With the year drawing to a close, we find ourselves looking back on all the games that came out this year. When choosing this list, we tried to pick those games that brought something new to the table while still being very entertaining. We excluded ports of console and PC blockbusters such as The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead, Icewind Dale, etc., because we feel that while being fantastic games, they have already been judged and reviewed in their other iterations (although one port was just too good on iOS to disqualify. Sorry!)

These are the games we feel exemplify that traits in mobile games. They can be paused or saved easily, they make great use of touch controls, and they feel like they have the production value and care that is put into console or handheld titles. While these may not have been the most critically acclaimed iOS games, they are solid titles that will stand the test of time when all the gimmicky titles have been long forgotten.

Winner

80 Days

Inkle, July 31, 2014

80 Days is one of the most engaging mobile experiences we've ever had the pleasure to play. Inkle has shown themselves to be the master of the choose-your-own adventure genre by crafting a game that creates a perfect blend of the video game and the novel. The steampunk world, loosely based on the Jules Verne novel, felt full of life, danger, and change, it was genuinely engaging and its storytelling has shown that mobile gaming has truly come into its own.

Runners-Up

Papers, Please

Lucas Pope, December 12, 2014

We were initially against putting ports on this list, but Papers, Please is one of the few games that make it to mobile and feel like they've belonged there the whole time. The touch controls make this game feel all the more personal as you physically slide the paperwork and press the denial stamps and body scan buttons. This game is a must have for anyone with an iPad.

Threes!

Sirvo, February 6, 2014

Few games execute the concept of perfect mobile design as well as Threes! does. The simple concept of sliding numbers together to combine into multiples of 3 makes it the ideal game to take up a few moments of your time. The attractive user interface and flawless use of touch controls made this a game many of us played so much we had to delete it off our phones to keep our hands off it.

Out There

Mi-Clos Studio, February 27, 2014

Out There engenders feelings of loneliness, futility, fear, and despair with the dark atmosphere and the constant juggling of resources to try to survive the abject terror of space. It was one of our favorites because the more we played the game, the more we felt anxiety with each jump to another system, and more joy at each successful harvest of oxygen or iron. The game brings back memories of old sudden-death adventure games and rogue-likes, and it was nice to play a mobile game that brutally made you learn from your mistakes while still telling an interesting story.

Mines of Mars

Crescent Moon Games, March 6, 2014

This game may not be super original with its take on the Terraria and Starbound formula, but what makes it so good is that it was developed with mobile in mind. Its slow-paced, thoughtful gameplay, with a massive world to explore, makes this a game we still come back to.