The popular way to describe the first Reigns is something along the lines of a combination between Game of Thrones and Tinder. The same can be said for the sequel, Reigns: Her Majesty, a game where you take the role of a monarch — in this case a queen, unlike the king in the first game — and you have to make choices by swiping right or left.
Monument Valley is one of the best mobile games ever made, and one that is extremely important to the development of mobile as a platform. It’s one of the first truly huge single-player games on phones, and the sequel, Monument Valley 2, is better in just about every way.
Ironhide Game Studio probably doesn’t need to innovate much to continue producing quality games. Kingdom Rush is fantastic, as are both of the follow-ups, despite not changing much with the formula. As I said, they don’t need to make big changes … but they did with their latest release, Iron Marines, and it’s worked out fantastically.
Thimbleweed Park is an adventure game made in the style of the classics and made by a pair very familiar with the classics in Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, creators of Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island. It’s a noir mystery set in 1987, and has shades of Twin Peaks in its bizarre but charming story.
There are shades of Monument Valley, Journey and even some Legend of Zelda, at least from where I’m sitting. It’s an inspired world, carefully built from end to end, and visually, stands out above all else this year.
You know that feeling when you’re asked to describe a game and your mind just blanks? I have been playing Million Onion Hotel for the past couple of months, and I’m still not sure I can answer that question. But that’s half of what makes the game so interesting.
We have our final batch of games in our 2017 Android game of the year list before we move to single posts for each, featuring Old Man’s Journey, Sidewords and more.
It’s you like burgling, heisting, the thrill of crimes in general and the overall concept of mobile board games, then this one is for you.
A Girl Adrift is a charming clicker-like where the core mechanic is fishing from your raft. You fish in various locations, completing quests by finding specific rare fish or boss fish for various NPCs, themselves often adrift in their own little world.
Simply titled “Sonny” from Armor Games Studios, it’s a comic book-flavored adventure RPG with turn-based combat, gorgeous art and a good story. It also happens to be free on the Google Play store, with no in-app purchases.