’s enough new stuff going on that you’re likely going to leave with a smile on your face as well.

Mikey Jumps is a great mobile action game, whether you’ve never heard of Mikey before or if you’re a long-time fan. The game controls as well as you could want, the levels are designed to be the good kind of a pain in the butt, there’s lots to unlock. It’s just straight-up fun.

It could do with more graphical panache and less interruptions, but Moveless Chess is still a cool and interesting take on something that’s been around for a very, very long time.

That simplicity is what keeps you coming back again and again (and again). It’s clear that Burrito Bison: Launcha Libre isn’t going to be a lifelong love. These kind of games rarely are. But it is the kind of addiction that is fast, hard, and fleeting.

There are some unpolished corners that could use attention in future updates, but so far this quiet release has had a thunderous start.

Steamworld Heist is great. From the world to the characters to the style to the gameplay, it’s a lot of fun and pretty much a no-brainer if you like turn-based tactics. Or robots. Or Firefly. Really, the only reason I’d suggest giving it a pass is if you already own it for another platform.

That moment of cynicism aside, and Best Fiends Forever is a lot of fun. It grabs a tired genre and spruces it up in a way that makes it feel fresh and nearly new. Don’t be surprised when you lose a ton of free time to it. It does a great job of making you feel like you’re achieving a lot quickly.

One of Off the Record’s many strengths is its ability to keep you curious without sending you to a walkthrough. The puzzles, the mini-games, the hidden object scenes, all are perfectly tuned to be challenging but not frustrating, even on the harder difficulty levels. The story keeps enough twists and turns coming your way so you don’t glaze over every time there’s a conversation or a cutscene. It tells a surprisingly captivating tale without resorting to dark portals or evil sorcerers, just a good old fashioned story of detective versus master thief.

That payoff is the same as any great Rusty Lake game: the ability to lose yourself in the strange and disturbing events unfolding before you. An empathy for and understanding of even characters that don’t speak a word. A frustration and then exhilaration at solving brain-burning puzzles. And an increased appreciation, love, and fear of Rusty Lake and its shadowy, timeless inhabitants. Roots just happens to have all of this in an even larger, longer package; with more lives on the line; and more reasons to book your stay.