For me, part of the reason I consider Minecraft one of my favorite games is because it moves beyond the usual sword-swinging of other games and lets players be creative in a number of ways. And yet, the writers of this season insist on reducing that universe into a story where the hero has to constantly fight his way through his troubles. Add to that how the fighting mechanics are by far the weakest parts of this season, and you'll understand why I'm puzzled by the decision to move them to the forefront. Let's hope (beyond hope, I think) that episode 4 will do away with this emphasis on fighting and bring back a bit more of the spirit of Minecraft.

All in all, this is a good return to form for a series that has been struggling with where to go since it attempted a protagonist switch. It hopefully goes without saying that if you enjoyed all of the other Ace Attorney games, you will enjoy this one. If you're new to the series, I definitely would not recommend starting here as it's somewhat steeped in its own lore. If, like me, you found Dual Destinies to be somewhat wanting, you might find Spirit of Justice scratches your itch a little better. The pacing is improved, there's a bit more challenge, and the characters make a lot more sense. If nothing else, its pun game is certainly on point. A good turn for Ace Attorney overall, and a smooth handling of what was becoming some very messy loose narrative threads.

As much as I want to give Aka to Blue my highest recommendation, online leaderboards are a major feature for score attack games and they really ought to have been included here. That may not matter to some of you, of course, and if that's you, then you can feel free to jump in head-first. Even if you do care about leaderboards, Aka to Blue is good enough in every other respect that anyone who enjoys a good shoot-em-up needs to pick this up. I find it amazing that the former Cave staff could slide so seemingly effortlessly into producing Cave-quality shooters, and I greatly look forward to whatever they're working on next.

Another Lost Phone is worth playing because it does broach the kinds of topics we don't usually see in mobile games but we see and hear about every day. Some may disagree about the potential of mobile games as a tool for social awareness, but since these devices are usually implicated in all kinds of unpleasantness, I think it's appropriate that they also be used as a way to remedy the issues they can often create.

The fact that The Witness can bring out such extreme emotions of both exasperation and astonishment is undoubtedly an achievement in itself. So many modern puzzle games strive to be as inoffensive and straightforward as possible, in an attempt to be accessible to a large and increasingly impatient audience of potential buyers - The Witness boldly shuns such expectations to simply do its own thing. As a result, The Witness can be relentlessly unwelcoming, but also invites and rewards intrigue, as paradoxical as that may seem. Similarly, The Witness is an essential experience for any enthusiastic gamer (especially at a bargain price of $9.99), although can occasionally feel like an ostentatious chore that is more hopelessly unaware than socially insightful. However, amidst its many annoyances lies a technologically impressive milestone of the modern gaming industry, arguably in its best form yet.

Pigeon Wings is the epitome of what makes games on the mobile platform so unique and one-of-a-kind. It has tight controls, smooth gameplay, an attractive art style, and great music. Do not hesitate on letting this one "land" on your device.

You can play the whole game for free (if you don't mind ads every 3 levels or so), but with $1.99, you turn it into a premium game, and it's a steal for that amount. It will take you some time to get through all 50 levels—especially if you're trying to get every single coin and take out every single enemy. So, if you want to see how the Khaleesi of Game of Thrones felt while riding Drogon to battle, Drag'n'Boom is for you.

I couldn't put Thimbleweed Park down until I finished the whole thing, and while I have some issues with pieces of its narrative and a puzzle or two, I'd still highly recommend the game. Thanks to its difficulty options, I don't even have to add a qualifier on there, but you'll get the most from the game if you have some adventure game experience already. Thimbleweed Park isn't exactly a 1990s LucasArts game in 2017, but it is what a 2017 game would look like from the people that made those games, and I think that's a lot more interesting than just diving for happy memories.

Iron Marines is a very, very good game. It seems like some sort of checkpoint or save system that makes failure feel a little less brutal would be a simple modification, but even without it, the game just forces you to be careful with your decisions. I really doubt StarCraft, in any form, will ever come to the App Store, so provided you can put up with the slightly cartoony art style of Iron Marines, this is definitely the next best thing.

It's that constant tension, that split-second decision-making between risky and riskier, that makes Danmaku Unlimited 3 so much fun to play. While it's probably a little too challenging for those who aren't experienced with bullet hell shooters, fans of the genre are going to be mooning over it like a kitty with a bag of catnip. Add in the fact that it's Doragon's best-looking and -sounding game yet, and you've got a real genre champion on your hands. This game is no longer imitation nor homage; Danmaku Unlimited 3 is now the mobile bullet hell shoot-em-up to beat. All interested pilots should sign up immediately.

So many times you play an RPG on mobile and you think to yourself, oh I need to spend several minutes organizing my inventory or I need a few minutes to stop what I am doing. You never get that feeling playing Cat Quest and while it is simple and it feels like it could be generic, it's exactly what an RPG on the go should be. At $4.99 you're buying a game that we'll be telling people "this is how you make a mobile RPG" next year, the year after that, maybe for a really long time.

A lot has been done with both colors and shapes in puzzle games and it's easy to say there's nothing new to be had there. Glowish, however, has found a core mechanic that is unique and interesting without being needlessly complex. In fact, the game progresses without throwing in additional mechanics to spice things up, it's the same simple gameplay from level 1 to 100. This simplicity feels right and makes for an enjoyable experience. If you're a fan of the puzzle-game genre I wholeheartedly recommend you pick up Glowish today.

All in all, Nobleman: 1896 has an extremely unique blend of ideas and mechanics that show their potential at the beginning of the game but don't quite hit their stride until the latter half of the game. However, if you learn the game's various mechanics and press forward through its slightly repetitive beginnings, there is a unique and strategic experience to be had. Remember, it's free and you have nothing to lose by trying it out.

Darkest Dungeon is a superb game and is well suited for the iPad. It's the kind of game you can drop almost any amount of time into and have fun. I've played both quick, twenty-minute spurts to tackle a single quest as well as some hours-long play sessions where I settled into the couch to really dig in and make some progress. Combat is fun and challenging and rewards good planning—picking the right mix of characters to go in—as well as good turn-by-turn decision making. The ability to upgrade and improve your town as you go adds a nice sense of permanence to what is otherwise a constantly shifting mix of characters. The bottom line is that if you enjoy role-playing games centered on smart, tactical combat Darkest Dungeon is a must-buy.

Overall, Bottom of the 9th is a very well designed and enjoyable game that does an excellent job capturing the strategy and fun of baseball. Games are quick, unlike baseball itself, and can be very short indeed if the home team scores early. Fans of the sport will certainly enjoy this one, as will competitive gamers of any stripe. Check it out and make sure to visit our forums for more on the game.

Ultimately, if you approach Egglia on its own terms, you'll find a fun, fresh take on the social RPG genre, one whose premium price tag means you can expect things to be a little fairer than we usually see with this sort of model. Certain design choices may chafe, but the overall experience is well worth the price of admission. Just keep in mind that you will need internet access at all times while playing the game. That could be a legitimate deal-breaker for some of you. Otherwise, I'd recommend gritting your teeth through the timers and the occasional difficulty spike, because the juice is assuredly worth the squeeze.

The natural human desire to see sets completed meant iOS gamers waited five long years to see the Ray series come to a close on the platform. Only now in the end do I realize the sheer absurdity of waiting five years for RayCrisis, of all games. You could probably do worse than RayCrisis when looking for an iOS shooter. Taito on their worst day is still better than most, after all. Be aware, however, that this is a very short game that will only give up its last bit of content to those who punish themselves to the game's satisfaction. I suspect most players will likely just die their way through the game's credits in 20 minutes using endless continues and the hearty smart bomb attack, and never look back.

If you are looking for a Pokemon clone for your mobile device, this is as good as it gets. Trust me, I have tried 'em all. Just be ready for an unnecessarily long grind ahead of you if you want to catch... *clears throat* tame 'em all without forking over a bit more money in the process. Don't forget to check out other people's impressions of Nexomon in our forums, where the developers have been quite active and receptive to feedback, and leave impressions of your own.

Of all the games newly released on iOS through SEGA Forever, I think Ristar has come out the best. Granted, a big part of that is the improved emulator, but I also think that its mechanics and difficulty level suit the platform and its input methods better than something like The Revenge of Shinobi [Free]. The game itself is, in my opinion, an underappreciated classic from the Genesis library, the kind of game that could have been a big hit if it had only released a year or two earlier. In short, this is exactly the kind of game I'd like to see more of if SEGA means to stick to mainly Genesis games with the SEGA Forever initiative.

I struggled with this game, despite being attracted to it. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I wonder if the concept is just a little too abstract for the average puzzle player. If geometric puzzle games are your thing—or you're a big-time puzzle aficionado looking for a challenge—noded will provide you with plenty of challenging levels for a very low price.

I found myself a little blindsided by how much I enjoyed Fighting Fantasy Legends. Nomad's Talisman port is good, but this game is on another level for them. It's a treat to get to explore these places and characters from yet another interesting perspective, and I really appreciated the way the mechanics went their own way while still being quite faithful to the basic idea of a gamebook. Long-time fans will have a lot of fun stomping around the familiar places, while newcomers might just find this the most approachable of all of these excellent twists on the Fighting Fantasy brand. It isn't the flashiest of games, but don't let it slip by you just because of that. This is a quality adventure that brings out the best of some genuinely classic adventures.

I wish those middle sections were strong enough for me to recommend Demon Mark in spite of its slow beginning and disappointing end, because I absolutely love the idea of this one. When the story is reveling in its source material, it was almost enough to push the needle in that direction. But when a game's interactivity depends entirely on player choice, it's the rare game that can gracefully handle disregarding said choices. Outsmarting Baba Yaga might be a lot of fun, but that lack of proper agency, especially in the ending, is why Demon Mark misses its own mark.

If you enjoy tactical, loot-centric, RPGs Rogue Wizards is a no-brainer. There are ample opportunities to optimize your character with different gear and spells and head off on a dungeon delve. Combat is fun and almost endless thanks to gauntlet mode. The graphics are appealing and the game’s monetization is smart and respectful of players.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Time Crash, despite its few hiccups. The single-player levels provided serious challenge and diversity, while the daily challenges and endless mode kept me coming back for more. It's also beautiful to look at and has a unique combination of visual (and gameplay) styles that set it apart just enough from other games in the genre. If you enjoy runners, you should definitely give this one a look. It stole my time while I was simultaneously saving time within the game. Simply put, it's a good price for a good game.

The core design of Galaxy of Pen & Paper represents a solid improvement over the original game. It has more new ideas and executes on them better than Knights of Pen & Paper 2 did. The production values feel a lot higher, too. Overall, you can feel the years of gained experience between the game that made Behold's name and their return to the brand. I just wish they would allocate more points into their bug-busting and difficulty balancing skills. I suppose it says something that even with its flaws, I still think RPG fans definitely ought to check this one out.

The Elder Scrolls: Legends is really good CCG that cleverly milks the Elder Scrolls universe and turns it into an entertaining card game. Legends feels quite different from Hearthstone both because of the Lane mechanics but also the two-attribute deck building that brings more variety to the game. The game's Magicka (the equivalent of Mana) doesn't stop at 10 like it does at Hearthstone, so decks that play for the long game can get to play more expensive cards more easily, which can be a lot of fun. I've been enjoying playing through the campaign and (being a Skyrim fan) playing with all the Shouts and the Dragons. While I'm not going to desert Hearthstone for Legends, I like jumping from one to the other since they give me different kinds of challenges and tickle different parts of the brain. Overall, Elder Scrolls: Legends is a card game definitely worth your time and one that has a lot of potential to get even better.

Miracle Merchant is quick and easy to play one-handed, which makes it perfect for those short gaming sessions while out and about. It's also a great deal of fun and just the right level of challenge to engage but not frustrate. The art is also worth mentioning, the various characters and chemical concoctions are bright and attractive and add to the enjoyment of the game. If you're a fan of card games on your iPhone I strongly recommend picking this one up.

Ultimately, the occasional frustration within Linelight is born out of its uncompromising dedication to its core principles, which is a necessary evil considering how effective the execution the game's concept is. With audio and graphical excellence throughout, both of which are intrinsically linked, Linelight ends up being far more than the sum of its parts, all the while not sacrificing its entertaining puzzle gameplay for some greater sanctimonious goal. Through being a game that embraces accessibility at its very core, Linelight becomes a game that anyone can play, and everyone should play.