Oh hello. How's it going? I hope you're well. I've decided to start something a little bit special here on AppSpy. It's a list, but it's unlike any list you've ever seen before in your entire life. Because it's a list that's going to keep growing.
It's a list of the best free games on iPhone, and every week I'm going to be adding five more. One day the list will probably become sentient and take over the world. But until that day, it's just going to offer you a chance to find out the best free games on the App Store.
So without further ado let's throw ourselves head first into this frankly ridiculous idea. Oh, and you can click the emboldened names of the games to wander off to the App Store and download them. Hope you have fun! Kthnxbai
May 22nd
A mobile MOBA that sits somewhere in the middle ground between the hardcore and the casual. Pit heroes from across the saga against each other in frantic and entertaining battles to the death. Slick, engrossing, and well worth a look.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A slightly strange mix of choose your own adventure and twitchy auto-runner. Fly through space, picking what to do to try and keep your crew alive. It's got a few problems, but you should check it out just for the way it plays around with genre.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A huge hacky slashy game that sees you ploughing through waves of bad guys in historical-ish China. It squishes the Dynasty Warriors experience down to size pretty darn well, and you'll enjoy smashing your way through its hundreds of levels.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A game that might be creaking a little now because of its age, but it's still a fun dog-fighting simulation that lets you fly around blasting bullets at anyone who dares to wander into your air space. Definitely one that players with older devices should be giving a go.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A super old RTS from back in the day, there's still an awful lot to like here. It's from before the midcore revolution, and it's as charming as it is challenging. The graphics might be dated now, but there's definitely still a lot here to fall in love with.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
May 15th
In the most simplistic terms, this is Pac-Man with guns. But there's a lot more going on here than that. It's a smart arcade experience for one or two players. Shoot, get shot at, and try and get out of the maze-like levels.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A match-stuff puzzler that, while it's getting on a bit, feels much fresher than the raft of matching puzzlers we've seen in the last few years. It's all about blocks, and getting rid of blocks. There's much more to it than that, and it's well worth checking it out.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A beautiful squishing down of football. There are goals to score, coaches to appease, and fan's shirts to sign. There's also a lot of energy drinks to drink and special shoes to buy. Slick and really, really smart, it's also one of the funniest football games you're ever likely to play.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
One of the true classics of the App Store. This one's an endless runner from Halfbrick that's all about shooting around with the titular jetpack. Grab coins, test the speed of your fingers, and do it all with a great big smile on your face.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A bafta-nominated puzzler that's far more complex than it looks. There's so much going on here it's hard to fit it into a paragraph. But imagine a game that's something like the one suggested in the title and you're about a third of the way there.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
May 8th
A football game squished together from the most important part of any football game - the lovely, lovely goals. There are thousands here to kick your way through. And some of them you're going to recognise. Slick and a bit special, and worth checking out before you check out all the games that have imitated it.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
I mean, part of me just loves the name of this game. It sets out its stall from the get-go. It's a third-person shooter that lets you blast other players in the face. Twisted into an interesting shape to make the most out of the mobile hardware, it might not be super slick but it can be a lot of fun.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Probably one of the most compulsive games you're ever going to play. Start your own airline that flies all the way across the globe. Get new airports, new planes, and try and keep your customers happy. Painfully addictive and perfectly mobile.
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This one is essentially a reverse tower defence game. So I guess that makes it a tower offence game? Anyway, it's slick and clever and messes around with the genre's template in some really smart and intuitive ways.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A shiny and silly top-down arcade racer that owes more than a little to Skidmarks. If you don't know what Skidmarks is, congratulations, you're young. Frantic and wonderfully competitive, this is sideways, muddy racing at its finest.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
May 2nd
It's an endless runner. Except it's sort of not. Except it sort of is. There's a lot more going on here than in your average auto-leg-it, and it's well worth checking out if you haven't yet. It still looks surprisingly good as well. Which is nice.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Not just one of the best free games on the App Store, one of the best games full stop. Join up with friends in the same room and try to follow the on-screen commands to get your spaceship to safety. Expect barked orders and an awful lot of screaming. And laughing. So much laughing.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
It's a monster catcher starring everyone's favourite Spyro the Dragon offshoots, the Skylanders. Build up a base, fill up your menagerie, and if you've got the toys as well, stick them in the game with the magic portal thing. It's surprisingly compulsive if you're into that sort of thing.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A game that's part crossword, part Scrabble, part desperate battle to take over a grid. It's a beautifully balanced multiplayer experience that's going to have you pulling your hair out. So make sure you've got lots of hair before you start playing. Maybe a wig?
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
The sort of super polished card game you'd expect from Yu-Gi-Oh. Lots of exciting hair, exciting cards, and exciting excitement. If you're a fan of the series then you're going to lap this up. And even if you're not there's an excellent card game here to sink your teeth into.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
April 25th
A side-scrolling craft 'em up. Imagine Minecraft but viewed from a different angle and you're sort of there. It's getting on a bit, but it's still an entertaining and engaging way to spend a few hours. Plus big heads are just pretty funny.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A slick and polished strategy game that owes a lot to the modern reinvention of XCOM. It looks lovely, and there's so much going on here that fans of strategy gaming are going to lap it up. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't yet.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A game about using the wonder of magnetics to bounce through space. It's got simple one touch controls, but don't let that fool you. There's an awful lot going on here. With extra challenges and different modes, it's the sort of game that'll stick around on your device for a while.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A super tough arcade experience that will probably make you pull your hair out. But, you know, in a good way. It's hard as nails, and if that's the sort of thing you like in your mobile games then you're going to find an awful lot to your liking right here.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Probably one of the slickest games on the App Store. Fast and furious racing, super pretty cars, and updates aplenty. This is one for fans of simulation rather than arcade racing. But if you're willing to jump in head first you're going to have a lovely old time with its gears and wheels.
Read the Pocker Gamer review here
April 12th
Another brilliant game from Nitrome makes it onto the list by virtue of it being brilliant. This one mixes an endless runner, some twitchy jumping, and a bunch of retro charm to great effect. Add it to your library now.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
A fast-paced kart racer starring a bunch of Sega's most famous characters. But it's not just a kart racer, it's also got a lot of flying in it. And I think maybe boats? Anyway it's real good, and probably the best free kart racer on the App Store.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Another of King's puzzling classics. This one is basically a riff on Peggle. But it's a pretty good riff. Bounce balls around destroying pegs and genuinely having a lovely old time. Definitely better than Candy Crush. So there you go.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Vroom. If there was one noise that summed up the entire Asphalt 8 experience it'd be that. It's a big silly vrooming racer with lots of jump and a fair smattering of chaos. Like if Ridge Racer and The Fast and The Furious smashed together and this was the mobile game baby that came out.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Tanks! There are quite a lot of tank games on this list. There's just something fun about controlling a giant death machine from your phone. Maybe it's a vision of the future when we'll all drive tanks from our phones in the OS wars. Probably not though. Shame.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
April 4th
It might look a lot like a Clash of Clans clone, but Tiny Realms actually adds a lot of its own DNA to the midcore strategy management genre. It's closer to a real strategy game than most of the games you might think it apes, and there's a whole load of depth here for you to sink your face into.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A super slick AAA mobile racer that gets its free to play settings just right. It's polished, it's fast, and it always has something for you to do. Race super cars around brilliantly designed tracks with a big ol' grin on your big ol' face.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
This isn't just one of the best free games on the App Store, it's one of the best games full stop. A brilliant CCG set in Blizzard's Warcraft universe. It's updated regularly, it offers a whole host of PvP options, and it's addictive enough to lose your whole existence to.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A really intriguing take on the SRPG. This one owes a lot to the likes of Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics, but it shakes things up enough to ensure that the experience you're having is unique. Well presented, super deep, and well worth your time.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
You're stood on top of a very large tower, beset on all sides by monsters intent on ripping your face off. It's up to you to hack and slash them to bits. The controls are sharp, the retro graphics are lovingly created, and the violence is pitched at just the right angle to keep you coming back for more.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
March 29th
Taekwondo Game Global Tournament
One of the slickest fighting games on the App Store. There's a level of challenge and precision here that a lot of other brawlers are missing, and the whole thing has been brilliantly designed for mobile play. Definitely worth checking out if you're sick of button bashing.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A wonderfully twitchy arcade roller that sees you controlling a ball as it darts down a series of tubes and pipes. It's fast-paced, it's incredibly challenging in places, and it looks absolutely brilliant. If you like your auto-runners to make your eyes bleed, go grab it now.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A slick and hihgly polished dungeon crawler that distills the elements of the genre into fast-paced mobile chunks. Wave silly weapons around, kill everything that move, upgrade your character, and then do that all over again. Compulsive, well put together, and violent in all the right ways.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Another entry for Nitrome onto this here list. This time around you're stretching the titular dog around the titular land. Grab onto chunks of scenery and try and make your way past a series of increasingly fiendish obstacles. Oh, and you get an achievement for sniffing your own butt.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Jump in a big tank and roll around battlefields in a team, shooting other tanks. This is probably one of the finest examples of multiplayer gaming on the App Store. Sure, it's got a few niggles, but there's a lot to be said for the pleasure that comes from driving a heavily armoured death machine.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
March 20th
A wonderful mashing together of Solitaire and Poker from one of the most interesting developers working in mobile puzzle games at the moment. Easy to pick up, tough to master, this is a game any puzzle fan should have on their phone.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Nitrome is quite possibly the best developer working on the App Store at the moment. This ingenious game sees you rolling a bobble headed lighthouse keeper around a series of increasinly tough challenges.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
The developer of Crossy Road takes on Pac-Man, with wonderful results. A glitchy, twitchy masterpiece that builds on the legend of the final screen in the original arcade game. It's chaotic, beautiful, and painfully addictive.
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A game about skiing down a mountain. A mountain that a yeti lives on. It's fast and simple, but there's a surprising amount of depth here as well. And you'll almost be overwhelmed by the urge to push on and go farther down the mountain.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A glorious blend of a CCG and a strategy game, all wrapped up in some, as you'd expect from Square, wonderful presentation. There's more to do here than in your average card battler, and you're going to have a lovely time figuring out all of the game's intricacies.
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March 16th
Glitch Fixers - Powerpuff Girls
A game that takes the shape of a platformer, but then throws the whole genre on its head. This isn't about testing your reflexes, it's about coding in the right combination of moves so your Powerpuff girl makes it through the obstacles in front of her. And it's ruddy marvellous.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
Clash Royale takes the concept of a MOBA, shakes it around in a tube, and then injects the mush it's created into a mobile phone. And somehow it works. Frantic, exciting, and horribly ridiculous, it might get frustrating at times, but it's well worth dipping your toe, calf, and maybe a bit of your knee into.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
What if Crossy Road had taken its inspiration from something like Space Invaders rather than Frogger? Well then it'd probably look quite a lot like Shooty Skies. Fly through endless waves of baddies, blasting as you go, and cackle at some of the best cartoon explosions the App Store has to offer.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A more traditional MOBA than Clash Royale, this one sees you teaming up with a bunch of friends for a good old fashioned whomp. The twist here comes in the form of a ball that you need to push from one end of the level to the other. And it all makes for a fast-paced and especially frantic multiplayer experience.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
A throw back to the days when racing games were all about top down, blue sky thrashes to the finish line. You don't need to tune your car, you don't need to hire a mechanic, you just need to drift through some of the finest retro scenery with a massive grin on your face.
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March 7th
A brilliant game of running along and punching things. Sure, that might sound like it's simple and boring, but that's where you'd be wrong. Because it's great. In fact you might argue that it's one of the finest examples of arcade gaming on the App Store.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
If you've not played Crossy Road before, I don't know where you've been hiding the past couple of years. But if you could tell me so I can go hide there that'd be great. Essentially it's Frogger, but with a more addictive central compulsion loop. Bounce across roads, unlock new characters, chase your high score.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here
I play Pokemon GO every-day. That's not true, it's just a song. Anyway, wander around in the real world catching imaginary monsters and then battling them. It'll stretch your legs while adhering to the old adage - gotta catch 'em all.
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A brilliant use of your phone's screen. You're playing a wizard stood atop some battlements. Bad guys are floating down to kill you and your friends. But there are symbols on the balloons they're using. Draw the symbol, pop the balloon, kill the bad guy. Frantic and challenging in just the right ways.
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A game that doesn't need much introduction. Build your fortifications, go out and raid other people's bases. It's midcore gaming pretty much perfected. And while that might sound horrid to some people, to others it's their idea of gaming heaven.
