10 Best iOS Games of the Year

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10. Mythic legends

Synergy is the name of the game in this fantasy inspired auto-chess battler. After you take your pick from a diverse roster of 'legends', you engage in the game’s varied and versatile collection of champions who allow you to come up with your own synergies.

While the game does suffer in some ways due to microtransactions indirectly hampering progression, along with some balancing issues, it still delivers hours of free fun with its tournament modes and daily quests. It gets a playscore of 8.6.

9. Gibbon: Beyond the Trees

Simple side-scrolling adventure on the surface but a moving ecological advocacy at its core. This beautifully hand-drawn game immerses you in the Gibbons’ life; their movement, their habitat, and the threats that haunt them.

Breeze through the trees and don’t worry if you don’t land that first swing. The mechanics do need a bit of practice before you can pull off those smooth swing sequences.

Ben Johnson of Pocket Tactics is convinced It's a powerful, polished package that has almost nothing wrong with it. so it should be well worth an apple arcade subscription. It has a playscore of 8.7.

8. The Past Within

A troubled genius, time travel, and puzzling mysteries, find them all in this surrealistic adventure. With an art-style reminiscent of early 2000s flash animation, this puzzler-for-two gives you a good mix of simple but eerie.

The puzzles are neither too difficult nor overly simplistic, but they do need careful communication to be solved. Niftily enough, it’s available for cross-platform play and comes free for the mobile. And for the best experience? An iPad is highly recommended.

This unique co-op only game leaves little for disappointment but may be dreaded by solo gamers. It receives a playscore of 8.7.

7. Marvel: Snap

The Marvel Multiverse fight between the forces of Good and Evil continues, this time as a new fast-paced card battler.

Like all things perfectly balanced, Marvel: Snap keeps the depth of exciting combo-based strategy and gameplay while simultaneously simplifying the card collection aspect.

Despite the existence of microtransactions towards unlocks and upgrades in this free game, you’ll be relieved to know it doesn’t impose a pay-to-win scenario. It has a playscore of 8.9.

6. Apex Legends Mobile

To nobody's surprise, Apex Legends Mobile dropped into our list, bringing with it its loot of legends, weapons and fast-paced combat. All its vibrance and detail look gorgeous on the ios port, as the graphics are well-optimized for apple devices. But of course, you do sacrifice your battery to this monster fairly quickly.

For players coming over from PC and Console, the touchscreen controls will prove to be a bit iffy, but to compensate, they do come fully-customizable. It remains a mobile battle royale title to beat with a playscore of 8.9.

5. Flash Party

Love smash bros but no switch just yet? Here's a platform fighting game with similar feels and mechanics that’s free-to-play.

It’s tough when you’re dubbed as another game’s clone, but Flash Party surprises players with its convincing roster of characters, tight combat system, and overall fluidity.

The buggy servers need to be on the developer road map and as Tomasso Pugliesse from multiplayer.it puts it “much more needs to be done to make the experience more solid” that means constructing more elements for replayability and mitigating any lack of balance. Still on the high ranks with a playscore of 8.9.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

More than just crisp new graphics and a collection of new cards Yu-Gi-Oh!: Master Duel brings in a new deck building experience for both card battler noobs and veterans.

Adapt and rebuild your decks as you take part in a rotating set of tournaments each with its own rules and quirks.

Some grievances over the turn-taking times did rise and about certain power imbalances in the matches, but the devs are actively working on the game to make it the quintessential Yu-gi-oh! Experience. It bags a playscore of 8.4.

3. T3 Arena

A vibrant 3-versus-3 hero shooter with over 20 cartoon art-style characters to choose from. On top of that, the maps and arenas are built with incredible attention to detail, setting you up for a dynamic and satisfying gameplay.

Fair warning, it does lean on a pay to win system. You might encounter whales that may make the grind disheartening. But the deals are reasonable and the progression can be just as fun without cashing out. It’s action-packed, fast-paced, and has a playscore of 9.0.

2. Streets of Rage 4

The classic brawls continue in this comic-inspired, hand-drawn sequel. The iconic veterans of the series return, along with some new moves and mechanics. With the easily executed combos, unlockables, stages, and multiple game modes, the game’s replayability is undeniable.

Hard to fault something that’s been killing it for over 3 decades. However, Joe Juba of Game Informer thinks that it feels like a homage to the '90s, but it's also stuck in that era. That hasn’t stopped the high ratings from coming in though and it has a playscore of 9.3.

1. Knotwords

Surprised to see a simple word game top the list? Well, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. It’s a straightforward but fun take on the classic crossword, but without the descriptive clues. Instead, you get letter hints that you need to arrange to form valid words. But don’t be fooled. It can be quite challenging and getting stuck can be frustrating.

It got resounding praise from both critics and gamers, who loved its satisfying challenges and overall design. There’s hardly any drawbacks here, unless you’re really just not into word puzzles. It has a playscore of 9.4.