GAMES OF THE WEEK - The 5 best new mobile games for iOS and Android - October 9th 2020
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. Lucky, lucky you.
With this article, we skirt around the droves of subscription services (Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass, GameClub, Hatch, and all of their friends) which have launched onto mobile platforms over the years. We also don't factor in things like Steam Link or Google Stadia which allow streaming to handheld devices - and would open up this list to almost every game under the sun.
What that means is 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 you'll be racing cars around custom, plastic tracks, saving the world from a great unseen evil, and saving the residents of a city from everyday dangers as an emergency services coordinator. That and much, much more.
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 or join our Discord.
Anyway, without any further delay, click on the big, blue button below to find out more about what we believe to be the top five of the games which released on mobile over the last week.
Hot Wheels Unlimited
When I think of great, existing licenses which would be perfect fit for racing games then Hot Wheels is easily the first one that springs to mind. It's a shame then, that we don't see more games securing the license. Hot Wheels Unlimited is a new racer built with the license from the get-go, and it actually plays quite well despite some of the microtransactions within. Don't expect a flood of vehicles, the developers have instead focused on the most iconic, collector-bait vehicles for the launch. All of that said, the level building system is really fun, and while the racing itself is on par with the standard kart racer, the track-building is extremely memorable.
9th Dawn III: Shadow of Erthil
If you've looking for a new MMORPG, one set within an absolutely enormous world and complete with tonnes of loot to horde then you don't need to look much further than the latest entry in the 9th Dawn series. It's of the 2D, hack and slash variety rather than what you might be useful, but there are a few extra things bolted onto the game which make it stand out, notably the card-collecting and card game tucked within it.
112 Operator
I really enjoyed 911 Operator, the predecessor to 112 Operator, and to be honest with you, when I think of puzzle-adjacent games like this I often spend time thinking about how much better they'd run with touch controls. I don't have to wonder that anymore as 112 Operator is now available - and it feels great. If don't mind making snap decisions to try and control a situation while having to keep your eye on a bigger situation then this is one for you.
Sword Master Story
From the creators of the, frankly exceptional, Evil Hunter Tycoon, Sword Master Story is surprisingly different than its predecessor. Sword Master Story is a 2D aRPG which also features a lot of hero-collecting traits. It ends up looking like when you suddenly mass-summon your supports in a fighting game - which looks fantastic - while actually being built on a pretty in-depth RPG system.
Millie and Molly
Take control of two sisters and navigate through over 100 puzzle-platforming challenges in Millie and Molly; a Commodore 64 title (albeit from earlier in the year) which has now released on mobile.
I know that we don't often discuss the audio of things here much on Pocket Gamer, but I've got to point out that I found the audio to be utterly charming - even if the original feat of designing it for the C64 doesn't carry as much weight when it comes to it being released on other platforms which have fewer constraints.
