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The best iOS and Android games of May 2017: Skullgirls, Guns of Boom, Battle Bay and more

Looking back on a month in mobile gaming

The best iOS and Android games of May 2017: Skullgirls, Guns of Boom, Battle Bay and more
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Another month has flown by, which means it's time for us to round-up the best iOS and Android games from the previous 30 days.

We've got an awful lot to choose from, but the best stuff always rises to the top.

Sure enough, there have been some brilliant mobile games released in May. Check these out, if you haven't already.

Guns of Boom
By Game Insight - download on iOS / download on Android

What a pleasant surprise Guns of Boom turned out to be. Here is an online first person shooter that genuinely works on mobile, thanks to its intuitive controls, bright graphics, and tight level design.

Battle Bay
By Rovio - download on iOS / download on Android

More multiplayer blasting came in the shape of Battle Bay from Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds. Think of Battle Bay as a tank game, like World of Tanks Blitz, only set on the high seas with lurchingly convincing wave physics.

Steredenn
By Pixelnest Studio - buy on iOS

It can be tricky making the classic 2D shmup feel fresh, but Steredenn manages the feat with a roguelike flourish. There's a brilliantly flexible weapon-combining system at play here that keeps things fresh, while permadeath keeps you on your toes.

SpacePlan
By Devolver Digital - buy on iOS / buy on Android

If you thought all clickers were dull, unimaginative experiences, SpacePlan has something to say to you. Here you use your steadily accruing resources to explore space and develop new potato-powered technology. Yes, you read that right.

Old Man's Journey
By Broken Rules - buy on iOS / buy on Android

There are some games that just work on mobile in a way that they wouldn't on any other platform. Old Man's Journey is one of those games, as you manipulate a series of beautiful environments to guide an elderly gentleman on his way.

Miles & Kilo
By Michael Burns - buy on iOS

Kid Tripp was something of a classic when it launched a few years ago, and Miles & Kilo is a worthy sequel. Mixing autorunner gameplay with a few nods to the classic platformers of old, it's another winner.

No Stick Shooter
By Happy Robot Games - buy on iOS / buy on Android

The name might riff off the twin-stick shooter genre, but No Stick Shooter really has more in common with Space Invaders - with a little Geometry Wars shape-based target prioritisation thrown in.

Jaipur: A Card Game of Duels
By Asmodee Digital - buy on iOS / buy on Android

Here's another Asmodee physical card game conversion. However, Jaipur isn't the slow-paced, complex game you might be expecting. It's actually rather fast and immediately engaging.

Dungeon, Inc.
By PikPok - download on iOS / download on Android

The second surprisingly great clicker/idle game of the month came from PikPok, to which we'll always be indebted for making Flick Kick Football. Dungeon, Inc. features a beautiful cartoon art style, a clever set-up, and PvP battles.

Arkanoid vs Space Invaders
By Square Enix - buy on iOS / buy on Android

Arkanoid and Space Invaders is the mash-up no-one was asking for, but really should have been now that we think about it. Move your space-platform left and right deflecting the aliens' bullets back at them. Of course!

Skullgirls
By LINE Corporation - download on iOS / download on Android

Our new favourite mobile beat-'em-up, Skullgirls is one of the most comprehensive and thoughtful reworkings of a console game we've ever seen. Featuring a great art style, brilliantly intuitive controls, and slick combat, it gives Injustice 2 a super-powered noogie.

Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.