Top 5 Smartphone Games (2017)
In 2016, everyone was blown away by Pokémon Go, but what are the top app store games of 2017? We’ve been spoiled for choice this year, but we’ve managed to pick out five of the best gameing apps to hit the marketplace.
From innovative stories to white-knuckle arcade action, there’s something for everyone in our round-up of 2017’s best mobile games.
Linelight
(Android/iOS)
Slick, stylish and unashamedly minimalist, Linelight may seem at first like just another puzzle game, but its neon glows and pleasantly soothing sound design will soon draw you in.
As you guide a white dot around a series of increasingly hazardous circuits, there’s a big emphasis on thinking on your feet and trying to stay one step ahead of the problem the designers have set for you in each level. Unlocking gates and avoiding deadly enemies takes a combination of precise finger movements and an agile puzzle-solving brain.
Linelight’s visual language is hugely intuitive – there’s virtually no text anywhere to guide you, but each new problem builds on the last without any frustrating spikes in difficulty. The result is a game that flows just as well as it looks, and with a wealth of secret levels to discover it offers plenty of content for its low price.
Arkanoid vs Space Invaders
(Android/iOS)
If you’re after a fast-paced, addictive game to play on the train, on the bus or during TV ad breaks, you won’t find much better than this mash-up of two arcade classics. A hyperactive blend of Space Invaders and Arkanoid (aka Breakout), it fuses two distinct styles of 1980s gameplay into one perfect whole.
In Arkanoid, you try to keep a ball in play while batting through layers of blocks. In Space Invaders, you blast attacking aliens before they can make their way down the screen. In Arkanoid vs Space Invaders, you have to do both at once, and the result is surprisingly one of the freshest, most compelling arcade experiences in ages.
Packed full of bright lights, power-ups and charm, Arkanoid vs Space Invaders offers enough challenges and game modes to keep those thumbs busy for hours.
The Witch’s Isle
(Android/iOS)
2017 was a banner year for curious little indie games on mobile, and this spooky homage to the point-and-click adventures of old is a fantastic example. Filled with sparse, atmospheric pixel art, enigmatic characters and multiple endings to discover, this may be one of the strangest mobile experiences you’ll have all year.
Awaking on a gloomy island, in a village overshadowed by a witch’s curse, you’ll need to collect clues to piece together the history of the area and save the townsfolk from the witch. Or do you need to save the witch from the townsfolk? With every playthrough, you’ll uncover more secrets about this place and soon discover that nothing is as it seems.
Despite some translation issues, The Witch’s Isle is a mystery well worth solving – especially since its absolutely free.
Campfire Cooking
(iOS)
Puzzle fans have plenty of choice when it comes to mobile, and sometimes you need an innovative theme to make a game stand out. Campfire Cooking, from the developer of the enormously popular Professor Layton series, is just that.
On the face of it, it’s a grid-sliding puzzler with a campfire theme. You need to shuffle marshmallows, pots and pans around a fire until everything’s toasted or boiled to perfection, but one wrong move could see your tasty treats turn into charred blocks of carbon.
What seems like a simple concept is actually deceptively deep. In the vein of titles like Overcooked, every level introduces new complications, like pot-grabbing magnets or additional skewers, that will keep you scratching your head. With a hundred levels to complete, you’ll get plenty of mileage out of this cute, yet challenging puzzle game.
Death Road to Canada
(Android/iOS)
Buckle up in a car with your buddy and fight your way through hordes of the undead as you drive from Florida to Canada: what could possibly go wrong?
With lots of random elements, from the environments to your survivors’ personalities, together with the need to shoot and chop your way out of trouble while managing your resources, Death Road to Canada throws a lot of things into the mix, but it all works incredibly well.
The game plays out in a series of missions that form your zombie-infested road trip. From blasting baddies with shotguns to collecting enough food and fuel, staying alive is a constant uphill struggle, and you’ll get used to dying a lot as you discover all the game’s nooks and crannies.
Gloriously silly and constantly surprising you with new things, Death Road to Canada is another great entry from RocketCat.
What have you been playing this year? Let us know, and don’t forget to check out Mobiles.co.uk for awesome deals on your favourite gaming smartphones.