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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 seen more combinations of puzzle and strategy. Corpse Craft’s core mechanic is beautifully simple; you play a SameGame-style block breaker in the center of the screen to collect resourses, then use those resources to build creatures to attack your enemy. The game includes tons of other compelling features, from the Edward Gorey inspired art to the day/night cycle of battles, but really the basic idea is so good that I would play it without any of that. So when you add in all the attention to detail, you end up with something pretty special.

Paul & Percy (iPad)

Sometimes it just feels good to push boxes around. For the lifelong gamer, it scratches a primal itch. Paul & Percy—a smart, simple, and pure puzzle platformer—scratches it but good. You play as the two titular characters, one on each side of a split screen, and you control one at a time to help both reach an end goal. The touch controls are perfect, the game looks great, it has a cheeky sense of humor, but above all else, the puzzles are just really well designed. The early stages aren’t too easy, the game introduces interesting new mechanics at a regular pace, and the harder levles never feel unfair. Very impressive.

Moxie 2 (iPhone or iPad)

From its intro video to its wooden textures to its utilitarian interface to its folksy slogan, everything about Moxie 2 feels old-fashioned in the best way. Building on a classic word game convention, your goal is to swap new letters into an existing word to make new words. Rounds are fast-paced—you only get 64 characters to make a high score—and the game gives you the freedom to play however you want. Moxie quickly becomes an intense balance of risk vs. reward—do you want to play low scoring common words that can accept most letters, or higher scoring complex words that will force you to skip valuable characters? I’ve played a lot of this game, and I feel like I’ve barely tested the surface of the strategy it offers. I can’t wait to see how deep it goes.

—Nick