Mobile Games (2015)
Crossy Road
Frogger, but endless, with oodles of charm through a gorgeous (and massively ripped-off) art style and loads of unlockable characters make this one of the year’s undoubted big hits.
The runners-up
Fotonica
Fotonica is fast – you leap through semi-abstract wireframe levels, snatches of recognisable landscapes zooming past in a haze as shapes whirl before your eyes. It’s also fun. Hugely so.
Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game
As with The Walking Dead, Telltale Games has brought its graphic adventure smarts to Game Of Thrones, tasking you with helping House Forrester to not get horribly butchered.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is a dizzying, dazzling experience — easily the best twin-stick shooter on mobile, and up there with the very best in the genre on any platform.
Her Story
Murder mystery fans will love this. You play a policeman reviewing tapes of footage from an interrogation, whilst using your own detective skills to find further clues in each case.
Horizon Chase
Thumbing its nose at ‘realism’, this is arcade racing at its best. You start at the back, and have a mere handful of laps to blaze past 20 rivals, in an attempt to take the chequered flag.
Lara Croft Go
Everyone’s favourite tomb raider goes turn-based, in a series of single-screen puzzles. It should never have worked, but this reimagining of Lara Croft’s adventures is glorious.
Lifeline…
Essentially a Choose Your Own Adventure, Lifeline… has smart writing that gets you emotionally invested, and plays with time, often leaving hours between messages.
Pewdiepie: Legend of the Brofist
Legend of the Brofist hails back to classic 16-bit titles via a slew of silly one-liners and varied gameplay challenges. Of course, there’s plenty of that famous Swede in it too.
You Must Build A Boat
Here, your little explorer darts along, and you must time matches to help him survive — daggers when facing off against monsters, or locks when tackling treasure chests. Unexpectedly brilliant.