Each month, the iOS GAF community hosts a thread for new game releases, rumors and discussion that define the fast-moving world of iOS gaming.
The OP will contain games that released both towards the end of the previous month and games that have released during the current month.
All the games listed will have been highlighted by the GAF community in one way or another. This way you can keep tabs on the best games and at the same time curate an excellent resource to look back on to find games you may have missed.
Also keep an eye out for the ‘GAF iOS Challenges’; events where GAF battle it out on the Game Center leaderboards of a chosen game for both fame and fortune (prizes donated by members of our community).
If you're a developer who wishes to have your game featured, please talk about your game in the thread and if the GAF community at large likes the game then your wish just might be granted. Please note that there's a difference between posting about a game you made and just advertising your game with no further interaction with the community, this thread is not for the latter and such advertising behavior is frowned upon.
Really enjoying Epic Eric. Could be a tad more difficult but it's charming, fun, and has some great level design. Another excellent display of the versatility of one touch controls
The game really gets alot more interesting the further you get. There is a lovely rube-goldberg feel to some of the more complex later levels that is sure to put a smile on your face. It is during these levels that the swing mechanics come into their own. I found them very satisfying once I got used to the various gadgets, and before long found myself subverting the level design, swinging over platforms and skipping swings, absolutely owning it.
I quite like the music, but I did play most of the game on mute, cos I'm at work.
Also, I can confirm that new levels are due as soon as next week, with a promise of a higher difficulty level. Which is exciting. There is so much scope for future updates.
I got this from a promo code I found in Twitter a few days ago. Played it a lot. You have to control a spaceship with relative touch (not touch to go up) and have to guide it through caves and avoiding the floor, ceiling and falling rocks. The game is divided into 4 different difficulties. The first one is a tutorial. PRO is where it all starts. This game is fast and intense and I quite like it. Been having fun with it. Feels like a much less frustrating version of Wave Wave. And this is a very good thing.
The Nightmare Cooperative... is freakishly addictive, I love it. The presentation is beautiful, and the rogue like puzzle gameplay managing different heroes at the same time is wonderful. I like the potions, you dont have to choose from a list of things and wonder, here, if you wantm you pick up a potion and do the stuff with your hero of choice. So far, there is always your choice. It strategic and effective. I also like that enemies left behind stay behind, the enemies, the gold for score thing... everything. Its so well thought and balanced. I love it.
No multiplayer but apparently the dev has been bombarded by mp requests so it's not ruled out in the future (or a sequel) but it will require a heavy rewrite of the code.
So far I'm really loving it, even if I'm not that into management simulations (but I do love motorsports).
It has the right depth (not too much...I do not like ultra complex simulations) but absolutely not casual...I've found if you do not follow closely the race and timings you have no chances...playing it on fast forward always is not an option if you want to proceed.
It really touches the right balance spot...even race lenght is perfect for the medium.
Trying to win first tier now...after all burocatic things have been sorted out (contracts sealed, engineers hired, factory upgraded, sponsors found).
I'm betting everything on a new young pilot...made him first pilot and supporting him constantly.
Signing the second pilot was not that easy.
His fans are RAGING on the fake twitter stream in the game (just brilliant).
The reliability of Motorsport Manager seems to have improved with yesterday's update, so that's good.
I've just finished my first season, scraping through to claim the driver's and constructor's titles in the last race. The game is brilliantly structured for the most part, but there are a few important omissions at times that make it very hard to know what's going on.
For example, as I mentioned before, it doesn't seem like you're able to browse the driver and engineering markets before considering whether to retain staff, which is a bit of a problem, and the fact that the tutorial tips seem spread out over the space of the season leaves you in the dark about certain strategies until later races. I know in real racing if you're stuck behind someone then it's often best to hold off a bit and save your tyres, but does this game model that? You'll only find out when it eventually decides to let you know!
But as I said, a very good effort. Easily the best racing management sim since GPM2 (not that there have been many).
The Firm is a twitch game. It reminds me of the game Critter Panic from Chaotic Box. You have to choose the good stocks, swiping the ones you want to the right and the ones you dont to the other side. And to mix things up there are brown cards that act the opposite and you have to swipe the correct one left or right. Its not my kind of game but its polished, fast and twitchy. Love the graphics, vibrant and colorful. You rank and get power ups that you can buy on the shop but the prices are too expensive, no IAP. The more I play it the more I like it. Its fast, frantic, twitchy and done with style.
The tower defense. A mainstay of the IOS platform, Sentinel 4: Dark Star doesn't bend that familiar structure, but rather refines and improves on it, delivering the series' best entry to date.
You know the drill here. Each level you're presented with a path, and you pace defenses to protect your base from encroaching waves of enemies. While the core mechanics are standard, it's Sentinel's wealth of tactics and content that makes it one of the best tower defense games on the platforms. Your armory is massive. Towers, from the lowly laser to shielders and bombs and many more, all with stats that can be upgraded. Drones that hover overheard, healing structures or attacking enemies. Droids that are placed on the path itself. Your Sentinel's weapons, allowing you to call down a hail of missiles or ground-searing laser from above. Your Commander, with skills to unlock, weapons to equip, and different models to choose from. Combine these myriad options and you have a vast array of strategies to deploy against equally varied foes that attack from every angle, can damage your turrets. Even the planet itself is out to antagonize you, as some levels have environmental hazards like dust storms and earthquakes that hinder your tactics.
After ten seconds in the first stage, you know exactly what Pako is about. Control your vehicle in increasingly cluttered mazes of houses, streets, and other cars as a growing legion of cops close in. One collision into a wall, a police car, a light post ends your run. Only through deft evasion and skillful maneuvering can you achieve a high score and climb the leaderboards.
Pako’s gameplay is simple, but the game is never dull. Each area offers a new twist on that core gameplay seen in the first stage. You evade police in a small mall parking lot. You thread a hearse through rows of tombstones as zombies rise from the dirt. You weave between traffic on a freeway and dodge cannon fire from tanks in a rickshaw. The controls take some getting used as you adjust to the physics of each vehicle, but prove to be responsive, allowing you to pull off tight turns and donuts with ease. A great soundtrack and stylish visuals complement the action.
Picked this up last night after seeing it earlier in the thread and it totally giving me nostalgia vibes for Skidmarks on the Amiga.
I like it, but I can't help but think the first car park level and car combination need the controls tightened up just a smidgeon. The perspective kind of works against itself too as it is easy to have zero time to react to a police car coming at you in many circumstances depending on which direction you are traveling.
Some of the later levels feel quite restrictive as well compared to the car park, though the muscle car feels great to drive.
Having fun, but I think I'd be having more if it was actually just the muscle car in the car park level.
WARNING: paid advertisement incoming.
Star Realms is fantastic.
The app is good, not stellar....its PC and maybe Android heritages are evident...I would have preferred an app made for iOS only in mind.
On iPhone playing without zooming on every card is impossible, it lacks a friend list so far and it doesn't show the badge on the icon.
On iPad you can play without even zooming.
That said, the game is fantastic....I'm loving it.
If you like deck builders, don't miss it.
I am a huge endless runner fan, basically my 10 top games are mostly endless games: sideways, going up, down, match-3, arena fighters, and so on.
The first thing that caught my eye was the quality of the animations and the voice acting, its like the show. Then I looked around and found plenty of achievements, leaderboards and a lot of different things you meet in game to unlock. Its full of content. Characters, enemies, bosses, obstacles, power.ups, and many many more... awesome, I like how this is going so far. Next I tapped Play. After a short and nice tutorial I was ready for it. I knew how to punch, how to charge, how to jump and the controls for free roaming left and right were great. The game started. The speed of the game feels right and there is always something to keep you busy, you can punch enemies and the bigger one require combos, some timed multiple hits, its feel so right and its so much fun. Each time the game starts it randomly chooses between 4 types of missions and you have to, for example, collect fruit, chase bats or -what completely sky rocketed my interest in this game through the roof and to the moon- the way the game throws in special events and powerups. And those events are amazing, like the battle with the skeleton (or another one with a sword), where your character actually stops and fights the boss like the first or second God of War -maybe a little bit simpler, well, a lot simpler- where you evade his attacks and hit him back, and even has a finishing move. Solid. Fun. Awesome.
I kept going and the game just kept on giving, there is actually a full story mode that plays like a Campaign, with many different environments your you to run in, many different events, and a ton of things to discover and unlock. All with a coat of polish never seen before on this genre. Honestly, I can say that we are in front on the best endless runner ever existed. Its the game I always wanted. A game Thank you Cartoon Network for this. Fans of the genre get it now, the one who are tired of the genre also need to pick this up, and really, anybody who is interested should play it.
Buy this game now people.
Controls: You tilt Finn left and right to change lanes, tap left to jump, right to punch.
Objective: you messed up Time and you have to fix it by collecting...well, you'll see. To do tbis, you run ahead through a series of mini quests each with a different objective. This can be rescuing a friend from monsters chasing them, collecting pie, delivering a character somewhere etc. You need to collect gems to move on to next stage. Every number of quests you can manage through non stop directly correlates to number of gems (beat one quest=1 gem; beat second quest = 2 gems etc). When you unlock enough gems, you unlock next stage but not before beating a boss fight!
It sounds repetitive but the enemy variety, and strategies, along with fast speed and beautiful environments keep it flowing.
You can also call an ally to come help you whether it is to provide invincibility, increase your run speed etc.
None here yet! But hop into this thread for impressions: Dragon Quest 4 out now on iOS/Android, party chat included
If you want to REALLY feel old...buy Rules! by Coding Monkey's (Carcassonne and Lost Cities).
Usual sleekness and polish for a very different game compared to their previous masterpieces.
I do not even know how to describe the game...reminds me the old 'Simon'.
You have to follow a certain rule (like 'tap all green icons' or 'tap icons in descending order' and so on) within a certain time constraint...the more you play, the more rules are added (they are numbered) and the game just tell you 'Tap all greens'...then...follow rule 2 (which you must remember, they are always the same each time at least).
It's a lot of fun so far....but I can't see myself getting past level 5-6 (out of 100).
Clearly all people above me in the leaderboards are cheating somehow
Rules! is everything. EVERYTHING!!
I brought this game after seeing a preview on Pocket Tactics thinking it was a good concept. You are a French valet for an English Gentleman in a late 19th Century Steampunk influenced Universe. You are tasked with traveling around the world in 80 days or under, this involves planning and finding routes, making sure your master stays healthy, talking to locals and importantly making sure your funds are large enough to advance further in your travels.
My first trip around the world lasted 91 days, I was making good gains in Europe and made a huge profit selling Persian clothes to the Indian markets. My character accidentally smoked opium in Hong Kong much to the displeasure of my master and things started to take a turn for the worse. After boarding a ferry to San Fransisco the captain of the ship decided to navigate to another island. I tried to engineer a mutiny and take control of the ship by exploiting religious divides in the mixed European Chinese crew, I also charmed the hard working workers below deck and spread rumors about the character of the captain. Alas the attempted mutiny failed and we were chucked off the ship and mocked by the captain. As I lay on the island waiting for a ferry to take us to San Fransisco I realized we were now not going to make it around the world in 80 days. A passing islander asked me why I was traveling and why I didn't enjoy the beauty of the island? My character contemplated this thought for a moment and questioned the very reasons for his loyalty to his master but I chose to push on and at least make sure we returned to London.
After this I was held up by Jesse James, got beaten in a boxing match and met a spy on the way to England. Before this event I delivered a baby, strolled the coast of Italy marveling at her beauty and was transported to Delhi by a walking city.
I have used this little story and the above example to illustrate the appeal of this game, it is a Universe in which you can make choices but more importantly feel part of. The map itself is beautiful, allowing you to plan your next move and see the progress of friends and other travelers. The script is very well written and the world feels familiar but also alien.
It is the perfect game to dedicate time to and sit with while drinking a cup of tea or even a glass of port to really capture the occasion. Conversely it lends itself to a quick turn while you are on your own train commute.
A brilliant game and one that would only really work on the tablet medium. If you have any interest in story driven games, the 19th century or interactive fiction I recommend this wholeheartedly.
Now I am off a rather nasty Spaniard has insulted my master and I must demand satisfaction!
I write for a hobby. Short stories, parts of stories, game impressions and previews. There's something quite magical about how mere characters and letters can transport you to some new worlds, breathe life into exotic beings and otherworldly places. 80 Days is the newest interactive fiction/visual novel masterpiece from inkle and it has absolutely stunned me with its compelling worldbuilding and engaging story.
Inspired by the classic Jules Verne novel, you are the companion and valet of an English traveler extraordinaire, driven by a wager to circumnavigate the world in 80 days. Like inkle's previous games, the narrative is especially well-written, bringing the era, characters, and locations to life and offering a vast array of choices and scenarios that shape your journey. Your route is defined by more than just your dialogue and decisions, but also trading items on various world markets, your relationship with your partner and master, and other variables.
But what makes 80 Days so compelling for me is the incredible world that inkle has crafted. It's a world of conflict and turmoil, of walking cities and submersible trans-Atlantic railways, of revolutions and spies. Your goal may be to circle the globe, but each city offers new distinct wonders and there are dozens of cities spanning the world, giving the game a scope that few can match. Planning your trip, forging connections and relationships, learning new more efficient routes to new places gives 80 Days a sense of urgency and tension. The social aspect, which lets you see other players' routes as they travel in real time, adds to that urgency.
80 Days is a compelling experience that is a must play for fans of interactive fiction and visual novels