February 2012
1 post
Beat Sneak Bandit →
Simogo follows up Bumpy Road, our favorite game of 2011, with this delightful, vibrant, inventive rhythm-stealth-puzzler. I’ve only put in about an hour so far, but, uh, yeah, you should get it. Like, now. I’ll meet you back here next week and we can talk about it some more.
—Nick
January 2012
7 posts
English Country Tune
There’s a certain masochism involved in being a serious gamer, right? I mean, we want fun games, but we also want challenging games, and every challenging game will occasionally make you mad as hell. I probably screamed “fuck!” ten times an hour while playing Super Crate Box, and I adore that game. I suppose it’s an odd way to spend one’s leisure time, but I...
Good New Games: Salvidor Dali Edition
Okay, only one of these games has anything remotely in common with Dali. Can you spot it?!!
Hero Academy (iPhone)
What it is: What we’ve all been waiting for — an asynchronous multiplayer turn-based tactics game where you draw units and items like cards, with random online game matching. (I’m “Jammy” on there if you’d like to play.)
Why it’s...
jroos1 asked: I just got an iPad, so I'd love to see what you guys consider the "essential" games to have installed. Other app recs would be welcome, but since you focus on games I'd be happy with just that :)
Older Games That Still Pretty Much Rule
I haven’t found enough good new games recently to do a quick-hit style list, so I figured I’d highlight some old favorites that I might not get a chance to mention otherwise.
Dungeon Raid (iPhone)
Does everyone realize that this game should be, like, way up there with Drop7 and Canabalt and whatever else is in the iPhone game “canon”? I mean, it’s basically double...
babylonian asked: It probably goes without saying that you guys have a hell of a lot of iPhone apps. How do you keep it all organized? Folders? Deleting stuff? Help!
Super Crate Box (Universal), the scintillating arcade-style action platformer from indie superheroes Vlambeer, hit the App Store last night, and with it the tradition of great videogame boxes continues.
If you read this blog, I assume you recognize the top four boxes in that picture up there. And I’ll bet they’re all tied to emotional memories, too — a little jolt that runs up...
The List: January Update
We’re trying to make these updates to The List a monthly thing. Here’s what’s new for January:
English Country Tune: A puzzle game that explores the concept of pushing things around to an obsessive extreme, with fluid controls and a no-nonsense presentation. If you like: Marble Madness
SpellTower: Combines Boggle’s word finding with a classic rising-blocks puzzler; the best...
December 2011
8 posts
On Tap's Best iOS Games of 2011 →
Oh hey, we wrote up a list of our favorite iPhone and iPad games of the year for The Bygone Bureau. Go check it out, if you’re into that sort of thing.
(Psssst… not to spoil anything, but you might notice a small change at the top of The List.)
Good New Games
Sin or Win (iPad)
What it is: A frantic game about juggling cavemen that will test the limits of your touchscreen.
Why it’s interesting: During the natural flow of the game, you have to choose between two scoring systems that work against each other, giving its single mode unusual variety.
Ice Rage (Universal)
What it is: A polished, fast-paced, arcade style hockey game where you can...
homocidaltendency asked: You should mention that Edge is free today!
Get These Games
It’s basically impossible to keep up with every notable iOS game, so from time to time I go back through some sources to see if I missed anything good. Turns out I totally, totally did.
Corpse Craft (iPad)
Ever since Puzzle Quest came out a few years ago, I’ve been delighted by the trend of puzzle/RPG hybrids. But after playing Corpse Craft, I can’t believe I haven’t...
Thank You Mr. Miyamoto
Twenty five years later, we’re still thinking up new ways to jump. But I doubt we’ll ever find a better one.
(Via.)
Tetris
Can you change the way you think about a game you’ve been playing for decades?
When you try the new version of Tetris, released to the App Store last week, you’ll need to answer that question. The developer wants you to cede control over the game’s iconic falling blocks in favor of their new one-touch scheme, and making this request even more troublesome, that developer is...
Update Complete
New games on the list! We’ve added a couple to the “exceptional” category, a bunch under “enjoyable,” and links for everything. Here’s what’s new:
Fractal: A beautifully made tile-based puzzle game, with a complex core mechanic that takes patience to master and will have you seeing hexagons when you close your eyes. If you like: Go Halcyon: A mutli-touch...
November 2011
2 posts
Classic Block Breakers, with a Twist
If Tetris taught us anything, it’s that blocks are bad news. Blocks are a leading cause of cluttered screen syndrome, acute frustration, and in severe cases, death. Thankfully, makers of puzzle games been giving us new and interesting ways to make blocks disappear for nearly 30 years. And just when you thought the genre was all but tapped out, along came the iPhone.
Async Corp.
My...
You should download SpellTower
Last night, SpellTower (iPad) hit the App Store. It’s a new word puzzle game by Zach Gage, creator of Halcyon and Bit Pilot, so it was the easiest download in a while. It’s also one of the easiest recommendations in a while. If you’re looking for a new word game, you should feel good about skipping this post and just downloading it.
If you’ve played PopCap’s...
October 2011
1 post
Pinball Games for iPad and iPhone
It tends to be the case that pre-touch video game formats will always feel flawed on iOS devices. Surprisingly, there’s one that does better on the iPad than any other console or computer I’ve experienced: pinball. The vertical screen, the physicality of the device, the short session nature of pinball — all feel like a natural fit.
Unfortunately there just aren’t that many good...
September 2011
7 posts
About That Dumb Kotaku Thing
Last month, Kotaku featured a reader comment in a post under the headline “iPhone Games Just Aren’t Any Fun.” It’s a silly bit of linkbait (which I realize I am taking), expounding a stubborn “hardcore” gamer’s perspective on the iPhone as a gaming platform, and it’s not really worth a point-by-point response. One section, however, caught my...
1 tag
Hidden Gems in New and Noteworthy II
Each week, we trawl through Apple’s New and Noteworthy games feature (iTunes link), looking for titles whose noteworthiness may not be obvious* at first blush.
Happy Hills (Universal)
So, there are these hills, right? Under normal circumstances, they’re, like, tall and happy. Except now, they have heavy blocks on them, which make them shorter and less happy. So you, the player,...
Three of the Best Traditional Platformers
If I have an unfair bias in any direction, it’s that I’m overly harsh on games that try to work around the limitations of the hardware, rather than embracing them. The iOS gaming landscape is dominated by such titles.
On the other hand, I can’t turn down a great 2D platformer. I don’t believe it’s possible to make a Mario-style free roamer really work on iOS, though...
1 tag
Hidden Gems in New and Noteworthy
Apple updates its App Store features on Thursday afternoons, which means a fresh batch in their reliably strong New and Noteworthy games section (iTunes link). Generally, it’s pretty obvious which games are the MOST noteworthy, so I won’t belabor them too much here. (Do you really need me to tell you to get Machinarium if you have an iPad? Well, okay: Get Macianarium! It’s...
1 tag
A Challenger Appears
Robo Surf vs. Jetpack Joyride
[A Challenger Appears is an ongoing (hopefully!) series that compares new games from the App Store to very similar ones on The List.]
For a long time, there were no good clones of Balloon Ride’s Balloon Trip mode on the App Store. Believe me, I looked. It’s a simple concept – an infinite side-scroller where you press a button to boost yourself upwards...
1 tag
Faraway
Faraway teaser from steph thirion on Vimeo.
A loud, crowded exhibition hall is exactly the wrong place to play a game as peaceful and absorbing as Faraway, but the few dissonant minutes I spent with it at PAX were all I needed to assure me that I’d be spending a whole lot more after it’s released.
If you’re familiar with both Kometen and Tractor Beam (both on the list!),...