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The best iOS and Android games of September 2017: The Witness, Iron Marines and more

Looking back on a month in mobile gaming

The best iOS and Android games of September 2017: The Witness, Iron Marines and more
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Welcome to our round-up of the best mobile games from the previous calendar month. It might have heralded in the end of the warm season, but September was pretty good for mobile games.

We had the return of the brilliant Ironhide, makers of Kingdom Rush, a long-awaited (so very long awaited) mobile port that didn't disappoint, and plenty of other brilliant things.

Have you been playing anything else in September? Let us know in the comments below.

Iron Marines
By Ironhide - buy on iOS / buy on Android

Ironhide is responsible for the Kingdom Rush series, easily the best tower defence games on mobile. Iron Marines sees the developer straying into more ambitious RTS territory - and absolutely nailing it.

The Witness
By Thekla - buy on iOS

The Witness on iOS as been a rumour of a mention of thing for so long, there were doubts about whether it would still happen. We knew it was still on course for a release, but it's still a relief to see this uniquely beautiful adventure-puzzler rocking up on mobile.

Thimbleweed Park
By Terrible Toybox - buy on iOS

This classically styled point-and-click adventure game has a complex narrative, humorous dialogue, ingenious puzzles, and loads of pop culture references. It's pretty great.

OPUS: Rocket of Whiskers
By Sigono - download on iOS

An adventure game with survival elements that really tugs at the heart strings, and which isn't afraid to deal with weighty topics like loss and death.

Atomine
By Broken Arms Games - buy on iOS

A super-slick twin-stick shooter with (deliberately) glitchy cyberpunk graphics, chunky combat, and plenty of depth.

Morphite
By Crescent Moone Games - buy on iOS

Like a tighter, more focused, more story-driven No Man's Sky, Morphite is a brilliant slice of space opera and a tight first-person adventure.

Stormbound: Kingdom Wars
By Kongregate - download on iOS / download on Android

Another Clash Royale clone? No, actually. Stormbound does something a little different with the formula, adding a touch of tower defence and boardgame mechanics for a more tactical experience.

The Guides Axiom
By Kevin Bradford - download on iOS / download on Android

Looking for an accessible, readily explained alternative puzzler after playing the brain-frying The Witness? Don't expect and easier ride from The Guides Axiom, a game that ties itself in intellectual knots and asks you to pick them apart.

The Machines
By Directive Games - buy on iOS

Apple announced and launched its iPhone 8 family in September, and it used The Machines to show off their new AR power. It's no tech demo though. Rather, this is a finely balanced MOBA that you can play out on your living room floor.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War
By Warner Bros. Games - download on iOS / download on Android

Hands up who expected this mobile spin-off to be any good? Be honest. But good is precisely what Middle-earth: Shadow of War turned out to be. It might not have the open-world thrills of the source console game, but this is a tight and surprise-filled RPG.

Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.