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GAMES OF THE WEEK - The 5 best new mobile games for iOS and Android - July 2nd 2020

GAMES OF THE WEEK - The 5 best new mobile games for iOS and Android - July 2nd 2020

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It's that time again! Time for another entry into our long-running GAMES OF THE WEEK series.

If you're looking for the best 5 games which have hit the iPhone, iPad or Android stores this week then you've landed yourself at the exact right place at just the right time. Lucky, lucky you.

With this article, we skirt around the droves of subscription services (Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass, GameClub, Hatch, and all of their friends) which have launched onto mobile platforms over the years. We also don't factor in things like Steam Link or Google Stadia which allow streaming to handheld devices - and would open up this list to almost every game under the sun.

What that means is that our list is a finely curated list of brilliant, fresh titles which you can download and play without subscribing to, or installing, any third-party initiative. Of course, there are some great games on those services, but, let's focus on the stuff that you can grab right now.

It's been another great week for mobile games, with two of my favourite non-mobile indie titles of the last few years making their way to our handheld devices. We've got fast-reflex fighting, anime roguelikes, sci-fi puzzlers and much, much more.

Oh, and remember, that if you're looking to check through some of our previous selections then you can always do that at our Games of The Week Hub, it's a great way to find games to fill out that empty storage space on your phone. Or, if you like your news in bitesize chunks, delivered straight to your palm then maybe follow us on our Twitter.

Anyway, without any further delay, click on the big, blue button below to find out more about our top five of the games which released on mobile over the last week.

Click Here To View The List »

1
Away: Journey to the Unexpected

Developer: Aurelien Regard
Publisher: Dear Villagers
Available on: iOS + Switch
Genre: Action, Adventure
Away: Journey to the Unexpected

I'm incredibly conflicted about Away: Journey to the Unexpected. It absolutely oozes style, humour and charm - there's never a point where I was bored or frustrated through my entire run of the game. My concern was that the game, which is pitched as leaning heavily on rogue-lite structure, is incredibly short and doesn't really feel like a roguelike. Instead, it feels like an adorable adventure game which was wrapped up at the end of the first chapter, rather than at the full, planned five-chapter length.

That said, I find myself reinstalling Away: Journey to the Unexpected at least twice a year on other platforms for a replay, so the $6.99 asking price for the App Store version is an absolute bargain... even if I do always bemoan how quickly I race through the game.

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2
Outsider: After Life

Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Puzzle
Find out more about Outsider: After Life
Outsider: After Life

While there's definitely an inclination for games to shift to 3D when they want to deliver an awe-inspiring, otherworldly experience, there's plenty of titles out there that prove you can create a deep, absorbing alien world in the 2D plane. Outsider: After Life definitely earns its place in that camp.

It's a science fiction adventure game which dabbles in both puzzles and existential dread. Above all that, though it's incredibly atmospheric, something massively helped by it being designed about those long, engaging one-shot cinema techniques we've recently seen manifest in the likes of PS4 exclusive God of War, or award-winning feature-film 1917.

If you're up for an atmospheric sci-fi jaunt then you can grab Outsider: After Life as a premium title on the App Store, or get it as part of the Google Play Pass initiative.

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3
One Finger Death Punch 2

Publisher: Doublethink Games
Available on: iOS
Genre: Arcade, Fighting
Find out more about One Finger Death Punch 2
One Finger Death Punch 2

I'm informed that Silver Dollar's previous first entry in the series didn't monetize itself well at all - leaving it rife with ads. Well, don't let that colour your impressions of One Finger Death Punch 2. The developers have decided to release it as a strictly premium game, avoiding any of the complaints that come with adverts or IAPS.

One Finger Death Punch 2 is, in my opinion, one of the most memorable 'reflex' based games to be released in the last few years. I've been a massive fan (as I was of the first) of the game while I've been playing it on Steam, and the simple gameplay input feels like an absolutely perfect fit for mobile.

But, don't let me try and sell you on it alone, as you can see from the gameplay it's one of the sleekest action games out there - and it's pick-up-and-play, over-cinematic nature is a great fit for handheld.

You can grab One Finger Death Punch 2 on the App Store for $1.99. There's no word, just yet, on an Android release.

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4
Pocket Ants: Colony Simulator

Available on: Android
Genre: Strategy
Find out more about Pocket Ants: Colony Simulator
Pocket Ants: Colony Simulator

There was a point back in the early 90s where somebody decided that you could make a Sim version of everything. The dream, I guess, was to have you zoom in from SimEarth to view SimLife to head into SimCity, swoop around the top of your SimTower in your SimCopter down to SimFarm and there, in the dirt, to find SimAnt. Anyway, that didn't work, but instead, we now have Pocket Ants: Colony Simulator which is an incredibly worthy spiritual successor to 29-year old SimAnt.

It's a fantastic little colony simulator which handles management in a smart, intuitive way - with you essentially playing as the number one ant, which also doubles as a marker or cursor of sorts. It starts with you as, basically, the only ant with any actual idea of what to do, and can end with you commanding an army of soldier ants (and arachnid allies) as you invade the bases of other players and expand your next to make it the best it can be.

Pocket Ants: Colony Simulator is available as a free-to-play game with IAPs over on Google Play

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5
Night in the Unpleasant House

Available on: iOS
Genre: Adventure
Find out more about Night in the Unpleasant House
Night in the Unpleasant House

If wacky adventure games, reflex-fueled fighters, diminutive simulation or atmospheric sci-fi horror isn't your thing then the final entry in this edition might be your thing. Night in the Unpleasant House comes from a team which includes the creator of premier story-telling engine Twine. 

Where Twine, and many of its games, stand out from other narrative adventure formats is the non-linear structure that it's designed for. Night in the Unpleasant House is a perfect underline to that, having you explore a house while investigating the disappearance of your father. It comes with thirteen endings, which range from your planned investigation all the way through to befriending the person who you are sure is responsible for the disappearance.

Night in the Unpleasant House is available on the AppStore as a premium title.

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Dann Sullivan
Dann Sullivan
A job in retail resulted in a sidestep into games writing back in 2011. Since then Dann has run or operated several indie game focused websites. They're currently the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket Gamer Brands, and are determined to help the site celebrate the latest and greatest games coming to mobile.