[Update] The best iOS and Android games of 2016

Pokemon GO was the biggest game of the year, without question, but was it the best? The team's individual end-of-year picks over the coming days will doubtless show that for many of us, no it wasn't. But the important thing to note here is that all of us without exception played and enjoyed Pokemon GO to some extent, despite our disparate tastes. It's also worth reiterating how well put together Niantic's AR collect-'em-up is, with virtually no barrier to entry and a compelling flick-to-capture mechanic at its heart.

We'd already seen two GO games by the time Deus Ex GO hit the market, but Square Enix Montreal's third effort had a distinctive flavour borrowed from the source material. This time you could sneak up on robots and hack terminals to turn the odds in each intricate clockwork level to your advantage.

This card-based choose-your-own-adventure game beguiled many of us back in August - even those who don't particularly warm to narrative-led games. You can thank the game's wicked sense of humour, surprising range of outcomes, clever generational rules, and intuitive Tinder-like control system for that.

The first Banner Saga was an absolute winner. It's no surprise that creating more of the same - only better - would result in another top game. Mixing a compelling Norse-inflected mythology with genuinely meaningful narrative decisions, beautiful animation-style graphics, and tense tactical RPG combat, Banner Saga 2 was destined to prosper.

Who knew that what digital pinball really needed was a structural shift towards the endless runner genre? That's pretty much what PinOut is - a constant climb up a perpetual neon-drenched pinball table. It's a simple twist, but a powerful one, resulting in one of those endless gameplay loops it's tricky to pull yourself away from.

A spinoff of the enduring, all-conquering Clash of Clans was always going to be a tricky thing to pull off. But Supercell managed it in Clash Royale - and then some. It's a brilliant game in its own right, presenting a distinctive twist on both the tower defence and MOBA genres - with a little card battling for good measure.

SteamWorld Heist is one of those console conversions that feels like it always belonged on mobile. It's a 2D turn-based strategy game with a beguiling cartoon steampunk aesthetic. The joy comes from raiding spaceships for loot, customising your lovable robotic crew, and scoring the perfect ricochet headshot on your enemies.

You wait ages for two impeccable turn-based strategy console conversions... actually, you don't these days. But the fact remains that Invisible Inc and SteamWorld Heist turned up on iOS at roughly the same time. Invisble Inc is a different beast, focusing on stealthy infiltration in a cyberpunk world from an isometric perspective. But it's just as good.

Here's another console conversion that felt native to mobile the moment it dropped. Severed is a strange first person dungeon crawler game with a swipe-based combat system that calls to mind both Fruit Ninja and Infinity Blade. Severed's touch-based systems make perfect sense on a smartphone or tablet, and it doesn't hurt that it looks so damned pretty.

Anyone who thinks that adventure games talk too much is clearly on the same wavelength as Amanita Design. Samarost 3 is the developer's latest example of delightful show-don't-tell questing. Just like Machinarium and Botanicula before it, you'll find yourself solving gentle cause-and-effect puzzles and indulging in charming word-free dialogue with a cast of benign creatures. It's serene alright.

Indulge your inner Mickey from Rocky (or, if you're young, Rocky from Creed) and supervise the rise to glory of a struggling mixed martial artist. What could have been a fairly rote management game is handled with a quirky sense of humour and considerable charm in Punch Club.

Nitrome somehow manages to make every genre it touches feel like nothing other than a Nitrome game. It's quite a skill, and that's on display with Rust Bucket. Ostensibly a roguelike dungeon crawler, Rust Bucket soon emerges as a delightfully bright and bouncy turn-based puzzler. It's a bit like Ending on happy pills.

Crashlands is simply full of STUFF. Stuff to explore, stuff to bash, stuff to collect, stuff to make. It's got shades of Minecraft and Don't Starve, but with a deeply playful tone that removes much of the usual trepidation from your free-roaming adventure.

Zelda on mobile? Not quite. Rather, Legend of the Skyfish is a gentle action puzzler with a beguiling fishing hook tool at its centre. But yes, it looks quite a lot like a Zelda game - and that's just fine by us.

You know the score by now. Super Stickman Golf games are 2D crazy golf games with outlandishly warped 'courses' that are more akin to something you'd find in a Worms game. Super Stickman Golf 3 is the biggest, best, and most polished game in the series. Now go and buy it.

Super Cat Tales (Super Cat Bros on Android) wears its Mario influence on its sleeve, like so many other mobile platformers. But to its credit, it doesn't settle for being a mere tribute act. Developer Neutronized Games has completely rethought the controls and level structures to make them better-suited to mobile play.

Warbits already has the feel of an iOS institution, even though it's only been with us since April. It's the best attempt yet at creating an Advance Wars for mobile, with bold red-vs-blue graphics, tight mobile-friendly levels, and lashings of superb turn-based action.

2016 was a sad year in so many ways. One extra reason to weep was the fact that the this was the year in which the epic Sorcery! series reached its conclusion. Still, what a way to go out - this is arguably the best gamebook in the series.

It's a dangerous thing, remastering legendary games for mobile. There's the old rose-tinted glasses factor of course, but also the issue of making them work with touchscreen controls. Day of the Tentacle Remastered excels in both regards. It's still a brilliant point-and-click adventure packed full of hilarious dialogue, and it works perfectly on mobile thanks to a retooled UI and overhauled graphics.

Chameleon Run demonstrated that there's still life in the autorunner genre yet (Mario will be pleased) by introducing a neat colour-switching mechanic and plenty of replayability. Its deliberately-blocky graphics also help it to look distinctive in a crowded field.

After Rust Bucket, Nitrome tried a different approach to dungeon crawling in Redungeon. This time the action is in real time, as you guide your intrepid knight through a linear series of traps and obstacles. Wait a minute, that sounds just like an endless runner. Nitrome, you sneaky blighters!

A late entry onto this game-of-the-year list, The Bug Butcher takes the basic mechanics of Space Invaders and spins them into a supremely entertaining mobile action game. Guide your little gun-toting spacenaut left and right and unleash plasma death on the bouncing alien hordes.

And the award for 'Gentles game of the year' goes to... Burly Men at Sea! This is basically an interactive children's book with some of the most beautiful visuals of the year. However, there's a surprising degree of replayability and sophistication to this tale.

Another slice of roguelike dungeon crawling-meets-Minesweeper from the Dungelot peeps. This time things look a lot more attractive, and the formula is pushed in a number of new and interesting ways. As sequels go, this is at the other end of the scale from 'phoning it in'.

Speaking of cracking sequels, let's finish with another. Space Marshals 2 is another brilliant sci-fi adventure, with the same distinctive blend of twin-stick shooter action and stripped-back stealth as the original. Indeed, your non-direct options have increased this time around, with more points of entry and new ways to bypass security.