GAMES OF THE WEEK - The 5 best new games for iOS and Android - March 26th
It's that time again! Time for another entry into our long-running GAMES OF THE WEEK series. If you're looking for the best 5 games which have hit the iPhone, iPad or Android stores this week then you've landed yourself at the exact right place at just the right time.
With this article, we skirt around the droves of subscription services (Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass, GameClub, Hatch, et cetera) which have launched onto mobile platforms, and we also don't factor in things like Steam Link or Google Stadia which allow streaming to handheld devices. That means that our list is a finely curated list of brilliant, fresh titles which you can download and play without subscribing to, or installing, any third-party initiative. Of course, there are some great games on those services, but, let's focus on the stuff that you can grab right now.
This week we've got everything from hero shooters all the way through to hauntingly stirring explorations of the wait for Spring - with us stopping off to interrogate potential terrorists, hoverboard in a slummy future and snake our way through a war with alien invaders along the way.
Remember, if you're looking to check through some of our previous selections then you can always do that at our Games of The Week Hub, it's a great way to find games to fill out that empty storage space on your phone. Or, if you like your news in bitesize chunks, delivered straight to your palm then maybe follow us on Twitter.
Anyway, without any further delay, click through on the big, blue button below to find out more about the 5 best new games for mobile this week.
1
Repulsive
There was always that moment in old extreme-sports games where you didn't know if your jump or pivot was actually going to succeed - whether you'd align correctly with that roof or rail in order to keep your combo going. Repulsive, from Punk Labs LLC is a hoverboarding game that feels like somebody took all of that tension laid it out into a game and then squeezed oil all over it.
It's smooth, it's almost calming, but it's also incredibly punk - with you cruising around industrial units, shanties and more as a nondescript character in a broken future.
2
Interrogation: Deceived
You are the head investigator behind dismantling the terrorist organisation known as The Liberation Front. The name might not infer it, but in Interrogation: Deceived, this lot are definitely up to no good - I promise.
As the game title suggests a lot of the game will be gritty interrogations, attempting to extract information through peeling back the lies in conversation. However, it's not just that. You'll also be managing a team, dealing with the press and trying to balance a budget -- a hard juggling act in a world where everybody is out for themselves.
3
Respawnables Heroes
It's no secret that we really enjoyed the first Respawnables game, but even still we were a little bit cautious when it's fresher-faced successor - Respawnables Heroes - showed up wearing a distinct, Overwatch-esque set of clothing.
Thankfully Respawnables Heroes isn't just a cheap shot to capture the buzz around Blizzard's hero shooters - Digital Legends have clearly put as much careful preparation into this entry in the series as they did their first, and once you get down to action it really shows. At the moment the action is fast and tight, with 4v4 matches in tight maps keeping the tension high.
Hopefully, in time, we'll see more heroes added to the game, as well as new maps and match-types, but for now, download it and give it a quick shot - and let us know what you think.
4
Snake Core
Snake Core is the latest game from Orange Pixel. There's a pun in the title, which is great - I like games with puns in the title. Your role is quite simple, grow your military corp, snake your way around each level, defeat the enemies and save the world. Simple.
I know that, historically, Orange Pixel's games have been somewhat divisive with the staff, but I really appreciate the developer's approach to game design, and ability to look at genres and concepts in different ways. This revisit to the classic Nokia game Snake comes at a time when many people are looking back with nostalgia, and it's more than welcome.
Something else that I think is great is that the Orange Pixel games all take place in the same universe - like Warhammer, but with a bit more hope. This giant snaking military corp action is timed right on the cusp of the apocalypse era, as you might expect.
5
Mirages of Winter
I keep saying that puzzle games are great on mobile because of how tactile the touchscreen makes them, and I keep saying that minimalism feels even more minimalistic on mobile. (Say that quickly three times.) But, frankly, I was being far too short-sighted with my assessment. Mirages of Winter is an experience, maybe - at a stretch - an adventure game. It explores humanities relationship with nature, and it pokes at how we interact with our environments -- all in a beautiful, poignant art-style.
It's not a puzzle game any more than life is, but it is an experience rife with poetry, pacing and little bursts of colour in a quiet, cold world that desperately waits for spring.
