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.

As you progress, you’ll see new scenery and be impressed at the variety that a simple box factory can concoct. There’s even room for a Game Boy style look, and you’ll find yourself keen to see what other imaginative moments can unfold. Crucially, it’s all a pleasant change of pace from more traditional endless runners. Its simple charm might wear thin, but it’ll still be worth keeping it around on your phone for a while to come.

Its colorful aesthetics, extremely friendly economy, and difficult dodging challenges are all hugely appealing, and the entire game has been polished to a sheen by Vector Unit. We hope future updates introduce a wider variety of obstacles, layouts, and challenges, but in its current state, MouseBot is a fun arcade experience that won’t cost you any cheese.

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.

If you are willing to slog through ads and a lot of waiting, Full of Stars gameplay is exceptionally strong. It’s beautiful to look at, thoughtfully designed, and fun to play, when you’re actually able to do so. I would love to see a premium version of Full of Stars which still includes its tightly constructed resource management and decision trees, but that would remove the ads so I could keep my head in the game, and my ship in the air.

Overall, if you’re new to the series, are running a newer device, and want more control over the whole dynasty building experience, MLB Perfect Inning Live will blow MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2017 out of the water. If you’re a long-term player, the transfer issue might be enough to switch your allegiance alone. Yet, even then, it’s hard to argue that MLB Perfect Inning Live doesn’t offer a more realistic experience tailor-made for MLB fans on the go. For those that stick with it, it’ll likely be a great accompaniment from now until the last pitch of the World Series.

Charming Runes is an interesting mixture of a few different genres. It’s the kind of game that’s instantly addictive until about 20 minutes in when you realize there’s not actually enough going on here to hold your long-term interest. Still, you might find yourself coming back for short bursts every once in a while.

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.

When Soul Knight by Zeyang Li and Chilly Room was released on Android and iOS last month, it almost slipped under our radar — but this beautiful little arcade-style quasi-roguelike shooter deserves your full attention. There’s very little in the way of narrative depth and backstory at play here – get some stones, defeat some bad guys – and it’s a good thing. It’s all about the action, and there’s lots of it with every corner turned. Unlike a lot of games in the growing roguelike category, Soul Knight’s simple arcade gameplay will appeal to those who might never play another dungeon crawler or an RPG in their lives.

Much to our delight, Faily Tumbler isn’t just a third take on the exact same experience. It’s similar enough that fans will be delighted by what’s on offer, but fresh enough to ensure they won’t start to tire of the Faily family’s frequent fumbles.

If you like cars, pixels, and a tough challenge, Pixel Drifters will take up residence on your home screen for a long while.

Ultimately, Drop Not is a low-impact, lightweight little reflex game with some cute graphics. Twitchy tapping and changing environments will keep you on your toes and a decent milestone system will keep you moving forward if you’re willing to watch some videos. While there might not be enough substance for anyone looking to expand their mind, folks who like a cute, casual, tappy game will likely enjoy this free download.

Don’t get me wrong, Gunhouse is a nice mash-up of genres. I’ve definitely been having fun with it. However, there are a few irritating elements that muddle the enjoyment a bit. Having said that, if you’re a fan of quirky games that try new things, Gunhouse is well worth a download.

Like all free-to-play games in this general genre, there are oodles of in-app purchases on offer that can help you progress faster and give you something to brag about to other players through the game’s world chat option (which feels more than a little outdated in 2017). Some of the purchases come with a hefty price tag so you’ll probably want to avoid browsing the store while exhausted. At least with this one you probably won’t have to worry about the little folks in your life racking up big bills – Gangstar New Orleans is very much for adults only.

Graphics aside, the actual mechanics of the game are what’s most compelling. Onirim is an engaging gameplay experience that offers a lot of room for players to learn and improve their strategies, and strikes the right balance between challenging and satisfying.

There’s still a chance that the developers might keep working on it so it at least performs more smoothly in future updates, but as it stands, Hot Hands is something of a hot mess. It might bear Ellen’s voice, but Hot Hands lacks the wit, charm and joy that her brand deserves.

There already appear to be a number of Marvel Contest of Champions players who are giving the new game a shot, and it’s obviously going to attract Transformers fans as well. But you really don’t need to be in either of those groups to appreciate Forged to Fight, because it’s just a top notch mobile fighting game, one that should be hosting brawling bots for some time to come.

For what it is, Meganoid 2017 is fine if you can get past the control irritations and weirdly spontaneous platforming rule changeups. There’s a fun game here, I can see it. But I so rarely get to experience it with everything being the way it is. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that an update takes care of the button issue if nothing else. But hey, if none of that is an issue for you, then more power to you. We hope you can find the fun that we keep coming so close to.

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.

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.

Overall, lovers of board games in general will likely adore this mobile version, as it feels like an analogous experience. Folks who like beautiful environments and a sense of journey will love the game’s graphics and charming interactions. And those who like developing competitive strategies with priority-based decision making and resource management will enjoy how many options they have to maximize their stops to ultimately claim victory. For travelers of all kinds, Tokaido is undoubtedly a journey worth taking.

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.

We love the entirety of Star Billions, including the moments with NULL and without. The story is a true space opera with high stakes, surprising twists, deadly confrontations, and galaxy-wide impact. The series keeps up its thrilling and engrossing pace from the first moment to the last, changing up the format just enough in Season Three to keep things fresh without feeling forced. All of the characters—even the “bad guys”—are endearing, their interactions with each other entertaining, and their growth throughout the series engaging. Even the occasional moments of feeling like a decision didn’t matter are understandable due to their use in pursuit of the larger, save-humanity story that is being told.

For the most part, Power Rangers: Legacy Wars is a fairly well designed fighting game. It includes various freemium elements that work quite well in this context. In particular, league tables are rewarding to traverse, and you’ll enjoy being able to collect up so many different warriors. You might never have the time to unlock everything possible without a ton of grinding, but the time you do spend with Power Rangers: Legacy Wars will be quite pleasant if not overly memorable.

As with 1Button’s physics puzzler Super Sharp, Trilogic pushes you to consider positive and negative space in a new way as you overlay each progressive element. In a chess-like fashion, you’ll need to plan several moves in advance to accomplish your goal of clearing the board, which results in truly satisfying solutions. Trilogic is an ideal game for people who like to work on puzzles at their own pace and who enjoy gameplay sessions that can be short or long, depending on their window of time to play. But, considering how enjoyable Trilogic is, we suspect your windows for gameplay will get longer and longer.

If you’ve got the time and the storage to spare and love card battlers, or if for some reason it took The Elder Scrolls to finally drag you into this genre, you’re going to want to give this game a try and very well might find it your newest mobile addiction. Let’s hear it for iteration.

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.

The folks looking for gorgeous, evocative graphics or wild diversity between levels will not find what they are looking for here. However, the minimalist spirit of previous Gamebrain offerings does come through in a new type of experience that fans of the developer will likely enjoy. With clever mechanics and a relaxing pace, purists will enjoy the satisfaction of advancing through these 60 levels of increasingly more difficult gravity-based puzzles.