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Incoming! Our 10 most anticipated iOS and Android games for September

Birds! Vikings! Gamebooks! Wars!

Incoming! Our 10 most anticipated iOS and Android games for September
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Did you know that September always begins on the same day of the week as December? Every year? That's because there's 91 days separating the two months, which is a multiple of seven.

It's not a particularly interesting fact, I'll grant you, but when you're struggling to think of an interesting way to start an article about upcoming games in September, beggars can't be choosers.

And that's exactly what this is - 10 games coming in September on iOS and Android that we want to play. And play them we shall.

Angry Birds Stella
By Rovio - coming to iOS and Android on September 4th

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I'm not sure what it is about the original Angry Birds that makes it so manly, and why girls need their own special pink and fluffy edition. But I've asked the same question about Yorkie chocolate bars.

Stella's all about friendship, of course. But it's also about slingshotting birds into rickety structures filled with green pigs.

Same as ever, then. But we'll at least get a whole new set of powers which will let us bounce off boxes, break glass for afar with a shrill song, magic up a hammer to smash blocks, or do the screw attack from Metroid.

Mikey Boots
By Beavertap Games - coming to iOS on September 4th

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Forget everything you know about Mikey Shorts and Mikey Hooks. Those games were sharp, snappy, brutally hard platformers about bouncing over enemies and sliding under gaps. Mikey Boots is not.

Instead, it's a floaty, more leisurely paced game where Mikey (or the new female hero) can just rocket-powered shoes to soar into the sky, and fall down to earth. And when he hits the ground, he runs forward automatically.

It's easier and more approachable. Whether later levels still hide a stuff challenge for Mikey veterans will be something we're keen to find out in our full review.

The Banner Saga
By Stoic - coming to iPad and Android in September

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Everything about Kickstarted adventure The Banner Saga feels epic, grand, or important.

Like the massive, looming landscapes that your microscopic caravan of Vikings travel across. Or the long conversations, where your dialogue choices can have catastrophic impact on the plot.

And especially the taut turn-based tactics system where fallen heroes are killed off permanently. Even the score by Journey composer Austin Wintory makes this Saga feel like a real saga.

Then again, you'd expect no less from a bunch of ex Bioware (Mass Effect, Dragon Age) designers, would you?

Goat Simulator
By Coffee Break Studios - coming to iOS and Android in September

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Accept no substitutes. The App Store may be rife with clones where you can pretend to be a goat and then run head first into traffic, but September will see the original Goat Simulator land on mobile.

And that's a good thing: only Coffee Break Studio has found that magic sweet-spot that exists between good and bad.

Where the game is glitchy, buggy, and almost broken in a way that lends itself to slapstick comedy, but is also (just about) stable enough so the whole thing doesn't fall apart.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War
By Ubisoft - coming to iOS on September 4th

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Valiant Hearts is not your typical war game. It's not particularly fussed about weapons, grenades, and mowing down hundreds of faceless German soldiers. It's more about the individuals who are caught up in the conflict.

Four individuals, to be precise. This puzzle-filled comic game shifts between four different people whose fates become entwined when they all chase after the same dog, during the First World War.

The stories are inspired by real people who loved during the fight, and the game is infused with facts and photos from the real Great War.

FOTONICA
By Santa Ragione - coming to iOS and Android in September

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This is a slick, stylish, and slightly nauseating first-person auto-runner. It mixes the thrills and spills of Mirror's Edge, with the quick-fire reflexes of a game like Boson X.

It's all rendered in dashing white-on-black line art, akin to Elite and other vector-drawn retro games of yesteryear. But new colours and visual effects are introduced, the further you run.

This game is well loved on PC, and it should be a hit with fans of games like Impossible Road and Super Hexagon when it lands on iOS, sometime next month.

Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
By THREAKS - coming to iOS in September

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Beatbuddy has been described as an interactive music video. Basically, each level in this sublime submarine adventure has a unique soundtrack and the stage moves and pulses to the beat of that song.

So enemies shift about with clockwork choreography and obstacles move in time with the music, and getting about unharmed is all about getting in sync with that level's rhythm.

The music, by the way, is composed by a bunch of top artists including Austin Wintory, Parov Stelar, Sabrepulse, and the La Rochelle Band. Lovely.

Kingdoms
By Space Bears - coming to iOS in September

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Kingdoms is slick, stylish, and slightly claustrophobic.

It's one on one in a tiny field of squares, and you're trying to capture your opponent's king by forging a path of coloured tiles from your base to theirs.

Every move is key. Do you rush an attack on your opponent's king, set a trap to take over great swathes of their territory, or play it safe and fortify your position? And do you use all your tiles now, or save some for a big attack next turn?

Heavy Metal Thunder
By Cubus Games - coming to iOS on September 4th

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As comebacks goes, the reinvention of the choose-your-own-adventure gamebook is even better than seeing Take That back on stage again. Only a little bit, though.

Most of them come from Inkle and Tin Man Games. But here's a new challenger, Cubus, with a new sci-fi adventure novel about fending off an alien invasion.

It's got the usual multiple choice stuff, but you'll also get inventory management, puzzles, and gorgeous full-screen bits of art splashed in vibrant colours.

Smarter Than You
By EightyEightGames - coming to iOS on September 25th

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Smarter Than You, from 10000000 maker Luca Redwood, is a game about lying. It's basically a slight variant on Rock Paper Scissors, but being able to tell your opponent what you will do gives it an ingenious psychological twist.

But that's not the most interesting thing about Smarter Than You.

That prize goes to Redwood's monetisation model, where players can only spend money on other players. If you have a good match, you can tip your opponent and boost their experience points.

It might be an absolute financial flop, but it will at least be an interesting experiment in altruism.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer