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The top 5 best iPhone games like The Room

Posted by 148Apps Staff on April 6th, 2021

The Room has had a massive impact on the world of mobile gaming. Not only is it a brilliant adventure, it also shows how the touchscreen controls on your iPhone can be turned into something far more elegant and tactile than just a bunch of buttons. But what to do when you've finished playing through all four games in The Room saga?

That's why we've written this list. So that when it's time to put The Room down, you're not going to have to go cold turkey. The games on this list aren't just clones though, they build on the ideas of The Room and throw their own into the mix as well.

Obviously, if you've got your own suggestions, feel free to chuck them in the comments section at the bottom of the article. And if you want to read more of the awesome lists we write on a weekly basis, you can check them out by clicking right here.

The 5 Best Mobile Ports

Posted by Campbell Bird on January 14th, 2021

Ports or coversions of games from one platform to another can be quite tricky. This is especially true when porting games to phones and tablets, as these titles have to be designed with workable touch controls and account for smaller screen sizes.

It’s rare these days for a console or PC game to grace the App Store in a totally unplayable state, but it can be hard to find games that make their transition to mobile look easy. It’s even rarer when a mobile port comes out and it’s just so dang slick it feels better than it did on its original platform, but these games exist. Here are five of them:

148Apps Game of the Year 2020

Posted by Campbell Bird on December 31st, 2020

Every year, I always honor my favorite mobile games by highlighting some of my favorites. For this year, I'd like to try to do more than just say "hey, these games are fun." So, with some inspiration from other Game of the Year honors from around the web, I've assembled a few categories of video game honorifics to bestow on the mobile games that most deserve it.

In the coming days, be sure to check in to see nominees and winners picked from this list as we count down the final days of the horrid year known as 2020.

The Top 10 Mobile Games of the Generation

Posted by Campbell Bird on October 8th, 2020

With new consoles coming out soon, it's inevitable for folks to want to look back and determine what were the best games that came out across the current console's lifecycle. This process is commonly referred to as picking the best games of the generation, but that terminology is making less and less sense as the games industry expands beyond console hardware and the systems themselves see half-step upgrades.

As silly as it may be as an exercise, I thought it would be fun to go back and look at "this generation" of mobile titles and pick and rank the ten best. In terms of time period, this takes us back to November 2013, which is actually interesting timing for mobile games. It's a world where Flappy Bird already released but hadn't yet become a cultural phenomenon, and the latest and greatest iPhone was the 5S.

Anyway, enough preambling, let's get to the list. See below for the best mobile games of the generation:

The 5 Best Mobile Games Like Genshin Impact

Posted by Campbell Bird on October 6th, 2020
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: GIGA GACHA :: Read Review »

Genshin Impact is easily the most ambitious game to hit mobile devices to date, and we’re over here loving every second we can spend with the game. There are a few things about it that aren’t ideal though, so it’s entirely understandable why someone might walk away from it disappointed.

In light of that, we decided to put together a list of mobile games that are somewhat like Genshin Impact just in case you were looking for an alternative to play for the time-being. Check out our picks below. You can find our other game recommendation lists here.

The 5 Best Mobile Games Like Hades

Posted by Campbell Bird on September 23rd, 2020

Supergiant Games finally released Hades upon the world this week, and we’re loving it. The game plays to all of the studio’s strengths while still retaining a strong sense of identity. It also just so happens to play rather well using the Steam Link.

If you don’t have Hades, a PC or console that can run it, or perhaps have already blazed through it, try these mobile games that can give you some of the great blend of style and action that makes Supergiant’s latest so good.

Apple Arcade: Ranked - 26-50 [Updated 7.6]

Posted by Campbell Bird on September 16th, 2020

This is part 2 of our Apple Arcade rankings. Quick navigation to other parts:

1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100 | 101-125 | 126-150 | 151-175 | 176-200 | 201+


26. Kingdom Rush Frontiers+

[img id="113597" alt=""]

Description:

Ironhide Game Studio has brought one of their acclaimed tower-defense games to Apple Arcade with Kingdom Rush Frontiers+. Your goal is simple, protect a goal point by building towers stationed by archers, wizards, warriors, and more as waves of increasingly challenging and complicated enemies get thrown at you.

Rank Explanation:

The Kingdom Rush games are untouchably good tower defense games. I can't think of another franchise that even approaches the same level of quality and polish as these ones. That said, I think Frontiers is a relatively weak pick from their lineup to throw onto Arcade. It's great, but it's no Vengeance, so basically on par with a lot of Apple Arcade decision-making.

Apple Arcade: Ranked - 51-75 [Updated 7.6]

Posted by Campbell Bird on September 16th, 2020

This is part 3 of our Apple Arcade rankings. Quick navigation to other parts:

1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100 | 101-125 | 126-150 | 151-175 | 176-200 | 201+


51. Slash Quest!

[img id="107855" alt=""]

Description:

Slash Quest!is a colorful action game where you steer a sword much in the same way you might a shopping cart to chop down enemies and solve environmental puzzles.

Rank Explanation:

This game reminds me a lot of B-tier Playstation platformers, and I mean that as a term of endearment. There’s a charming weirdness here that’s hard to put your finger on, and it backs up its simple goofy mechanics with systems that are geniunely fun to play around with.

Apple Arcade: Ranked - 76-100 [Updated 7.6]

Posted by Campbell Bird on September 16th, 2020

This is part 4 of our Apple Arcade rankings. Quick navigation to other parts:

1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100 | 101-125 | 126-150 | 151-175 | 176-200 | 201+


76. Creaks

[img id="105862" alt=""]

Description:

Amanita Design’s second release on Apple Arcade is a more standard puzzle adventure than Pilgrims. Creaks has you playing as a young man who is lost in a mysterious world found through a crack in his apartment. The challenges here are ones of traversal, and most of your time is spent figuring out how to manipulate your environment to hit the right switches you need to move forward.

Rank Explanation:

Creaks hit during a wave of Apple Arcade duds hit the service, and even then it’s nothing too fancy. Of course, it has the signature Amanita Design style, but otherwise feels like their take on Inside (a thing quite a number of Apple Arcade games have done for some reason). It’s a totally solid experience that is helped a lot by its audio and visual design, despite feeling a tad derivative.

Apple Arcade: Ranked - 101-125 [Updated 7.6]

Posted by Campbell Bird on September 16th, 2020

This is part 5 of our Apple Arcade rankings. Quick navigation to other parts:

1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100 | 101-125 | 126-150 | 151-175 | 176-200 | 201+


101. The Hitchhiker

[img id="109872" alt=""]

Description:

Chat your way down the open road with a variety of different drivers. Things always start out friendly enough, but there's a dark underbelly to these conversations you uncover as you go. Occasionally, you'll also have to do some sleuthing find the next step of your journey.

Rank Explanation:

The Hitchhiker wastes no time getting weird, so no spoilers here. Anyway, the conversations you have with your drivers can go a long time before they reach interesting territory. In the meantime, you can aimlessly look around the car, which can and will frequently trigger dialogue options by accident. This is fine enough, though, since the game doesn't really seem to care what you say to your drivers. Overall, not particularly impressed.

The 5 Best Mobile Games Like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2

Posted by Campbell Bird on September 8th, 2020

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 dropped last week, meaning you can get remastered versions of two of the most iconic “sports” games ever made and experience some of the highest watermarks set in games of generations’ past.

There aren’t many new games like the Tony Hawk titles these days, and even attempts to re-capture the magic of earlier games in the series tend to go awry. That said, if you do want somewhat fresh and mobile takes on arcade, trick-based gameplay, here are our top picks.

The 5 Best Mobile Platformers

Posted by Campbell Bird on July 30th, 2020

Touch screens and action-oriented gameplay don't typically mix, but over the course of pondering the best platformers on mobile, I found myself having a really hard time picking just five. Quite a few developers have found really creative ways to make games that require quick reflexes and precision feel perfectly enjoyable on your phone or tablet.

Check out our top picks for platformers on iOS, which cover the range of one-handed, streamlined experiences to titles more typical of the console platfomer experience. If you're looking for some other great mobile games to play, click here to check out all the other top lists we've been making lately.

The 5 Best Mobile Games Like The Last of Us Part II

Posted by Campbell Bird on June 18th, 2020

The Last of Us Part II is set to come out this week, but review scores have already been rolling in to pump up excitement for the latest entry in Naughty Dog’s expensive-looking apocalyptic survival horror series. Generally speaking, the game has already received near universal praise for its technical prowess, it’s a little less clear whether its story and tone will be as successful.

Some of this is due to the review embargo Naughty Dog has put in place around The Last of Us Part II, which has restricted critics from writing about the game in its entirety. Outside of that, there has been also heavy discussion among writers about how the game’s tone feels overly brutal and needlessly bleak, particularly since these aspects are seemingly being used in order to raise the same tired questions about player agency and violence that have been explored repeatedly in over a decade’s worth of “prestige” games.

The 5 Best Mobile Card-Based Roguelites

Posted by Campbell Bird on June 16th, 2020

Slay the Spire finally hit the App Store, and—as great as it is—the mobile version leaves quite a bit to be desired. This prompted us here to look back at all mobile games that have come out of the explosion of card-based roguelites that have been releasing in recent years and pick the top five games in that particular niche.

If you want to hold off on buying Slay the Spire for your phone (which we suggest you do), check out these other great titles that can deliver a similar experience. If you’re looking for some other great mobile games to play, click here to check out all the other top lists we’ve been making lately.

The 5 Best Mobile Real Time Strategy Games

Posted by Campbell Bird on June 3rd, 2020

Real-time strategy games feel like they’d be a perfect fit for mobile, but they’re trickier to pull off that you might think. The traditional mold of base-building and micro management can work on touch screens, but needs to be carefully honed so that it doesn’t end up too overwhelming.

Few titles on the App Store get this right, but the games below are all nail it in their own, unique ways. Check them out. Oh, and click here to check out all the other great lists we’ve been making lately.