Touch Arcade

It feels a bit odd to piecemeal out all of this into separate purchases, but for the most part, Meow feels like a fair free-to-play title even without spending any money on it. I mean, removing ads is nice but they're hardly intrusive, and earning upgrades faster is great, but it's not like the game is impossible without them.

Some parts of Blocky Raider are a little too similar to Crossy Road, but for the most part, it's an enjoyable game that has a lot going for it. Having said that, I fully expect to go back to my Crossy addiction in a week.

Galactic Keep is an obvious labor of love. Anyone who has followed its development probably doesn't need to be told that. Like many labors of love, it has some rough patches, no doubt about it. Taken on the whole, though, it's one of the most compelling RPGs I've played this year. Once I pushed through the awkward stuff at the start, I found myself hopelessly and happily lost in exploring all of its nooks and crannies, chasing down every little piece of flavor text, and making my squad into the best bunch of goons they could be. Even if developer Gilded Skull never adds another module to the game, there's plenty here to enjoy.

Sure, the game lacks the polish of its parents. And sure, you can find games with more visual variety, features, and assets for around half the price. But the game on offer here is definitely solid for what it is. If you’ve already played all the other hot ticket strategy games on the market, this one will definitely scratch your itch. But if you’re not huge on the genre, you may just want to give this one a pass.

Tears Revolude isn't a terribly long game, but you'll get a good 10-15 hours out of it. The weapon system is interesting enough to poke at, the story isn't awful even if it seems to be cobbled together from spare parts, and the new engine gives things just enough of a fresh coat of paint that you might not notice you're running through some very familiar motions. It's probably enough to temporarily satisfy the hunger of JRPG fans, though it's unlikely to do much for anyone else.

If you love Pac-Man, Crossy Road, or just good games in general, play Pac-Man 256. It sounded like a great idea when it was first announced, and it's as great as it possibly could have been.

You might say that 7 dollars is a lot for an app lacking multiplayer, but it is cheaper than the actual board game, so if you already have an iPhone or iPad (Why are you even on this site if you don’t? You silly Billy) it’s definitely worth it. If you are new to deck builders entirely, I’d try some of the free ones or cheaper ones roaming around the app store first, like my main squeeze Ascension, just to get a taste of the general mechanics.

Overall, I like Loot & Legends. It feels like the perfect fit for a tablet and feels well designed and quite polished. I know that some in the forums have encountered numerous crashes, but I've been playing the game constantly on an iPad Air and iPad Air 2 (including streaming it on Mobcrush for more than an hour) and haven't had a crash yet.

Optimally, Paradise Bay is something to fill in time where little else might fit. It's not particularly engaging, but there's a certain amount of enjoyment to be derived from watching your little settlement slowly grow. Very slowly.

Angel Stone definitely provides more than bargained for in a free app. The care and detail of the game developers is etched into every blade of grass and tongue of flame. You can even check out the game's promotional website for a stunning animation sequence that pretty much sums up my thoughts on the game: Beautiful, incredible attention to detail, and loads of fun.