The best iOS and Android games of July 2018: NSS Manager, Teen Titans GO Figure, Asphalt 9 and more
Looking back on a month in mobile gaming
Wow, July was a bit of a sticky one, wasn't it? Thankfully, we were able to take our minds off one of the hottest summers in memory with a bunch of fun mobile games.
The top ten of which we've handily rounded up for you in the following feature. We're nice like that.
July saw a very good spread of games, including one particular entry that earned a rare Pocket Gamer Platinum Award. That's full marks. Yowzers.
Have you been playing and enjoying anything else in July? Let us know in the comments below.
1
New Star Soccer Manager
New Star Soccer was - and is - one of the most enduringly great smartphone games ever. This amazing follow up takes a slightly different approach, placing you in control of an entire team rather than an individual player.
The result is a game with potential to eat up hours of your day for the foreseeable future. It's marvellous stuff.
2
Isle of Skye
We've had some amazing boardgame adaptations over the past year or so, but Isle of Skye is right up there as one of the best. It won a bunch of awards in physical form, and it deserves to do so in digital form too.
Create and rule the titular island using your economic, rather than military, nous. Clever but intuitive, fans of Catan will lap this up.
3
Motorsport Manager 3
Two exceptional sports management games in the month? Motorsport Manager 3 is another fine sequel, taking the series forward in a number of ways.
We were particularly happy to see a more hardcore streak running through this third entry, as you plot to drag your team up to the heady heights of success.
4
Teen Titans GO Figure!
A fine casual RPG with bags of heart and charm. There's a Pokemon-esque collect-'em-all mechanic at the game's core that proves impossible to resist.
It looks and moves absolutely beautifully too, with all the vibrancy and energy of a Saturday morning cartoon.
5
Earth Atlantis
Suitably enough, Earth Atlantis is a game of hidden depths. At first glance it's a simple, highly automated 2D shmup with a minimalistic GameBoy aesthetic.
But it's also got an adventurous Metroidvania angle to it that will have you exploring the depths, levelling your little sub up, and battling hulking sea monsters.
6
Asphalt 9
Asphalt 9: Legends is a truly impressive arcade racer with some of the best graphics we've ever seen from a smartphone game. It's also great fun to play.
Even the default casual controls, which daringly take steering out of your hand, prove to be a success. Failing that, you can switch to regular controls for a brilliant traditional experience.
7
Shin Megami Tensei Liberation
This is a surprisingly accomplished mobile take on the cult favourite Shin Megami Tensei franchise. It captures the quirky spirit of the series, but speeds up the pace of its JRPG mechanics for a mobile audience.
There's perhaps not enough of the series's trademark personality and character-building, but it remains a great bite-sized entry point.
8
Rocket Valley Tycoon
Rocket Valley Tycoon mixes up simulation and idle clicker elements to produce an incredibly accessible yet deceptively deep game.
It's all about completing tech trees in a bustling, expanding frontier territory. Somehow, it's both an incredibly expansive and an incredibly compact experience.
9
Holedown
The developer of the brilliant Rymdkapsel has produced another super-stylish mobile game in Holedown. It's a way more casual experience than you might be prepared for, with a ball-bouncing premise and sparse presentation that calls to mind Voodoo's oeuvre.
There are way more smarts going on beneath the surface, however, which means that Holedown will keep you entertained well beyond its opening minutes.
10
Mayhem Combat
A game that draws liberally from the Smash Bros. school of combat thinking, with smidgens of battle royale and Clash Royale for good measure. It's a multiplayer brawler free-for-all, with crisp, colourful presentation and enjoyable knock-about action.