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BEST
GAMES
of the
YEAR
2021
What another banner year for iOS gaming. As usual, there were tons of new games available to try on the App Store and Apple Arcade in 2021. And we've chosen our top 25 of the year. Our top game is The Oregon Trail on Apple Arcade. See our entire list.
Solitaire Stories
RED GAMES CO, LLC
A New Way to Solitaire
The great Apple Arcade game molds a weird sense of humor with the iconic card game. Solitaire Stories is a progressive journey through increasingly difficult levels. Each of the stories features its own deck design, game environment, story, and more. New stories and decks will be added monthly. But if you want your quick solitaire fix, don’t worry. There is a quick play option where you can select a deck and get in a game.
The Oregon Trail
Gameloft
The Classic Game Reimagined
The Oregon Trail takes the classic computer game and gives it new life. Just like the original, you’ll be trying your best to head to a better life in Oregon. The journeys range from the historically accurate to totally extreme. The game also features Native American playable characters and stories. For anyone who played the classic, or a new generation, the Apple Arcade game is a fantastic journey.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Annapurna Interactive
Explore a Family History
The game is a collection of strange tales about a family in Washington State. You’ll play as the titular Edith. She will search and explore the huge Finch house looking at her family history to better understand why she is the last in her family alive.
Pinstripe
Atmos Games
An Emotionally Charged Trip Through the Afterlife
The game is influenced by classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Alice in Wonderland. An estranged ex-minister will venture through Hell in search of his 3-year-old daughter Bo and her kidnapper.
In My Shadow
Alcon Interactive Group
What's in the Shadows?
In the game, you’ll be playing as Bella, a young woman who had a fallout with her family. She receives a text from her father and struggles to respond. Her childhood memories come to life as shadows on the wall. You’ll use those shadows to solve puzzles and try to help Bella let go of her past.
Night in the Woods
Finji
A Night to Remember
You’ll be following college dropout Mae Borowski, who just happens to be a cat. She returns to her crumbling hometown of Possum Springs to pick up her aimless life.
Baba Is You
Hempuli
Change the Rules
In each level, the rules you have to follow are present as physical blocks you can interact with. By manipulating them, you’ll cause surprising interactions. There are more than 200 puzzles to solve. The game features fun art along with homemade music and sound effects.
Alto's Odyssey
Snowman
An Even Better Journey
Alto’s Odyssey: The Lost City makes the wonderful exploration and adventure game even better. The Apple Arcade version adds a new biome with beautiful landscapes, unique gameplay, and more. Fans of the original can import their progress and pick up right where they left off.
Townscaper
Raw Fury
Build a Town Block by Block
Townscaper is all about building and nothing else. Your imagination is the only limit as you can pick colors from a pallet, place colored blocks of a house and then watch the game’s algorithm complete the project.
Oceanhorn
Cornfox & Brothers Ltd.
The Legend Continues
The game will shine a light on what happened centuries after the last game in the series, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm. Taking inspiration from classic 16-bit arcade games, you’ll be treated to rogue-lite dungeon crawling action with quick play sessions.
lumen.
Lykkegaard Europe Limited
Step Into the Light
You’ll use light, mirrors, and lenses to solve puzzles in lumen.From the team behind another great game on the subscription service, tint, you’ll turn up in an old attic and discover an antique box of Ms. Olivia McLumen. The inventor saved her inventions in cinematic frames. You’ll try to solve the riddles and restore the chronicles of Olivia’s life.
Rocket League Sideswipe
Psyonix LLC
Car Soccer Made for Mobile
Rocker League Sideswipe brings car soccer to your iOS device. You’ll try to put the ball in the opponent’s net. But it’s more difficult than it seems. There is 1v1 or 2v2 gameplay.
Bloodshore
Wales Interactive Ltd.
An Interactive Movie
In the near future, Kil//Stream is the most popular, and deadly, reality TV show on the planet. Fifty players will compete for a huge cash prize and to become to biggest start of the planet. The game focuses on Nick, a washed-actor who forms an allegiance with a teammate as they fight to survive and become the winner.
Downwordly
Bird Cartel LLC
Make the Most of the Letters You Have
Just like other games, you’ll try to make words with the letters on the board. But the big twist is that some of the letters you see aren’t playable. That brings a unique challenge and will definitely test your word creation skills.
Sixit
Star Garden Games LLC
Choose Your Actions Carefully
Sixit is a narrative puzzler with a unique twist. You’ll only have six actions per run. That means you’ll have to choose carefully how you save the village.
Erica - Interactive Thriller
Flavourworks Ltd.
Reach Into a Living World
In Erica, you’ll guide the title character with a shocking past through her surrounding by using your touch to physically interact with her surroundings and people. With a branching narrative structure, there are multiple endings.
Pokémon UNITE
The Pokemon Company
Head Into Battle
The game features 5-on-5 strategic team battles. You’ll head to Aeos Island to compete in Unite Battles. Trainers will battle to see who can score the most points in the allotted time. You and your teammates will defeat wild Pokémon, level up, evolve Pokémon, and work to prevent the opposing team from scoring points.
Knights of San Francisco
Raindead Company s.r.o.
If You’re Going to San Francisco
In Knights of San Francisco, you’ll explore the ancient city and partake in combat in the RPG text game. Taking inspiration from modern tabletop RPGs, you’ll battle monsters, raise the dead, and more.
Giant Dancing Plushies
Rogue Games
Conquer the Planet One Dance Move at a Time
Bust a move in Giant Dancing Plushies. You’ll help the adorable Kaiju conquer the planet with their best dance moves. You can dance with in-game music or any other music source.
Rec Room
Rec Room Inc
Build and Play Games Together
You’ll be doing more than just playing games in Rec Room. You can build your own game and play with friends from all around the world. It’s a cross player game on many different platforms.
Castlevania
KONAMI
The Popular Series Continues
The side-scrolling action game features 60 levels and a wide variety of equipment to use. In the game, Dracula has been sealed away and a new story has begun. Daily and weekly missions will keep you coming back for more. You can play has Alucard and unlock other iconic characters like Simon Belmont, Charlotte, Shanoa, Maria. Each character has a unique combat style to master.
Tetris® Beat
N3TWORK Inc.
A Different Kind of Tetris
Tetris Beat combines brick building with exclusive music and unique rhythm mechanics. You’ll rotate and drop Tetriminos to the beat and keeping the rhythm to build the biggest combo chain possible.Along with physical controller support, the game provides Spatial Audio when using AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.
MARVEL Future Revolution
Netmarble Corporation
A Marvel First
Gamers will embark on a campaign as a Marvel superhero. You’ll join Omega Flight’s mission to save Primary Earth from the threat of the Convergence.
Super Leap Day
Nitrome
A New Level Every Day
Super Leap Day is a one-button platformer with a great twist–a new level every day. A new king has created challenges for the unwitting contestants to explore. You can find new contestants and their unique abilities on the way to victory.
Say No! More
Thunderful Publishing AB
The Power of No
Say No! More is all about changing the world with the positive power of no. The funny adventure features a late 90s graphics style. You’ll start as an intern and say no in hysterical ways.
