If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll get a kick out of seeing your favourite Pokémon and trainers in such stunning detail. The writing is also a joy, providing a genuinely engaging story that we didn’t feel the need to skip. Core Pokémon RPG fans will find the battle system too easy, with little challenge. Heck, even gacha RPG fans might find the poor AI baffling, as their Pokémon don’t use the elemental strengths to their advantage often.

Micromon is worthy of criticism because it’s a very decent Pokemon-style game. With a little more polish (and an extra coat for its online issues), it could roll over the App Store’s competition like a Fire-type over a Nature-type.

Slashy Hero is fun – it’s just also a little irritating at times. But it does make for a good dungeon-crawling (ish) romp and makes good use of the kind of swiping mechanics you don’t see often outside of games involving air traffic control or harbor management.

All together, Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories succeeds more than it stumbles.

The funny thing is, I’m not sure even that’s a good way to describe Chaos Fighters. I think this is going to be a polarizing game; some people will love the JRPG flavor and unusual amount of content for a free mobile game, while other players will be turned off by the fact that there isn’t much play in the gameplay.

The game's heavy reliance on luck may well prove to be its downfall.

You’re the one with the power to influence the people to rise up in The Westport Independent, or trick them into following along – and neither result will be pretty or make you feel particularly good. But despite the short playtime and lack of variety, it’s something worth feeling either way.

But despite the problems, I’ve found myself coming back to Chainsaw Warrior time and time again. Being repeatedly slaughtered by the minions of the netherworld has never been so much fun.

Subterfuge is a fairly entertaining game for what it is, even with its quirks.

Embracing the subject matter, as well as maintaining a fast paced take on matching different colors, means you’ll find yourself frequently itching for just one more go.

It’s fast, it’s fun, and it follows the mobile gaming template close enough that it feels familiar and entertaining at the same time.

Aesthetically, Horizon Chase is exactly the sort of racing game that genre fans looking for a classic experience will want to check out. Unfortunately there are some odd mechanical implementations that make Horizon Chase feel a bit too wonky to net a full recommendation.

At the end of the day the control scheme is going to be a big divider for people. It doesn't really work the way you expect it to, and takes some time to get used to.

On the plus side, there is a lot to do here. Different game modes including multiplayer (which is still a little flaky), as well as hundreds of career events means you won’t be running out of things to do any time soon. As a title that’s so lightweight yet enjoyable, it’ll almost be worth throwing a few bucks its way. Just try not to be lured in too much by its promises of wonders if you keep on paying up.

It’s not so much that the game drags, as the genre does. If you’re not willing to pay, then there’s a lot of waiting around, and a lot of grinding to be done as well. When Pocket Legends Adventures clicks, it really clicks. It’s warm, it looks great, and it’s more involved than you might be expecting. Just be prepared for more frustration to creep in the further you get into the experience.

Despite its frustrations, Go Home Dizzy’s brand of twirly-twirly stabby-stabby gameplay is unique, nutty, and full of good times. Give it a whirl.

If you can look past the poor translations and forgive the occasional omission of vital information, you’re bound to have a great time. Just don’t expect to finish it on your first attempt.

DragonVale certainly managed to cast a spell on some people who don’t typically fall for mobile games, and its possible that people’s love for cuteness and dragons — especially mashed together — plus high production values will enable DragonVale World to do the same. But I can’t be alone in hoping there was something a little bit more involved that just breeding an decorating this time around.

What’s important is that DC Legends is much more worth your time and download space now than it looked like it was going to be earlier this year. It’s a very solid game with the potential to get even better over time, and we probably owe Canadian gamers our thanks for helping the developers work out its kinks.

Old school fans of Sonic tend to want two things: speed and challenge. Sonic Jump delivers both, but just a little too late in the game.

Luckily, Running With Friends works well as a single-player experience. You do need an opponent, but you can choose not to obsess over your distance. Just pull on your running shoes and get going.

Beast Bound is a peculiar adventure with odd little monsters, loads of loot, satisfying battles, and a quirky narrative that will keep you foraging and fighting. It’s worth a try for any fans of classic RPGs.

Despite this, An Alien with a Magnet is still enjoyable and provides a nice level of challenge across its story and bonus modes, though one might not be inclined to marathon it. But in shorter spurts, or if you manage to get on a roll, it satisfies.

As it stands today, Kumo Lumo is an adorably strange game that has stolen my heart, but not a spot on my must-play list. A rainy day game, for now.

It’s all so very close for Rayman Adventures, but in the end, you’re going to end up wanting more from it. It might look beautiful, but its increasing number of niggles let the side down in the end.

Zombie Anarchy feels a more respectable base-building game than most that have followed in Clash of Clans wake. It doesn’t offer enough innovations to be truly memorable, but if you’re itching to return to an old favorite genre, this is a pretty good one to try out. It won’t demand too much of you, but you’ll still feel like you’re getting stuff done.

With only a handful of traits and reactions to uncover, this current iteration feels less like a complete package and more like a jumping-off point, albeit an extremely beautiful, heart-wrenchingly adorable one.

Siralim 2 is by no means a perfect, or even particularly refined, game. But none of that really matters when you’re fighting your way through the God of Anger’s realm as he occasionally swears at you and your menagerie of bizarre creatures. It might not look like much on the surface, and it may be a little rough around the edges, but there’s a lot to enjoy here.