The best iPhone games 2024
There are a wide range of games to choose from on iPhone, but it can be tricky to decide which ones to dedicate your spare time to. We’re here to help with our list of the best games on iPhone and iOS, featuring various premium and free titles you can install without having to spend a penny.
If you’re looking for an iPhone to enjoy this selection of games on, our handset range has a variety of budget-friendly and premium options to choose from.
Balatro
• Price: £10
• Genre: Deck builder/rogue-like
• Number of players: 1
Every now and then, a game comes along that does something entirely new. Balatro is one such game, gaining almost-unanimous praise for its innovative blend of poker and roguelike.
If that combination sounds bizarre, it’s why Balatro is so unique. The aim is to combine cards and create high-scoring poker hands to beat a target, utilising special ‘joker’ cards that add unique modifiers such as multiplying Flush or Straight hands. You don’t need extensive knowledge of how poker works to play Balatro; the game does an outstanding job of easing you in over time. It’s also played completely offline, so there’s no pressure to compete with or against other players.
The other crucial ingredient is its roguelike structure, which emphasises repeat runs and the use of cards you unlocked from your last attempt. This creates the addictive loop that roguelike games are known for, and it’s executed brilliantly here. With each run you earn new joker cards and decks, which in turn enable you to get through harder rounds. There’s nothing else quite like Balatro.
Alto’s Odyssey
• Price: £5
• Genre: Endless runner
• Number of players: 1
Alto’s Odyssey is undoubtedly one of the most visually stunning games on iPhone and iOS. The sequel to the 2015 game Alto’s Adventure, this title is an endless runner in which you control the titular Alto as they surf through various beautiful environments.
Whilst there are collectibles to find along the way and goals to meet, Alto’s Adventure is more about the journey. Everything from the music to the delicate sound effects have been carefully designed to evoke a relaxing atmosphere, rather than dramatic or action-packed. This is a game to unwind and escape with for a few minutes after a long day.
As we touched on, Alto’s Odyssey is a joy to look at and really takes advantage of the iPhone’s graphical power. The art style is defined by silhouettes and bold contrasts, enabling each colour to stand out on the screen. From palaces backlit by a pink sunset to mountain trails at midnight, Alto’s levels are captivating from start to finish.
Call of Duty Mobile
• Price: Free
• Genre: First Person Shooter
• Number of players: 1-100
Call of Duty needs no introduction. The world-famous series joined the mobile scene in 2019 and has attracted millions of players with its free-to-play model, serving as an extremely accessible gateway into Call of Duty.
Key to Call of Duty: Mobile’s success is how brilliantly it translates the core online game experience for on-the-go. The gunplay is snappy, responsive and just as engaging as the console/PC versions, even with a control scheme adapted for small smartphone screens. Given how far phones have come since the early days of Candy Crush, too, most iPhones can easily run Call of Duty: Mobile with power to spare.
Many of the series’ most familiar multiplayer game modes are present in the mobile version, including Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed and Battle Royale. These modes also support Clan Play for additional rewards when joining a clan group.
Marvel Snap
• Price: Free
• Genre: Deck builder/collectible card game
• Number of players: 1-2
Marvel Snap is a game we showcased on our best Android games list and include it here too as one of the best iPhone games.
The gameplay of Marvel Snap is card-based: the aim is to win two out of three lanes in a match by playing cards with power levels and abilities. On the surface, some card games such as Marvel Snap can be daunting with how many cards are available, each with its own strategies of how to be played. Whilst Snap is strategically deep to this extent, it eases players into the gameplay loop with easy-to-digest tutorials and a steady stream of new cards to experiment with. There is no throwing into the deep end, instead, you have the opportunity to learn the game at your own pace with others at your collection level.
Marvel Snap brilliantly combines a collection-building loop with complex yet simple card gameplay to produce one of the very best iPhone games and an instant mobile classic.
Brawlhalla
• Price: Free
• Genre: Character fighter
• Number of players: 2-4
Brawlhalla is one of the leading games in the character fighter genre and, despite also being on most other platforms, has found a home on mobile thanks to its pick up & play gameplay and how impressively it runs on the majority of devices.
Fights in Brawlhalla consist of one or more players attempting to knock each other out of the arena. Its natural overarching inspiration is Super Smash Bros. from Nintendo, but Brawlhalla charts its own course in several key ways, the first of which is how characters are unlocked.
Compared to Smash Bros. as a full-price purchase, Brawlhalla is free-to-play and features a weekly rotation of characters to choose from. In-game currency can then be earned and spent on permanently unlocking characters to add to your personal roster. This a la carte unlock structure gives greater freedom to the player on how they want to play, as well as opening Brawlhalla up to a wider audience.
The second way in which Brawlhalla sets itself apart is in the gameplay. Alongside the unique abilities each character has are sets of weapons that appear during matches. These range from traditional weapons such as swords and axes, to unconventional ones like orbs and scythes. Characters can use certain weapons and not others, adding a layer of randomness to each battle to make them even more chaotic.
Multiple crossovers with the likes of Hellboy and Adventure Time have considerably expanded the game’s roster, and with Battle, and Pass unlockables to earn each Season, Brawlhalla continues to be hugely rewarding and is one of the best iOS games around.
If you still need some inspiration for your iPhone purchase, take a look through our round-up of the top handsets you need to know about.