The calendar has flipped over to 2017, and now it’s time to take a look back at all that happened in 2016. For us, that means looking at all of the great games releases in the App Store in 2016, and try to cut them down to the 50 best games of the year. Once the top 50 are set, it comes down to sorting them to truly find the game of the year for 2016.
Our list is complete with each one of these games deserving its own recognition for 2016. It’s the 50 best iOS games of 2016 according to AppAdvice.
For those who enjoy time management games with ever changing challenges.
Mini Metro is a time management game that brings a public transit system map to life. The game is designed for touch allowing you to drag and drop train lines between stations. As a given map advances, there are more and varied guests to send across the transit line. There are multiple maps to play, and it's effortless to get lost in the minimalistic beauty that lends to immersion in the great gameplay.
Why we love it
The minimalist graphics are gorgeous, the dynamic music is great to listen to, and the controls are super easy to learn but difficult to master being efficient at planning good routes to fit all commuter's needs.
For those who like pinball, and are looking for all new flair.
INKS brings an interesting concept to pinball. The game delivers a casual and artsy feel, but at the same time has its challenges. As you continue to complete tables, you will earn credits which can be exchanged for helpful power-ups, so do your best to play through them all. And, enjoy the cool and colorful art you create as you play.
Why we love it
If you enjoy pinball games on your iPhone or iPad, then INKS is one you need to check out. This fun game gives you the classic pinball action with a colorful twist.
For those who want a survival adventure with dozens of hours to play through.
Stranded on an alien planet, you must use your wits and guts to get by. Using simple and intuitive controls, you can build a home, learn from local sentient life, go on quests, and craft resources into weapons. You're challenged to uncover a sinister plot and ultimately save the universe.
Why we love it
Crashlands is an outlandish story-driven action-adventure game. It has a sassy sense of humor that will keep you entertained as you play for hours on end. The game also features an infinite inventory that manages itself, allowing you to do more exciting stuff like exploring and crafting.
For those that love puzzles, charm, and a love story.
Love You To Bits is a point-and-click puzzle adventure game. Players take the role of Kosmo and help him solve puzzles throughout the galaxy while discovering new planets and life forms, all on a quest to collect the broken pieces of Nova in order to rebuild her.
Why we love it
The plot of the game is a rather cute and touching one, and the puzzles are not too difficult but still provide enough challenge to make you think.
For those who love board games, and want a brand new challenge.
Strategically place tiles along the path. Paths will cross and connect, and the choices you make affect all the journeys across the board. Every single piece is covered with multiple paths, and there are multiple objectives to aim for to win the board game. You can play solo, with friends on the same device, or through online multiplayer, and it's always a fun expereince.
Why we love it
Tsuro is easy enough for anyone to pick up but it requires cunning and strategy to become a master.
The third installment continues the idea of fast paced golf, crazy courses, and power-ups. There are 20 all new courses to play individually or through online multiplayer. You can now add spin to your ball as well to offer all new shot techniques. Every hole has exquisite design, and there's nothing like nailing a shot through a tiny crevice in an obstacle to see the ball roll through the environment.
For gamers who a fast paced and colorful endless runner.
Disney Crossy Road is the perfect new adventure for fans of iconic Disney characters as well as the popular Crossy Road arcade game. With so many awesome characters, each time you play with a different one, you have new surprises. The best part is that the app was updated throughout 2016 with new characters to aim for.
Why we love it
If you have been waiting with anticipation for this fun-filled mix from Disney and Hipster Whale, then wait no more. Disney Crossy Road is a colorful, enjoyable, and challenging adventure.
For anyone who likes an adventure, but wants a touch centric style with an all new storyline.
Prepare to slice limbs off of your opponent, and use those limbs to become stronger, as you battle through a nightmarish world in Severed. The game delivers familiar mechanics in an all new adventure that is packed with style. Severed offers the core slicing style of Fruit Ninja integrated with the battle components of Infinity Blade to make for an accessible style. The game is familiar, yet fully fleshed out as an all new touch based adventure pitting you as a one armed warrior in search of her family.
Why we love it
Severed is gorgeous, challenging, and has a complex battle system that involves strategy and skill. It's a great addition to your game collection.
For anyone who likes golf solitaire, but wants an infusing of fresh battle based challenges.
The classic style of golf solitaire is used as the basis of a battle adventure. You need to clear your deck to defeat your opponent. The game takes it a step further with the ability to earn energy with each card you play, and you can use that energy to activate special abilities. Your opponent doesn't just let you do whatever you want, as there's a turn based battle with your enemy throwing you different challenges to deal with as you're playing cards.
Why we love it
Solitairica features beautiful graphics, fun sounds and music, humor, unique gameplay elements, and challenging battles. You will have a hard time putting this one down.
For anyone who likes a puzzle challenge, you don't even need to be familiar with Chess.
Really Bad Chess takes the classic idea of Chess, and infuses it with an all new challenge. You have the familiar pawn, bishop, knight, rook, queen, and king with their typical movement patterns. The twist is that your board layout is random, so you could get a few bishops in the front row, even three queens to work with, and your opponent has their own random layout. There is a daily and weekly challenge as well as a ranked mode with the game changing difficulty based on if you win or lose.
For anyone who like card based decision making with a medieval theme.
A card based adventure in which you swipe either left or right to make various decisions that a king could come across. With every decision that you make, you need to be cognizant of the impact on the church, the people, the army, and the treasury. The goal is to constantly balance the four aspects of your kingdom, as if any of them reach the bottom or top, your reign will end. You get to play through the timeline of modern history with each strategic decision determining how long each given reign will last.
Why we love it
The graphics are great, the music and sound effects are fun and soothing, voiceovers are humorous, and the modern gameplay makes you think,
For those who enjoy Grand Theft Auto style games and retro charm.
Developed by Vblank Entertainment, Retro City Rampage DX is an action-adventure game that’s essentially a wacky sendup of retro games and the open-world crime genre popularized by Grand Theft Auto. In this 8-bit throwback, you can go on a rampage across the city, stealing cars and breaking the law at every return as you play through dozens of missions.
Why we love it
Retro City Rampage DX is an excellent sendup of retro and open-world crime games that you can enjoy whether you like or dislike the kinds of games that it parodies. And whether you’ve played Retro City Rampage in its older editions or you’ve just been introduced to the game, Retro City Rampage DX should offer much in the way of action and adventure on your iOS device.
For those who like crazy storylines and the classic point and click adventure style.
Rusty Lake is a crazy place that has been slowly developed across multiple games. The Roots edition goes back to the 1800s, and lets you play through the family tree of one of the craziest families you will ever encounter. The classic point and click adventure style is sliced up into 33 focused challenges with each one detailing a milestone of a family member across multiple generations. The story offers a macabre chilling entry that is full of intrigue to keep you compelled through great puzzles.
For those who like classic platformers, and daily incentive to play.
A one touch platformer in which your character runs automatically, and you simply tap the screen to jump. You can double jump, and it’s all about timing up the right trajectory to avoid spikes, bounce on enemies, and collect fruit in a vertically scrolling level. The one new level per day isn’t a simple little challenge that takes under a minute. Instead, it’s a lengthy adventure with 15 optional checkpoints during your ascent. Each section offers its own challenge, and there's daily incentive to come back to Leap Day.
For those who like managing chaotic action and trains.
Train Conductor World: European Railway lets you embark on a new journey and visit the many wonders of Europe while controlling the railway. It is a fun puzzle adventure where you must manage the trains. Direct them to the correct tracks, stop them when necessary to avoid a crash, and earn pieces of tracks to broaden your network across the continent.
Why we love it
- Enjoy puzzle adventures
- Like level-based gameplay
For anyone who likes Deus Ex, Lara Croft Go, Hitman Go, or any type of puzzle challenge.
Deus Ex Go is continues the style of Hitman Go and Lara Croft Go, but with another well known Square Enix franchise. There's a turn based puzzle challenge that is all about moving from point A to point B while traversing multiple pathways filled with enemies and obstacles. The stealth and augmentation elements of Deus Ex Go are included to offer new puzzle mechanics.
Why we love it
Deus Ex Go features beautiful graphics, an atmospheric soundtrack that is a joy to listen to, and simple controls. The puzzles themselves are rather challenging, and there are daily levels added that make the game high in replay value.
For anyone who loves dark humor and stealth games.
Party Hard Go lets you play as a neighbor who is fed up with the noise of the party next door. One way to stop a party is to start killing everyone in attendance. Your goal is to take out every member of a party one by one, and try to do so without alerting other guests, who could call the police. There are multiple party scenarios included with all kinds of ways to take our party goers as stealth as possible.
Why we love it
The retro graphics are great, the music is quirky, the sounds are fun, and the controls are nicely optimized for touch screens. The game may seem easy, but it's a lot harder than you think.
For those who like fresh puzzle ideas that combine familiar mechanics for new challenge.
Twofold inc. is an interesting puzzle game made enjoyable by the acoustic soundtrack and little alien guide. It has the right amount of challenge, attractive visuals, and fun sound effects.
Why we love it
If you like challenging puzzle games, then Twofold inc. is definitely worth your time. It is fresh, unique, and a great game to sink your teeth into.
For those that enjoyed the earlier Riptide games, or simply like arcade racing action.
The third installment of watercraft racing with fast paced arcade racing action on the water. This version includes an actual storyline that sends the main character to the underground racing circuit, outside of the comfort of official tracks. There are all new layouts, five chapters of races, and a great water physics engine to keep you racing for a long time to come.
For those who love strategy games and a Wild West theme.
A new turn based strategy game with a Wild West theme, and it comes from the makers of Zombieville and Battleheart. The heart of Lost Frontier is the story mode with 24 chapters that introduce 20 unique unit types, and an actual Wild West themed storyline. You get to play as a band of bounty hunters, and your goal is to track down a wanted man with steam punk technology and the supernatural included along the way. The game nails the essence of the genre with challenge right from the get go that only increases as more units are thrown onto the scene with each new chapter. You really need to think about each move to fully succeed in the strategy set-up.
For players who have a knack for amusement park management simulation
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is a modified mobile port of both RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. As such, it combines the best features of both PC games and offers the original coaster construction and park management experience for which the RollerCoaster Tycoon series has been largely known.
Why we love it
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic boasts the distinctive visual style and deeply engaging gameplay of the original RollerCoaster Tycoon games created by Chris Sawyer. Optimized for mobile devices, it has plenty of playability in store whether you’re a fan of the PC games or a newcomer to the series, as long as what you’re after is excellent amusement park management simulation.
For anyone who likes Telltale's episodic games and loves Batman.
Telltale has been on a roll with their point and click adventure games including The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Minecraft Story Mode. Their latest effort is Batman, and it offers an all new take on the caped crusader. The familiar Telltale style is included with touch decisions to make within intricate dialogue as well as quick action swipe gesture sequences. The game relies on fleshing out Bruce Wayne as more than just Batman's alter ego, and delivers the most action of a TellTale game to date when you put on the suit. You get to do everything that Batman does including fight enemies, investigate crime scenes, and interact with the city as Bruce Wayne.
Why we love it
The graphics are good, the music and sounds are immersive, the voice acting is amazing, and there are intuitive controls. It's Batman, what more do you need?
For anyone who has been waiting for Super Mario on iOS.
In Super Mario Run, players use simple one-touch tap controls to guide Mario through familiar courses. The goal of the game is to collect the coins and reach the end of the course, as indicated by the traditional flag pole at the end.
You'll encounter familiar bosses, like Bowser, along the way, and have to outsmart them to reach the end.
There is also Toad Rally battle mode, where you race against the ghost of an online friend. Every coin you collect and Toad you befriend can be used in building your very own Mushroom Kingdom.
Super Mario Run is free to download with a single in-app purchase to unlock the full experience.
Why we love it
The latest edition of Super Mario Run adds a feature those short on time will love. In Remix 10 mode, you rush through short, bite-sized courses to earn bonus coins and try to find Princess Daisy.
You need a Rally Ticket to play, and the courses change every time you enter Remix 10 mode. There are new items you can collect to decorate your Mushroom Kingdom.
If you play through enough Remix 10 levels, you'll unlock Princess Daisy as a playable character. She features the double-jump ability, which can be handy for tall obstacles or lines of coins.
The game is all about the single player career mode. Compete in a series of tournaments in which each match you win helps you climb the world leaderboards. You can upgrade your players skills as you play to help you face tougher opponents. Each match is an intense challenge as you try to hit the shots just right to get it past your opponent.
Why we love it
The game nails the feel of the old arcade type of sports game, and yet still feels fresh with all new challenge. The The game makes every shot feel important as you play in a lengthy career mode.
For those who enjoy platformers, and like a one touch iOS centric edition.
King Rabbit is a cute action puzzle game where you must help rescue the bunnies who have been caged up by a dark foe. Hop your way through the grids, collect the gold coins, keys, and diamonds, and reach your friends. And use those diamonds for stylish death animations so you can go out in style.
Why we love it
It's a challenging and cute puzzle game that is friendly enough for everyone.
For anyone who likes city sim, card games, and puzzles in one.
Concrete Jungle combines Sim City and Bejeweled to create an all new gaming expereince. Your goal is to build a landscape by putting buildings in the city grid so that they align to reach specific residential goals in each column of the game board. You're given a series of structures to place with varied houses and businesses to place in just the right spots for the optimal benefit for the city as a whole. The game gives you a series of different city planning challenges to complete with a great puzzle concept.
Why we love it
Concrete Jungle is gorgeous, unique, and challenging. Even though it will take a bit to get used to the rules and mechanics, you'll find it hard to put this one down.
Imagine getting to go through Jurassic Park, and snapping photos of the dinosaurs included within. That's the basis of Jurassic Go, which provides the game style of Pokemon Snap on iOS. You're given photo goals to try to capture, and each set you complete unlocks new photos and regions for all new photo taking capabilities. The best part is that the game offers a single paid price as compared to the developers freemium Snapimals with limited picture taking.
Why we love it
Jurassic Go features beautiful, cute graphics, fun music, simple controls, and high replay value. Who can resist snapping pictures of dinosaurs in their natural habitat, anyways?
For anyone who enjoys roguelike puzzles with a slice of existentialism.
A puzzle based adventure that has you explore each region of the forest, and try to figure out the path forward. Your character has a special torch that can levitate and move objects, which sets the basis for the entire puzzle challenge. Each section of the forest is blocked, and you will need to line up items to clear the path forward. The ultimate goal is to grab stranded children, and send them to their mothers, but a lot gets in the way.
Why we love it
Road Not Taken features beautiful graphics, atmospheric music, simple controls, randomly generated gameplay, and challenging puzzles to solve. It's great for anyone who is a fan of the genre and doesn't mind some existentialism.
For those who love strategy and deluxe storylines.
A grand scale adventure that combines challenging turn based strategy with survival adventure tactics and dialogue choices. The sequel continues the storyline of the original with the same Viking mythology connected to the loses of the characters in the first edition. The highlight of the game is the emphasis on the tactical strategy to use your varying units in the right order to take advantage of their abilities as you battle challenging adversaries.
For those that enjoy Assassin's Creed on the console, or like a deluxe 3D iOS experience.
Identity is an action role-playing game that lets you create, customize, and play as Assassins during the Italian Renaissance, with story missions set in the Coliseum, Florence, and other key locations of the era. The game features three classes (each with its own strengths and weaknesses), open sandbox levels, and various customization options. It also lets you train two different Assassins and hire your friends and other players to assist you in completing objectives.
Why we love it
First of all, Assassin's Creed Identity is the first mobile game to incorporate the third-person urban traversal gameplay style established in the main console titles in the Assassin's Creed franchise. It also boasts stunning graphics with custom-made HD textures, shaders, and models made possible with the Unity game engine. Moreover, it features an Italian Renaissance setting with support for open-map exploration for each location.
Based on the board game Patchwork by Uwe Rosenberg, this mobile version will have you stitching your way to victorious win. Patchwork: The Game from Digidiced puts you as the patchwork apprentice on a mission to create the biggest blanket. Pick your fabric pieces, move around the board, and don’t leave any holes in your comfy creation.
Why we love it
Patchwork: The Game has, as you have probably guessed, lovely and colorful patchwork-style visuals. The background music is upbeat and pleasant for an overall charming experience. If you have played the physical board game, you can pick this up and claim your victory with your already honed skills. And, if you are new to it, try your hand at being the patchwork apprentice for something different in this mobile version.
For those who love speedrunners, platformers, and autorunners.
Chameleon Run is a gorgeous voxel-style autorunner where you must change the color of your character in order to land on the colored platforms. It sounds easy, but you have to be fast and have great reflexes in order to survive. There are objectives to meet and records to beat, so there's always a reason to come back for more.
Why we love it
It has a beautiful art style and the two-touch controls are intuitive and friendly enough for anyone. It's challenging though, and it will keep you coming back over and over.
If you enjoy beautiful 3-D puzzle games like Monument Valley and Maestria, then the new Mekorama is a must-try game. With a cute, tiny robot and 50 challenging levels, you will rotate structures and move pieces in order to get the little guy to the exit.
Why we love it
Mekorama is a charming and enjoyable puzzler. The almost-clumsy robot is adorable, the 3-D graphics are well-designed, and the delightful music box styled tune is a nice addition to the experience.
An iOS platformer that is heavily inspired by the past to deliver a familiar style in a new age package. The game features the classic elements of jumping on enemies, collecting stars, pounding blocks, finding hidden areas, and more. The game is familiar, and yet still feels like a fresh new challenge with the level design, pacing of enemies, and the inclusion of new abilities. Super Phantom Cat features five unique worlds with each one filled with different challenges.
For those who like Sci-Fi and the Wild West with some covered shooting too.
The sequel continues the style of the original with a top down shooter adventure that gives you dual stick controls, and a story based adventure to play through. Both editions emphasize tactical combat to allow you to take out enemies from behind with stealth, as well as flank enemies and take cover. The new version seems to have more happening at once, and yet it’s easier to manage all that’s going on. Space Marshals 2 presents relatively expansive mission maps with numerous pockets of enemies. There are also blockades, transitions, and bosses to contend with across the 20 deluxe missions.
Why we love it
Space Marshals 2 is beautiful and packs in a ton of action. You'll have a hard time putting this one down once you get going.
For those looking for an extremely deluxe expereince for iOS.
Eisenhorn instantly stands out with a deluxe 3D graphics engine that delivers some of the best visuals on iOS, especially when you gander at the grand scale environments. Eisenhorn: XENOS features a deluxe story based on the first book of the Eisenhorn trilogy, and it’s easy to see the adaptation from a book. The length of the game, the detail in the story, and the depictions of the graphics engine definitely deserve the term console quality. Eisenhorn: XENOS offers a familiar third person adventure set-up that emphasizes combat with puzzle style progression
Who is ready for a rootin’ tootin’ good time of lassoing, riding, and becoming a rodeo star? If this sounds like you, then saddle up and get ready for Rodeo Stampede - Sky Zoo Safari. This upbeat game from Featherweight Games and is a ten-gallon hat full of fun.
Why we love it
Rodeo Stampede - Sky Zoo Safari is fast, fun, and lively. It might take a bit to get used to the holding and releasing in order to lasso and ride, but once you do, you will enjoy this wild rodeo where you are the star.
Perchang is an imaginative puzzle game. The 3-D graphics are amazing, the soundtrack is cinematic and lively, and the gameplay is truly enjoyable. Each puzzle offers a unique challenge and solution for an overall intriguing and engaging game for fans of this genre.
Why we love it
Perchang is a game of skill, coordination, and creative thinking. Your mission in each of the 60 puzzles is to get the balls to the goal using flippers, magnets, fans, and other cool contraptions. How you use these devices is up to you to figure out.
For those who like games that require thinking ahead.
Swapperoo brings fun twists to the matching game genre that make it a pleasure to play. The challenges of matching shiny stars and giant eyes as well as the armored tiles and those with a move limit keep the game fresh with every level. The jazzy background music adds a nice touch and the sound effects are lively.
Why we love it
For puzzle fans, Swapperoo is a great addition to your game list. With enjoyable objectives to meet, the game will challenge your puzzle-solving skills while entertaining you with snappy music. Swapperoo is also available for Apple TV and a must-have for puzzle fanatics.
For anyone who likes point-and-click exploration adventure puzzle games.
A game that lets you guide a space gnome through the galaxy, and use a magical flute to interact with the native creatures of alien worlds. There are nine different planets to journey to in this puzzle adventure game from the makers of Botanicula and Machinarium. Samorost 3 has a similar point and click adventure style as well as design aesthetic, especially in comparison to Botanicula. Samorost 3 emphasizes exploration above all else, as you’re traveling to strange new worlds. The game does a great job of having each individual scene connect to the others, so you may need to pick up something in one area to use in the solution to another area.
Why we love it
The game is beautiful with some of the most realistic environments we've seen in a game. The music and sounds are also top notch, the puzzles are challenging, and it's rather relaxing overall.
For those who want an immersive puzzle challenge without time constraints, score, or move limits.
For a beautiful and relaxing puzzle experience, _Prism is a wonderful addition to your game collection. With captivating visuals and sounds, you will journey through a microcosmic galaxy with intuitive and enjoyable gameplay. Solve the puzzles at your own pace and immerse yourself in a meditative world.
Why we love it
If you enjoy tranquil and soothing puzzles, then you will like _Prism. With gorgeous 3-D graphics, peaceful music, and intuitive gameplay, this is a great game for unwinding after a long day.
For those who like super fast twitch reflex games.
BARRIER X is a super fast twitch reflex arcade game that tests how fast you're able to get out of the way. In BARRIER X, players control a small ship that will be flying down a rather large stretch of empty, barren road. Walls will appear randomly and rather quickly, so you must tap on the screen to change lanes to avoid them. But watch out — the game speeds up every 15 seconds, meaning the walls come up faster and faster as you play. You'll need to be fast to avoid crashing into the walls or other obstacles. Your score is determined by how long you managed to survive before crashing. Do you think you're fast enough to survive?
Why we love it
BARRIER X is another twitchy reflex arcade game and we certainly can't get enough of those. The game itself looks fantastic with the minimalistic aesthetics, and it is very challenging and gives you a good reason to come back and beat your time for a better score.