Charadium II is fun in the right hands. At worst, it can be difficult to draw, but the overall concept is as simple and solid as it was in the original.

Trundling along in The Quest Keeper and bumbling into treasure chests for rewards is fun. If you dig Crossy Road’s chunky pixels but find the gameplay a bit shallow, consider leveling up to become a hero.

An absolutely adorable, albeit frustrating physics-based game for the mobile platform.

At times, there’s the odd moment where you’ll wonder if your finger slipped too far away from the button/general area and you’ve failed at gliding, but Cat Bird! is mostly pretty well constructed. It’s completely free too, albeit backed up with many ads, unless you choose to pay up to remove them. That gives you the ideal opportunity to try out Cat Bird! and see if it’s for you.

Nightgate is an pretty cool mixture of laid back and frantic; plain and pretty; varied and repetitive. It might not be action-y enough for some, or relaxing enough for others, but I think it’s worth checking out regardless. It’s a fun, sort of unique mash-up of puzzles and survival, set in a post-apocalyptic computer world. And it’s pretty!

Ultimately, The Witness is a solid mobile adaptation of a really enjoyable puzzle game. It’s every bit as clever and compelling as it is on PC and consoles. The main thing that sucks (see what I did there?) is how little of it you’ll be able to play without either keeping your phone plugged in or having a backup charger handy.

Perhaps not quite as pure and joyful an experience as Grapple Dog, Grapple Dogs is still a hugely impressive and playable platformer.

Fiz takes an unusual setting for a sim or RPG, mixes in some wit and whimsy and blends it into something that will make you feel like you can actually take on the King of Beers with your own homebrew. And if that’s not living the dream for some of you out there, I don’t know what is.

The pleasure here doesn’t derive from banging your head against a wall trying to fetch an arbitrary item to solve a puzzle, but rather from losing yourself in a spooky, interactive Saturday morning cartoon – complete with clever and colourful dialogue, and highly engaging voice acting.

Overall, Toon Blast is a great game, particularly for young players. The only thing holding it back? A revenue generation model that isn’t quite compatible with its core audience. It’s possible that the developers didn’t foresee that Toon Blast would be presented as a ‘kids game’, but positioned alongside the likes of Toy Blast, it’s hard to imagine that this isn’t their main demographic.

If you’ve conquered Gardenscapes and are looking for a new version of roughly the same experience, Homescapes is a must-play. But newcomers to the series should stick to Gardenscapes for now, at least until Homescapes catches up to all the updates and enhancements of the original.

So long as you aren’t expecting anything new with the Kami formula, Kami 2 is definitely worth a look. Heck, the user-made levels (and the option to make your own, of course) alone make it well worth checking out. This is one of those instances where more actually is better, rather than simply being more.

Severed Steel is ultimately still well worth a look for first person shooter fans seeking something a little more experimental.

As short as it is though, Pulse is an absolute treat for the ears.

Jewel Quest for Cash gets that, and it raises the stakes beyond bragging rights. More than that though, it’s a reminder of a time when match-3 games used to get your heart pumping.

Overall, Snipers vs Thieves might not rock your world. It will, however, provide you with a few hours of fun, particularly if you’re looking for something a little bit different to do with your friends who wouldn’t call themselves gamers.

Sadly, Gemini’s resplendent power is occasionally undermined by its own design. With a few key user experience modifications, such as controllable zoom, clear milestones, and optional hints or tips added to the HUD, the gameplay would be elevated. Aesthetically, however, the game is sublime.

If there’s any big drawback, it’s that the first episode feels like what it is: an introduction to a much larger saga. Not only does it end on a cliffhanger, but it’s quite short. I was able to breeze through it in about two hours, and I was taking notes and screenshots along the way. This isn’t a new consideration for Telltale Games titles by any means, but the value proposition is … let’s call it “interesting” for a mobile game.

To wrap up, I enjoyed my time with EvoCreo2. It’s a game any fan of Pokémon could enjoy, without the £60 price tag. I liked the Creo designs, main story, side quests, interactions, and world layout. Particularly, the Creo upgrades are more in-depth than just evolution. They had customisable moves, passives, and traits to help them prestige. I also loved the evolution animations and how they were unique for each elemental type. Other animations, such as attack and sprite movements, were also lively. My personal favourite is the Bug Bite move attack animation with its snarly fangs and fluid blood movement.

Off the Record: The Art of Deception does a great job taking the gimmicks out of the hidden object genre and providing an honestly entertaining game. It comes across as a little basic, maybe even barebones, but as soon as the story tickles your intrigue you’ll be happy to keep solving puzzles until the very last mystery is resolved.

ReRunners: Race for the World is eventually the kind of game you can dip in or out of (and believe me, you will), but to get the most, you’re going to have to dedicate some time early on to truly ‘get’ it. That’s a slight misstep for a game that should be all about accessibility. Stick with it though, and you’ll love the sense of achievement every time you win a race.

If you've only dabbled in the series many recent spin-offs, this is an excellent introduction to a piece of gaming history. Just be prepared to deal with those issues that come with playing old games, and the new ones that come with playing them on touch devices.

Heidelberg 1693 is a great 2D platformer. Its occasionally frustrating gameplay is still hugely rewarding, and it’s a title that difficult to put down once you get a hang of the controls and combat. Just make sure you’re up for the challenge.

Zzed is a fantastic arcade/puzzle/action game that's really a blast to play. It's definitely worth the download, and shows some great creativity from another independent developer.

The Curse is a great game, but again, it's out to taunt and torment you into spending your money to be able to lock The Mannequin away once again. It's just a darn shame we kind of want him to stick around, which seems to work against the entire premise.

With combat that places a high-emphasis on battle formations and rapid-fire decision making, players are going to find Wonder Tactics to be a surprisingly captivating experience.

It’s a twist on the usual type of asymmetric online gameplay that makes even the most introverted smartphone gamer want to interact with other players, and deftly expands Socioball from a great puzzle game into a connected community of players.

The Switch is probably not the best place to experience the game – this was originally a PC title – but playing it handheld on the touchscreen is easy enough, and this is well worth investigating for those looking for something a little different.