There are always “new” games on Google Play or the App Store, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the tried and tested classics.
The Apple App store and Google Play store alike are both awash with new titles each and every week, and there’s this relentless push to play the “hot new thing”, whether it’s Angry Birds or Flappy Bird
No, don’t ask me why bird games do well on app stores. I don’t have any idea either.
The problem with this push is that it means that if you came into the app store ecosystem late, you’re less likely to encounter classic games which are just as playable, just as fun and, more often than not, not quite as tinged with free to play in-app economies as more modern title. Here’s ten older titles that you really should try.
Zen Pinball
There are countless pinball titles you can buy, but none that match the quality and range of Zen Pinball. Each table will cost you a little bit to buy, but they’re generally excellent fare covering everything from Star Wars to Marvel. It’s well worth buying the “full” Zen Pinball app rather than its themed spinoffs to get the full experience.
iOS: Zen Pinball
Google Play Zen Pinball HD
Secret Of Mana
I’ve got an admitted soft spot for Square’s classic SNES-era roleplaying game, but I’d still suggest any keen RPG fan play through its mobile version. If you’re flush enough with cash to own an MFi controller there’s inbuilt support, but even the touchscreen controls are workable.
iOS: Secret Of Mana
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
One part trading sim, one part role playing game, once part dancing sim. Sid Meier’s Pirates! does a little bit of everything, and its iOS-only (sorry, Android fans — I’ve no idea why not either) port is a sublime way to while away either a few minutes chasing down ships or a few hours creating your own Caribbean story.
iOS: Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Sword Of Fargoal
Sword Of Fargoal was the very first game I played on an original iPad, although its genesis is quite a bit older than that. It’s essentially a tile-based roguelike, but one with plenty of charm and, naturally enough, near-infinite replayability.
iOS: Sword Of Fargoal
Rymdkapsel
Rymdkapsel is strategy boiled down to a few simple colours and shapes, but it works precisely because it’s so bleak and unremitting. You’re in charge of a space station investigating mysterious monoliths, each of which randomly gives you a specific boost that’ll allow you to see off increasing waves of alien invaders. Rymdkapsel is a game you’ll always lose, but the quest to survive just one more wave is highly compelling.
iOS: Rymdkapsel
Android: Rymdkapsel
Hook Worlds
The third in the Hook games series — and if you like it, Super QuickHook and Hook Champ are also still great games — offers a variety of endless runner challenges where most endless runner games just give you one simple mechanic.
iOS: Hook Worlds
Punch Quest
The other endless runner with a twist — and another game from Rocketcat Games — Punch Quest combines the jump and run of an endless runner game with some serious combat, quirky enemies and a flying gnome. It’s probably best not to think too much about the gnome.
iOS: Punch Quest
Android: Punch Quest
Super Mega Worm
We will seemingly never get a game based on Tremors, but Super Mega Worm comes perilously close. You’re a gigantic worm with a mission of vengeance against the surface dwellers, all rendered in glorious pixel art style. No, it’s not terribly serious or indeed deep, but it’s still damned good fun.
iOS: Super Mega Worm
Android: Super Mega Worm
Lux DLX
You can buy an official version of Risk! for mobile devices, but if I was spending my money (and if anyone else is, could they please stop) I’d buy Lux DLX instead. Why? Instead of just one global map, Lux DLX offers up dozens up alternate maps covering everything from the American Civil war to the battle for King Arthur’s Britain.
iOS: Lux DLX
Triple Town
Triple Town is a match three type puzzle game that tasks you with combining bushes into trees, trees into buildings, buildings into castles and bears into churches. No, I have no idea why bears turn into castles, but I do know they’re highly annoying when they hop around and spoil your puzzle plans. Triple Town does feature an iAP mechanic for turns, but it gives you a generous amount of “free” turns to see if it suits your taste, and the option to unlock unlimited turns is relatively cheap to boot.
iOS: Triple Town
Android: Triple Town