The Best iPhone Games Currently Available (December 2021) | Digital Trends

The classic PC game comes to iOS with RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch. Build your fantasy theme park by designing your very own rollercoasters, pairing thrill-seeking rides with other attractions, and setting up food and drink locations. Upgrade your park over time, bring in more and more visitors, and make your creation the biggest and best theme park to ever exist. It’s free to play but with microtransactions available to buy.

Inspired by other, more famous nuclear wasteland-set games, The Wanderer: Post-Nuclear RPG is something of a love letter to the setting. Play a survivor of the nuclear apocalypse and wander the wastes, gathering supplies to survive. Along the way, you’ll need to make decisions, make friends and enemies, and take your particular story in your own personal direction. The map is random every time you start a new game, and you can get a dog. Who can say no to that?

The Lord of the Rings: War is set in Tolkien’s beloved fantasy universe and puts you in the shoes of a faction of Middle-Earth. Fight against the other factions for the One Ring, recruit new commanders, and even forge your very own ring of power. A large amount of Middle-Earth is available to adventure through as you build your team and create your own enormous army. It’s free-to-play, but it does have microtransactions.

Pokémon games are taking mobile platforms by storm, and Pokémon Unite is a big part of the reason why. It’s a 5-on-5 battle arena game where you work with your team to secure the most points. Make sure your Pokémon are stylish with Holowear and perform amazing new moves in battle. It’s cross-platform, so you can play with Switch and Android players, and it won’t cost you a dollar if you’re strict with your finances.

Survival games are now something of a classic genre, but it’s quite rare to see one so built just for mobile. Tiny Island Survival is a survival game that takes place on a single screen. The island is truly tiny and stretches only from the top of your screen to the bottom. Despite that, it crams an awful lot into that one island, and you’ll have everything you need to survive — and a few additional surprises, too. It’s great for playing in short bursts, and there’s a secret to find as well. A great time-waster.

It’s been away from our list for a time, but it’s so good that we had to bring it back. Quite unlike any Fallout game that came before, Fallout Shelter puts you in the shoes of a vault leader, sealed away from the nuclear apocalypse. The time to explore the wasteland has come, and your settlers’ lives are a sacrifice you’re willing to make. Gather scraps from what remains of the outside world and build up your vault, keeping your settlers safe (well, as safe as can be expected), and slowly bring some element of civilization back to a lawless land.

Marvel Future Revolution was only released in August 2021, but it’s such a big release that it deserves its place on this list. It’s the latest huge mobile game from Marvel, and unlike previous mobile games from the company, it’s a third-person RPG that tells the tale of a “convergence” on planet Earth. Multiple realities are colliding, and it’s causing chaos. Your job, playing as a variety of Marvel heroes, is to stop it. Move your character with the left thumb, and select from a variety of attacks with the other — it’s a simple formula, but it’s a good slice of mindless fun. It’s a hefty download, but there’s a cute Flappy Bird-style minigame you can play while it downloads.

It’s almost a decade old, but my how Minecraft has grown. While you can never say Minecraft was ever basic, so much has been added over the years that it barely resembles the game that launched in 2011. If you’re somehow not familiar with this absolute blockbuster of a game, you find yourself in the world of Minecraft. Survive and thrive by making the most of the resources you find, build a gigantic castle, automated farms, and so, so much more. A real time-sink of a game, and for just $7.

Alright, so it might be a little on the nose these days, but there’s no denying Plague Inc. is a lot of fun. Play as a new disease, whether bacteria, virus, fungus, or more, and infect as many people as possible. As time goes by, you need to choose between becoming more overtly infectious — and risking discovery and vaccines — or stay under the radar for as long as possible so you can quickly mutate and ramp up all at once. Despite the global backdrop, Plague Inc. is still a great game to play any time you’ve got a few extra moments.

One of the few iOS games that can call itself a true mobile MMORPG, Black Desert Online is a free-to-play open-world game with an awful lot to offer if you’re a fan of PC games like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, or other MMORPGs. With 14 character classes to choose from, a massive world to explore, and some gorgeous graphics, Black Desert Online is one of the big MMORPGs to choose from on iOS. Unfortunately, it does have quite a few paid elements, including boosts, but if you’re happy to do more legwork, you can ignore those.

Want to play a farming game, but not a fan of Stardew Valley‘s cutesy style? Farming Simulator 20‘s realistic approach and graphics are definitely up your alley. The noble profession of farming has been faithfully reproduced down to the last brand-name tractor, with over 100 machines from real-world names, the ability to farm and harvest a wide range of crops, and the ability to hop on a horse and live out your cow-tending dreams. It costs $6, but if you’re a fan of a slower pace of life, this is definitely worth the initial investment.

SimCity is the majordomo of city-building games, and it’s great to see the legendary game series land on iOS. SimCity BuildIt is initially a straightforward affair: Build your city from the ground up, designing roads, public transit, and different districts so that traffic and commerce can flow freely. But once you’re past the early stages, you’ll need to start juggling, adding serious depth and giving you some big decisions to make. There are microtransactions here, though, so keep a close hand on your wallet.

Street Fighter is one of the world’s biggest fighting game franchises, and now it has come to your iPhone with Street Fighter IV CE. This mobile port of the 2008 video game gives you access to 31 fighters (including old and new favorites), some impressive graphics, single and multiplayer modes, and full game controller support as well. While you’ll need to pay to play this game, $5 is an absolute bargain for a game of this caliber, and the porting is tight and extremely well done. A great investment if you’re a lover of fighting games.

Battles are fought on the edge of a knife, with snap decisions made in the spur of the moment often being the difference between victory and defeat. While we hope you never have to experience that for real, Warpath is a fun way to dabble in real-time battle strategy on your phone. With excellent-looking and realistic graphics, a range of battlefronts, and customization elements that unlock as you play, this is fun if you’ve always seen yourself as an armchair strategist. Unfortunately, there are complaints of pay-to-win aspects, but if you’re not worried about that, then this is a really fun real-time strategy game.

Reckon you can tell Iceland from Patagonia? Mongolia from Russia? What about Idaho from Yorkshire? If you’re something of a geographical whiz, put yourself to the test with GeoGuessr. The concept is extremely simple — you’re dropped into a random location from Google Street View, and your job is to figure out where exactly in the world you are. You can either play by yourself or compete against other players.

Like a Dino! is perhaps the cutest game on this list — just look at that little dinosaur’s adorable smile! Tap and hold the dinosaur and drag it from side to side to hit the bars as they fall, in time with the tune playing. It’s another simple premise, but the tunes and gameplay are both catchy enough that you’ll be playing more than you intended. Earn coins for lasting longer in the songs, which get gradually faster, and buy new songs to play.

The mobile game that propelled Supercell into the position of dominance it now holds — and spawned a number of spin-off games — Clash of Clans is absolutely worthy of a position on this list. It’s the biggest and best idle town builder game on iOS and an awful lot of fun to play. You can go up against rival villages, join up with alliances and fight in Clan Wars, or just quietly try and do your own thing while chaos erupts around you. It’s an excellently fun game; just be careful of the micro-transactions.

There’s a whole world of forbidden knowledge and alien gods out there, and you, a 1920s researcher, are just the person to find it all out for yourself. Cultist Simulator is a notoriously unforgiving but fun card game that centers around unholy mysteries, secret histories, and an immersive storyline. Gather knowledge, bind others to your will, and summon ancient entities for just $7 — what a bargain! Be warned, though: There’s no tutorial for this game, as part of the fun is finding your way. Embrace failure and death as a part of Cultist Simulator!

Your neighbor is up to something nefarious, and you’re going to find out what it is. Except he’s a wily sort, and while you’re busy sneaking into his house, he’s carefully setting up traps to stop your investigations. An advanced artificial intelligence (A.I.) runs behind the scenes in Hello Neighbor, and it learns from your actions. Bear traps along routes and cameras near entrance points are just two of the ways your neighbor can stop you, so you’ll have your work cut out for you.

Who doesn’t love Mario? One of the biggest stars of video games is available on your smartphone in a couple of games now, but Super Mario Run is the purest and most true to the original vision, and the one that will make you nostalgic for the first time you played as the Italian plumber. It’s basically an endless runner, so you’ll know what you expect if you’ve played anything like Temple Run. Mario runs towards the right side of the screen, and all you do is control when he jumps. Smush Goombas, break blocks, and collect other characters to play as. The first few levels are free to play, but you’ll need to pay $10 to access the rest.

Supercell is the studio behind huge games like Clash Royale, Boom Beach, and — of course — Clash of Clans, and it also has an excellent arena shooter. Brawl Stars throws you into arena battles against other players, with the aim being to kill as many other players as you can to unlock new characters with unique skills, and skins for existing characters. Like many Supercell games, matches only take a few minutes, which makes Brawl Stars a great choice if you need a quick game on the bus. Unfortunately, it’s monetized, but money tends to only speed your progress and you don’t have to pay if you don’t want to.

Shadowgun Legends was the first phone-based first-person shooter (FPS) to show us what the smartphone could really do. Playing as a legendary hero, one of the Shadowguns, your job is to fight off alien invaders that threaten to end life on Earth. There’s a 200-plus mission single-player campaign, but that’s not the only thing to keep you interested. PR is as important as weaponry to a Shadowgun, and you’ll also need to become famous as a warrior-celebrity to access some rewards. Take part in battles against the computer and even other players to build your Fame and become the greatest Shadowgun around.

We love match-3 games, but they’re a dime a dozen. Therefore, any match 3 game that changes the formula even slightly is worthy of our attention. In Big Farm: Home & Garden, you solve match-3 puzzles to design and renovate old farm buildings, whether your own or your neighbors and slowly build up your own special space. It’s not exactly what you’d call deep, but it’s a fun distraction, and it gives you a good amount of control over the look and style of your home.

Ingress Prime is the second game in the Ingress series, and the spiritual brethren of Pokémon Go. But the two games couldn’t be more different, outside of a need to be played outdoors. In Ingress Prime, you’re tasked with collecting as much Exotic Matter as possible, in order for your faction to gain supremacy over the world. Take over Portals and link them together to create Control Fields, which you’ll need a lot of to gain absolute control. It’s an MMORPG you play in real life, so expect other players to try and stop you as you fight for control.

We knew it wasn’t going to be long before this classic was back on the list. It’s getting on a little now, but Pokémon Go remains a firm favorite for many. You know the drill: Head outdoors, catch Pokémon, train them up, and take on nearby gyms. If you’re successful, you can even out them under new management — yours! With a massive catalog of monsters to choose from and catch, there’s always something new to find, and if you’ve lapsed a little, maybe take this chance to regain your love for Pokémon. One of the first real-world mobile MMORPGs to really take off, Pokémon Go is absolutely worth your time.

League of Legends is one of the world’s biggest games, and you can now play it on your iPhone. If you’ve played LoL before, then you know what to expect — choose your champion and join your team of four other players in a five-on-five battle to push up the map and into your opponent’s base. It’s a simple formula, but the mobile online battle arena (MOBA) is also cunningly deep, and you’ll be looking up tactics for your chosen champion in no time at all. It’s free to play, so you don’t need to pay to access any of the champions. Instead, you can unlock them over time by playing the game.

So, this is a weird thing to see on the App Store under “Games,” but it’s surprisingly good. George Orwell’s classic tale Animal Farm translates well into a gaming medium, and you can now play Orwell’s scathing critique of corruption and totalitarianism in the Soviet Union. Alright, so it’s less of a game than an interactive experience, really, but there’s a lot to enjoy here, and while the $4 price tag is a little bit of a barrier to entry, if you think of this as an alternative to reading the book, this isn’t a bad price at all.