Every year, Apple’s latest A-series silicon in iPhone and iPad devices seems to outscore other ARM-powered mobile chipsets in synthetic benchmarks. Some mobile game developers primarily eye iOS for their high-fidelity titles due to the incredible CPU and GPU performance Apple’s low-powered chipset offers.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a PC or console to play games or not; playing mobile games still remains a viable choice. Out of the three options, your phone is portable enough to be carried everywhere in your pocket.
In fact, Apple’s App Store is packed with thousands of high-quality games you can install and enjoy on your iPhone. However, the library is so dense that it makes it difficult for users to discover the gems.
To save you and other iPhone/iPad users from the hassle of looking for quality games to play on the App Store, we have been curating shortlists of the best iOS games almost every month since last year. Of course, this December is no exception.
We have picked up five best iOS games for you to try out this month, which you can check out below. For more quality titles, be sure to come back here in January again.
1. Infinity Ops
Infinity Ops is a sci-fi first-person multiplayer shooter from Azur Interactive. The game takes place in the distant future when technological development has surpassed its limits, and the world is struck into chaotic interplanetary warfare.
If you have played Halo, Destiny, or Titanfall 2 before, you will find Infinity Ops’ gameplay mechanics very familiar. The matchmaking allows you to join a squad and face against another team in PvP combat. Every player gets to choose a different class, including Assault, Recruit, Saboteur, and Tank. Each class has its own perks and abilities.
Infinity Ops features three different game modes: Team Deathmatch, Free-for-all Deathmatch, Base defense, Launcher Battle, Hardcore, and 2v2 Duel. You can also create a custom game lobby and invite your friends to battle together. Additionally, you can form a clan with your friends and invite others as well.
Similar to most other first-person shooters, Infinity Ops lets players choose from a wide range of weapons. From assault rifles and laser machineguns to plasma shooters and grenade launchers, each of the weapons has its exclusive features and properties. Players can also have grenades, mines, shock-blades, and medkits as secondary gadgets. You can upgrade the weapons for better armor penetration and improved reload time, as well as equip your character with your preferred perks.
In every game mode, material interaction plays a significant part in traversing through the space-themed maps. You can jump higher and further in low-gravity areas, whereas your running speed is affected by universal gravity. Jetpacks are also available for aerial combat operations.
Infinity Ops offers excellent visual fidelity for a mobile game, with detailed world assets and high-polygon character models. It’s also well-optimized for older iPhone models (iPhone 6 or later). The touch controls and HUD elements are also straightforward and intuitive enough to master.
Infinity Ops is a free-to-play shooter, meaning that it features the usual microtransaction model. However, you can enjoy the game without purchasing the in-game currency or items.
2. Bridge Constructor Portal
Bridge Constructor Portal is arguably the best game in the series. As the name suggests, it’s a crossover between Headup Games’ Bridge Constructor and Valve’s all-time classic Portal franchise.
In case you didn’t know, Bridge Constructor a puzzle game that requires players to design and construct bridges to get one or more vehicles from one location to another. Bridge Constructor Portal takes place in the Portal universe, where you are assigned as an employee to transport trucks across 60 test labs and chambers in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center.
Your main objective is to build complex bridges, ramps, slides, and other self-supporting structures that can not only withstand their own weight but also carry the moving trucks. You can do it by anchoring struts and cables on the level’s walls.
Unlike the previous games in the series, Bridge Constructor Portal features unique Portal-themed gadgets, including portals, aerial faith plates, cubes, propulsion gel, repulsion gel, etc. You can make use of the following gadgets to accomplish more complicated transportations and avoid contact with sentry turrets, laser fields, acid, and emancipation grills.
The game offers decent touch controls, but you can play with a gamepad as well. If you have played Portal before, you will also recognize the voice of Ellen McLain as GLaDOS, who will accompany you throughout your adventures in the Aperture Science labs.
If you are a fan of physics-based puzzle games, give Bridge Constructor Portal a try on your iPhone or iPad. It has received favorable reviews so far, and the ‘Portal Proficiency’ DLC adds 30 more challenging levels across three chapters. The base game only costs $2.99, and it’s worth every dime.
3. LIMBO
LIMBO from Playdead is a 2D puzzle-platformer that was initially released for Xbox 360 in 2010. The game has been ported to ten different platforms after its release, including iOS.
In LIMBO, you play as a nameless boy caught in a forest on the “edge of hell.” Your objective is to navigate the desolate world, get past hazardous mechanical traps, and avoid lethal monsters. Like most other platformers, you can run left or right, jump, climb ledges, scale ropes/ladders, and push/pull movable objects.
The environment is presented entirely in grayscale tones, with ambient lighting and film grain effects to make up for an eerie and haunting atmosphere. The shadowy nature also cleverly hides the traps and enemies throughout the game.
LIMBO has won several awards for its minimalist, otherworldly aesthetics. The $3.99 price tag doesn’t do it justice. It’s as amusing to play as it is interesting to perceive and listen to.
4. Whispers of a Machine
Whispers of a Machine is a sci-fi Nordic noir inspired by early 90’s point-and-click games. It tells the story of Vera, a cybernetically augmented detective in a dystopian post-AI world. She is tasked to investigate a string of brutal killings.
Vera soon finds out that the murders are tied to a group of fanatics trying to create an AI superintelligence. Her unique skills and superhuman abilities made it feasible to solve the case – until the bitter past returns to haunt her.
Whispers of a Machine features a gripping story, combined with a fantastic protagonist and interesting characters to interact with. Since the game incorporates multiple endings, your playstyle and choices will have impactful consequences on how the story concludes.
For $4.99, Whispers of a Machine offers lengthy yet exceptional storytelling. The point-and-click aspects of the game, including its gorgeous hand-drawn pixel art style and solid voice acting, make up for an emotional and nostalgic journey.
5. Sonic the Hedgehog Classic
Most of us grew up with Sonic the Hedgehog. Whether you have played it before or not, now is your chance to relive the nostalgia with the excellent port of Sonic The Hedgehog (1991) on iOS.
From the Green Hill to the Spring Yard to the Scrap Brain Zone, you can play as Sonic the Hedgehog and race across seven unique zones at lightning speeds. On your mission to save the world from Dr. Eggman, you also have to collect rings and beat enemies to secure a top position on the leaderboards.
The iOS version of Sonic the Hedgehog Classic also features two new playable characters: Tails and Knuckles. They make traversing through the zones feel new and exciting because of their unique abilities to fly, glide, and climb around the levels.
Sonic the Hedgehog Classic has widescreen support, with a solid 60 fps cap and a fully remastered soundtrack. It gives the game a fresh coat of paint without compromising on its originality. The touch controls are relatively easy to understand. You can also enjoy the game to the fullest with a supported MFi controller or third-party gamepad.
You can play Sonic the Hedgehog Classic for free, but there will be advertisements. You can remove it with a $1.99 in-app purchase, which is a fairly reasonable price to pay for SEGA’s platformer hit.
Make sure to check out the SEGA Forever Classic Games Collection on the App Store for more classic titles, such as Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Phantasy Star, Virtua Tennis Challenge, Beyond Oasis, Space Harrier, and Sonic the Hedgehog sequels.
Talha Ali is your tech generalist, covering a wide spectrum of topics within the ever-evolving world of technology. With a curiosity for the latest innovations, industry trends, and breakthroughs. Whether it’s hardware, software, emerging technologies, or the intersection of tech with daily life, Talha’s articles provide readers with a well-rounded perspective on the dynamic landscape of the tech industry.
