Even if you are a PC or console gamer, the convenience of mobile games binds us all. Chances are you have a game or two on your iPhone or iPad that you play outdoors. However, looking for good games on the Apple App Store is particularly difficult now that there are so many of them to choose from.
This brings us here to help. Every month, we highlight the fun and underrated games that deserve a download on your iPhone and iPad devices, and this February is no exception. Below is a list of the five best iOS games you should try out today. If you find any of the following titles fun, let us know about your experience in the comments section!
1. The Escapists
The Escapists is an addictive strategy game that puts you in the footsteps of an inmate with only one goal– escape the prison. The iOS port of this game is the same as the PC version, so you get the full prison-break experience.
In The Escapists, you must escape from over six unique-themed prisons of various challenges. Each prison has different types of security, ranging from high walls to electric fences. Every time you bust out of a prison level, the next one gets unlocked. When you complete all six prisons, three extra gets unlocked. The prison-break progressively gets tricky and complicated as well.
When you begin, you can select your name and pick up guards and other inmates’ names. Once started, your in-game character wakes up in the cell, with strict daily routines like work, meals, showers, exercise, and attending roll calls. From that point, you get to obtain necessary items around the prison and buy/sell them from the prisoners. Some tools and weapons can also be crafted with multiple items combined. Furthermore, you can do favors for your fellow inmates and eventually recruit them to help you later in your escape.
The gameplay also involves using the library and exercise yard to build up intelligence, strength, and speed stats, allowing the in-game character to improve the chances of escape. If somehow caught with contraband items, you are put into solitary confinement with all your progress reset.
There’s more to The Escapists, but you need to play it yourself to discover its secrets. You can play the game with a Bluetooth gamepad if you want, but the on-screen controls are straightforward to use. It’s available on both iPhone and iPad devices.
The Escapists on the App Store costs $4.99. If you are a fan of sandbox-strategy games, you would certainly enjoy playing this game for hours.
2. Battle Chasers: Nightwar
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a premium JRPG offering one of the best mobile RPG experiences to this date. Right off the bat, it isn’t a free-to-play title, meaning that it also doesn’t have ads or in-app microtransactions to bother you in every step of your progress. It makes sense considering this game is ported from the PC version.
The game starts in a dense overworld rich with randomly-generated dungeons to explore and sprawling mobs like bandits, demons, beasts, machines, elementals, undead, etc. There are also legendary bosses to defeat and hidden secrets to find along the journey.
Inspired by other JRPG titles from the past, the combat in the game is turn-based, so you have to react precisely to your enemy’s tactics and build up your magic system. Plus, it has deep crafting elements for upgrading armors, weapons, and magical jewelry carried by your team of six.
A role-playing game is incomplete without a compelling story and engaging characters. Thankfully, the game is based on a graphic novel of the same name, and the journey is nothing short of remarkable.
The story begins with Gully, a young girl on a mission to find her long-lost father, Aramus. Known as a hero in the local village, Aramus was last seen stepping into the Grey Line, a mysterious wall of mist bordering their homeland around. The only thing Aramus left for his daughter is a set of magical gauntlets that grant immense powers to the wielder. It’s on Gully to wield the gauntlets and unravel its secrets as she embarks on her journey past the Grey Line to learn more about her father’s disappearance. Fortunately, she is joined by five other heroes for support: Knolan, Calibretto, Garrison, Red Monika, and Alumon, each having unique abilities, personality, and backstory.
If you love to play JRPGs, definitely check out Battle Chasers: Nightwar on your iPhone or iPad. While $9.99 is relatively steep, the game gets you a complete RPG experience on a mobile device.
3. Vectronom
Vectronom is a seriously underrated indie title on the App Store, available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Although the game looks simple and minimal, it still somehow manages to deliver nothing short of a psychedelic experience.
Vectronom merges level design with rhythmic beats to create a puzzle-platformer, challenging you to use your fingertips and ears in utmost coordination. The dynamic and colorful art design and pounding electronic tracks keep you glued to the screen. Every in-game level has a distinct theme that evolves continually with the beat of the music.
At the time of the writing, the game has 31 levels to play through, with their complexity increased progressively. Your objective is to move a cube through the levels by dodging different traps and leveraging the level’s mechanics. The touch controls are nothing but taps and swipes, but you can also connect a controller and its D-pad.
The concept is simple, but the end result is challenging nonetheless. The game encourages you to sync the cube’s movements with the music beats, which sometimes get really difficult to execute. The developers are also working actively with its player base to build out levels based on the user-generated content, so your submissions might end up in the game someday as well.
Vectronom on iOS is free to download, but you only get to play the first nine levels. The rest of the levels are unlocked once you pay $1.99 for the full game.
4. Card Thief
Card Thief puts solitaire-style card game and stealth gameplay concepts under one roof and offers a unique experience. It requires a deep level of tactical planning and understanding of various risk-reward mechanics.
You play as a stealthy thief who must avoid detection through a deck of cards while also collecting treasure in the way. There are unlockable and upgradable equipment cards that help you get past the enemies, traps, and other obstacles.
From extinguishing torches and sneaking in the shadows to pickpocketing guards to and stealing valuable treasures, there’s a lot of things you can do as the thief. You can choose between different settings, each symbolized by different castles and manors on a map. The difficulty increases as you make progress and earn medals from successful heists.
The strategic aspects of the game are relatively easy to learn but hard to master. If you are a fan of stealth games, you will find distracting enemies, removing light sources, and changing your positions quite fun. Each session lasts around two to three minutes, keeping everything short and sweet.
Card Thief also features daily quests and a global leaderboard system. If you are willing to give this game a try, it’s only $2.99 on the App Store. There are zero in-game purchases and advertisements.
5. What the Golf?
What the Golf? is the best golf game that’s not even related to golf. It’s a physics-based parody game where every golf course is either borderline absurd, amusing, or hilarious. You literally guide a golf ball through a laboratory divided into over ten different zones, with each zone having two separate areas to explore.
At first glance, What the Golf? seems like a regular golf game. You point the arrow where you want the ball to go, drag the arrow to adjust the hitting strength, then leave it to make the ball fly or roll towards the golf hole, except that none of this remains true after just three or four levels in the game.
Instead of the ball, you proceed to fling the in-game character or the pointing arrow to the flagpole. The more you progress, the weirder the gameplay becomes. At one point, you will find yourself rolling a house through the countryside and throwing carpets.
The game features 500+ unique levels spread across the areas of the laboratory. Every area has a distinct theme all around. It pays homage to games like Super Mario Bros., Portal, Metal Gear Solid, and even Superhot. The levels are represented by flagpoles and require you to complete at least once to progress to the next zone. Plus, you unlock collectibles as you clear the areas. There are also hidden secrets for you to uncover.
If you are looking for 10+ hours of abrupt chaos, What the Golf? is a perfect match for you. It supports Game Center achievements, and you can play the game with a controller. It’s a part of the Apple Arcade subscription, which costs $4.99/month and includes dozens of other quality titles for your Apple devices.
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.
