10 Best iPhone/iPad Games for September 2014
The best gaming apps for your iOS device this month
Below, we run through the ten best new iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch games released within the past month. All titles are playable on all iOS devices unless otherwise indicated.
1. Mikey Boots 90
Platform, $1.99, ages 4+, from BeaverTap Games
"A clever remix of what's come before, Mikey Boots might not be a platformer in the purest sense of the word, but it's definitely worth a look."
This speed-running (technically, speed-gliding) platformer is a sequel to Mikey Shorts and Mikey Hooks.
From the Publisher: Mikey Boots is a challenging platformer for iOS with simple touch controls! Run and fly through dangerous levels! Watch out for enemies and spikes! Collect coins and find hidden Golden Shorts!
6 unique environments with 42 levels
2 playable characters
230 fun disguises
Earn achievements
Compete on Game Center
MFi Controller Support
2. The Journey Down: Chapter Two 89
Adventure, $4.99, ages 12+, from SkyGoblin
"It's a little dark, in every sense of the word, but The Journey Down: Chapter Two is a solidly entertaining adventure game."
This point-and-click adventure continues the story that began with Chapter One.
From the Publisher: Far below the noisy metropolis of St. Armando, Bwana follows in the footsteps of his lost father together with Kito and Lina. In their search for the mysterious Underland, they discover a dark conspiracy shrouding the fate of Captain Kaonandodo.
In the second chapter, the plot thickens as our heroes plunge down into the mist below the Edge and wind up in the foggy and treacherous town of Port Artue where they find themselves cornered by pirates and on the run from the law.
The Journey Down is a classic point-and-click saga with an Afro-Caribbean vibe. Get ready to embark on an epic journey of brain-teasing adventure! Chapter One and Chapter Two are also available for PC, Mac and Linux on Steam.
3. Valiant Hearts: The Great War 87
Adventure, $4.99, ages 12+, from Ubisoft
"This is a beautiful and conscious game that deserves to be played, even if to just take in its message."
Ubisoft's puzzle-solving adventure game is set during the first World War. The download price only includes Episode 1; the remaining 3 episodes can be purchased in a pack for $8.99.
From the Publisher: Immerse yourself in the touching story of four unsung heroes swept up by World War 1 in this unique interactive graphic novel that combines action, puzzles and adventure. Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a 4-part, episodic game inspired by letters from World War 1. PLAY A GRAPHIC NOVEL An emotional adventure game delivered with a unique tone and art style. A MIX OF EXPLORATION, ACTION AND PUZZLES Move into action and help your heroes survive the Great War by solving puzzles or sneaking through enemy lines… FOLLOW THE STORY OF THESE VALIANT HEARTS… Lost in a maze of trenches, play each of these characters and help a young German soldier find his love! All of them will be helped by their faithful canine companion, Walt. RELIVE THE GREAT WAR This fictitious story takes you back to famous WW1 locations, revisiting historical battles on the Western Front, such as the Battle of the Marne or the Battle of the Somme! INTERACT WITH HISTORY In partnership with Apocalypse World War 1 and the Mission Centenaire 14-18, learn more about the Great War through historical articles and share them with friends.
4. FOTONICA 87
Action, $2.99, ages 4+, from Santa Ragione
"It's such a cool experience, is masterfully crafted, and really rewards playing it again and again. Definitely check this one out."
This first-person endless runner features a wireframe art style and gameplay that sets it apart from others in the genre.
From the Publisher: One-handed controls: hold your finger down to run, release to jump, hold in mid-air to dive and land. The key is timing, the goal is exploring and traveling flawlessly through the environment. The setting is an abstract – mainly duotone – outlined world, with a look reminiscent of geometrical abstractions and the 3D low-poly gaming era. - 7 Levels to explore and master. - Plus 3 different endless levels to compete for high-scores. - Two-player split-screen multiplayer mode on the same device! - 18 Achievements to unlock plus game stats. - Online rankings. - Beautiful, smooth, and unique vector-style graphics. - Electronic music by Michael Manning, Nicolò Sala, and legendary composer Baiyon. - 2 Difficulty settings to let you play an even faster version of FOTONICA. - Play in landscape or portrait mode. - No ads, no in-app purchases. - Record and share replays of your best runs.
(tie) 5. Almightree: The Last Dreamer 83
Puzzle/Platform, $1.99, ages 4+, from Crescent Moon Games
"A smart and engaging 3D puzzler that ups the ante with a good deal of panic, Almightree tree is a lot of fun."
This 3D puzzle-platformer may not be as "Zelda-inspired" as originally planned, but it's still a solid entry in the genre.
From the Publisher: The world is shattering and you are the only hope to restore the balance. A thrilling and challenging 3D puzzle platformer game. Find your way to awaken the Almightree while racing with calamity. It was just a radiant day when the ground started to fall, houses and towers crumbled, and the world gone out of its order. You lose everything you have, everyone you love. Your only hope is the Almightree and its seedlings, mythical trees that believed have the power to keep the order of the world. But be watchful on your adventure, as you may find clues that maybe there are still others. Journey through an intense and puzzling world to awaken seedlings and finally majestic Almightree. To restore the balance of the world or even maybe bring back everything you hold dear.
(tie) 5. The Nightmare Cooperative 83
RPG/Strategy, $3.99, ages 9+, from Lucky Frame
"The Nightmare Cooperative is a strategic puzzle game that gets better the more it's played, as players learn how to react to their environment and the wide array of enemies within it."
This roguelike dungeon-crawler adds puzzle solving elements and a polished presentation.
From the Publisher: Fiendishly difficult! Adorably cute! Utterly engrossing! How much gold can you get before your entire team is destroyed? IT'S NEVER ENOUGH! Play The Nightmare Cooperative now - it's a strategic adventure where you lead a group of unlikely comrades through some rather difficult situations. Your village has fallen on hard times (due to reckless spending by the Village Council) and it's up to you to bring back some gold. The Nightmare Cooperative is a puzzley roguelike. You control a group of characters, each with different special abilities. The trick? They all move together, as a group. Something of a cooperative, if you catch the drift. Every playthrough will be different, and you'll always have to start at the beginning, no matter how well (or badly) you did before. Your score is the amount of gold that you pickup during your journey. Opening crates gives you extra gold, but releases more monsters.
7. ALONE... 81
Action, $1.99, ages 4+, from Laser Dog
"A breathtaking auto-runner that ups the ante in pretty much every regard. Highly recommended."
A stylish minimalist look and an outer space setting distinguish this endless runner.
From the Publisher: ALONE is a handcrafted, intense survival journey through space. Navigate caves, rip through rocky debris, dodge rocks and comets and test your endurance as you pursue ever higher scores in this ultra fast, procedural runner. Ultra fast and intense gameplay Split second twitch sensitive analogue control Hours of action filled gameplay across three unlockable difficulty levels Two awesome bonus modes Spectacular sound track Integrated Game Centre friend scores No In App Purchases Based around a one night game jam, ALONE was lovingly created over a short 8 month period by Laser Dog's Rob Allison and Simon Renshaw. Curious players may discover the original game jam prototype for themselves as an easter egg, hidden away in the main game.
(tie) 8. Spider-Man Unlimited 80
Action, free, ages 9+, from Gameloft
"It's not perfect, but Spider-Man Unlimited is a pleasantly enjoyable narrative-based auto-runner."
Yes, it's another endless runner, but one that features the Marvel superhero. It's technically free to play, though you'll need to pay up to avoid 10-minute lockout periods after every fifth play (in other words, "unlimited" it's not).
From the Publisher: Unite the Spider-Verse and recruit an army of Spider-Men to stop the new Sinister Six, who have opened a dimensional portal to summon different versions of themselves! The Sinister Six are moving from dimension to dimension – destroying each one – and ours is next! Enjoy the thrill of the first Spider-Man web-runner! Swing, run and fight through chaotic Manhattan in over 5 different Marvel environments! • Go beyond a runner with unique gameplay! Fight in battles against dimensional super villains, swing, wall-climb and skydive! • Play Story mode with 5 boss battles and 25 missions per Issue! New daily and weekly events with spectacular rewards in Event mode! Or climb up the leaderboards in Unlimited mode! A continuing episodic adventure: The Sinister Six are moving from dimension to dimension, destroying everything in their path – and our world is next! But it ends now… with an army of Spider-Men! • Dive into an extensive Marvel Universe spanning over 50 years of Spider-Man with iconic characters, including multiple variations of each villain, as well as Nick Fury, Mary Jane, and Black Cat! • Written with an experienced Spider-Man comic writer to ensure a faithful recreation of the Spider-Man Comics!
(tie) 8. MUJO 80
Puzzle, $1.99, ages 4+, from Oink Games Inc.
"A brilliantly fresh take on the match-three puzzler genre that makes up for a lack of urgency with a gorgeous art style and interesting gameplay"
This casual match-3 puzzler features appealing graphics and slightly more complexity than is the norm for the genre.
From the Publisher: MUJO is a unique puzzle game with features that cannot be found in any other game. Let’s start collecting tiles and erase them all to attack monsters! This game has no end! Enjoy whenever you want as much as you would like.- Stack three or more connected sword tiles by holding them down. The more tiles you stack, the more offensive power you obtain! Then, tap three or more swords after arranging them together. You can inflict damage to monsters and defeat them. Destroy monsters from the Greek myths appearing one after another. = Add gods into your troop= A variety of gods from the Greek myths may appear out of treasure chests that come out once in a while! They can be your allies. Win through the battles against monsters while utilizing the various abilities of the gods.
(tie) 8. Goblin Sword 80
Action-RPG, $0.99, ages 9+, from Eleftherios Christodoulatos
"Fun visuals, good music, engaging level design, and lots of content make Goblin Sword an excellent little game."
This platformer features some RPG elements and retro-style pixel art graphics.
From the Publisher: Goblin Sword is a retro-inspired action platformer with light rpg elements. An army of monsters led by an evil wizard have invaded your hometown. Slay as many monsters as you can, collect loot, avoid dangerous traps and defeat menacing bosses, before facing the evil wizard himself.
(tie) 8. Anomaly Defenders 80
Strategy, $4.99, ages 12+, from Chillingo
"Beyond the fact that it's a pretty standard tower defense game, there is little to dislike about Anomaly Defenders."
The acclaimed Anomaly trilogy (Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Anomaly 2) concludes with a strategy game that flips the focus from offense to defense.
From the Publisher: Defend the planet in the final battle of the stunning Anomaly series! Protect an alien Homeworld under threat from an invading human counterattack in the closing installment in the Apple Design Award-winning Anomaly series. THE TABLES HAVE TURNED Anomaly Defenders is a fast-paced Tower Defense game where you are the alien's last hope. The human invasion is underway and their invading troops are out to destroy your outposts. FOR THE HIVE! Protect the alien homeland at any cost. Tailor your defensive needs using unique tech-tree technologies to develop eight upgradable towers and much more. Repair your towers, make them go berserk, even sacrifice them in explosions that damage human troops. React in real-time to eradicate the invading forces.
The Metascore for iPhone and iPad games is an unweighted average of individual scores given by professional game publications on a scale of 0 (bad) to 100 (good). A Metascore of 75 or higher denotes generally positive reviews, while 90 or higher indicates universal acclaim. Scores are not calculated for games with fewer than four reviews.
A few to avoid
There's nothing truly awful this month, though recent low-scoring games include Asphalt Overdrive 56 and Diamond Digger Saga 58.
What are you playing?
Have you tried any of the games above? If so, what did you think of them? Are there any other new iPhone or iPad games that deserve a download? Let us know in the comments section below. And visit our iOS Games section for reviews of all new and recent releases.
