More_Badass
Member
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 recommended games that released during the previous 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.
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.
Directory
1) Introduction & Recommended Games
2) Recommended Games continued
3) Upcoming Releases, Past Threads & Other Links
I'm currently addicted to HoPiKo (damn can it be a bitch, but it's insanely fun)
Picked up HoPiKo to break in my new 6S, and wow - this game is a TON of fun. Love the gameplay, love the music.
Yes, Hopiko is absolutely flippin brilliant
Extremely fluid, great art, and a "new mechanic every level" thing going on similar to Badland
Hopiko
The game just throws new mechanics at you. It's like Badland in that way. Simple controls, but a ton of mechanics. Plus am awesome soundtrack
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So I'll just say that Simogo's SPL-T isn't as simple as it first appears...
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So I'm warming up to SPL-T. Once you understand the puzzle mechanic, it's pretty fun and challenging
Totally clicked now.
Yeah the game is pretty good fun!
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Site | Trailer | App Store
Enter the Kingdom of the Queen of the Night. Start your journey through the lands of mystery and magic as prince Tamino. Choose your steps wisely, build your path avoiding traps, deadly serpents or earth quakes. But know no fear, lose no hope and remember that you are the master of your own path.
Solve 32 spatial puzzles placed in a beautiful scenery of Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ opera. Armed only in logic, imagination and integrity help Tamino find wisdom, beauty and save the love of his life. Be careful though as in this opera-based story nothing is as it seems…
Anyway, it's a solid tile slider with some different twists on the genre. Hasn't grabbed me as much as other recent releases
Well worth a download
Played some Magic Flute and without realizing I completed half of the game. Its like the puzzling from Blockwick with an isometric view and on top of that they add a bunch of mechanics. Slide the blocks on the floor to move them and tap anywhere on the block to move the character there. You have to guide your character from A to B, rearranging tiles to form a path. Levels dont usually take more than a minute to complete, the game seems short but the flow of the mechanics keeps it fresh and engaging. There is also a giant snake that introduces timed sections where you have to make a path quickly, adding some challenging in between to make it interesting. And on top of that they added a little bit of Monument Valley and some nicely done art direction. The level select is amazing, with the protagonist playing the most famous Mozart song. I am enjoying this one, a lot.
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Site | Trailer | App Store
Devastator is a highly-polished arcade twin-stick shooter from Radiangames, creator of Inferno 2, JoyJoy, Super Crossfighter, and more. If you're looking for a leisurely action game, look elsewhere. Devastator is one of the most intense and difficult twin-stick shooters to grace the iPhone and iPad.
Played some Devastator. Main gripe is that it doesn't have an option for my preferred control scheme: floating joysticks. You can adjust the positions, but that's not exactly the same.
Besides that, it's classic Radiangames. Big swarms of enemies, frenetic combat, screenfuls of particles and bullets. You select a main ability at the start and then can collect power-ups like a shield or bouncing bullets.
Really challenging
Enjoying Devastator, but definitely agree on wishing there were floating sticks. Think it's probably not as much of an issue on phones. Just harder on a larger screen to get used to fixed positions when so many games using twin sticks have moved to the floating option.
It's also probably radiangames most difficult game. A little uneven as some of the first few levels seemed a lot harder than later ones.
Still a great game. Can't say they've had a bad one yet.
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Finished PixWing.... yeah I had a productive day today. PixWing is.. charming, beautiful to look at, 3D pixel art is very apt. The three worlds are gorgeous and with different mechanics each, there are a lot of unlockable planes like a dragon, a shark and the car from Back to the Future. Gameplay is like Retry but in 3D and lucky the controls (touch) are responsive and up to the task, everything is wonderful, coin rate is good, there is a free roam mode to earn currency, no IAP, etc... until the third world, where a new gameplay mechanic is introduced: wind currents. They are very annoying. Kind of breaks the nice flow of the game. I would have liked to see another mechanics instead. So I finished all level on a rush. Over all, is a nice game to play an afternoon in between Lara Croft GO.
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So Super Happy Fun Block is really good so far. Controls are responsive, and the hand-drawn art style is really charming
The puzzle mechanic is simple (swap between red & blue realities), but I can see how it can get really tricky, due to precise timing or switching to pass through obstacles, or avoiding enemies.
Definitely worth checking out
I want to mention that Super Happy Fun Block is really good despite the bad name. Level design is top notch and makes it really fun and interesting. Controls are flawless, the hand drawn animations is impressive... shows 3 years in the making and the developer seem to have accomplished their objective with this game: make a deeper iOS game that resembles the ones on Steam.
And I am hooked. Loving it. So far, one of the best puzzle platformers on iOS that I tried in my 5 years of AppStore experience. And I played almost every game that it was released (except the freemium ones, turn based games or simpler arcade games that comes out every week)
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Have to head to work, but played the first few levels and it's fun and unique. Kind of a puzzle micro machines navigating tower defense like circuits with portals and other things to throw you off course in the attempt to find the exit.
Only possible concern is length. There's only 36 levels. However, I can see the levels getting trickier and maybe longer as you play so I'll stay hopeful that it isn't too short.
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So Shooty Skies (Free) is good. Really, really good.
It's from the Crossy Road guys, but they're oddly going under the new name Mighty Games.
It's an endless shooter that looks and feels great. Tight controls. It's got this kinetic vibe that super satisfying. Reminds me a bit of Monsters Ate My Condo in this regard.
Thumbs Way Up.
Shooty skies is a lot of fun. Good controls with some great action. I like how, just like Crossy road, it's very casual and you can progress through the levels and get upgrades without much hassle. Great for pick up and play game.
Only concern I've noticed is that some of the enemies bullets don't seem to affect me and instead just go right through me. Throws me off sometimes.
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Site | Trailer | App Store
Beacon 38 is a mobile exploration game where you use sonar to navigate through a dangerous, beautiful alien world that constantly surprises and challenges. See if you can navigate your tiny scout ship past massive predators, mysterious creatures, and unknown peril to escape the 38th Dimension!
Beacon 38 is really cool
So the basic premise is that mankind (or at least some civilization) is dimension-hopping to find a new home. The fleet is stuck in a dimension where survival is impossible and the only way to escape is to send a small scouting ship into the titular Dimension 38 and open a path between dimensions
Each sector is a large expansive area and you need to explore it to reach the pinged wormholes. These are lightless places so the only way to see obstructions and what lurks in the darkness is by using sonar. It's a slow, exploration-heavy experience, so you cautiously fly around, revealing the environment and any dangers that might lurk there
Fuel is limited, massive predators and weird plant life thrives in the sectors, and the only way to survive is to explore and study. Different things react different to your presence, to your sonar pings, to other species
It's also a story-driven game. You're constantly getting text updates over your Comm link, and you'll find other ships and stations in the sectors, with logs to read
Visually, the game looks interesting, has a stylized aesthetic. My own gripe is that sonar effect isn't that cool; I wish it was more fluid like Dark Echo, rather than just revealing stuff near where you tap
But Beacon is definitely an interesting game. A slow, exploration-heavy experience through a weird alien world