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GAMES OF THE WEEK - The 5 best new mobile games for iOS and Android - July 9th 2020

GAMES OF THE WEEK - The 5 best new mobile games for iOS and Android - July 9th 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.

As it turns out we're on a massive run of busy weeks of new releases. This week we've had a premium RPG, a PvP auto-battler which reeks of strategy and style, a thoughtful game of befriending birds, 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
Emergent Fates

Available on: iOS
Genre: RPG
Find out more about Emergent Fates
Emergent Fates

When we talk about RPGs, in general, there tends to be two extremes - retro-styled nostalgia sirens or high-budget, overly cinematic beauties. That's not to say that the genre is one where we should judge based on visuals, just that it normally happens. Emergent Fates walks the line between both by having a heavily stylised, drawn art-style combined with a pack of streamlined features.

One of our news team, Cameron, wrote that "Developer Megaphemeral has clearly worked to flesh out the game's fantasy setting and backstory, but from what I played, it never becomes overly bogged down with lore. It feels like it could work as a pleasant introduction to what can at times be a daunting genre."

Emergent Fates is available on the App Store as a premium title.

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2
Wave Redux

Available on: iOS
Genre: Puzzle
Find out more about Wave Redux
Wave Redux

Back in 2014 we called Wave Wave "Excellent" and awarded it a Silver Award when we reviewed it. Well, six years later developer Thomas Janson is back with Wave Redux, a spiritual successor - of sorts - to the original title.

The main difference is that Wave Wave was tough as nails, born in a time where people were regularly chanting the names of turbo-tough arcade experiences. Wave Redux is far more relaxed and chilled out - especially in the included Chill Mode.

If you've not played Wave Wave then, well, it was a game about rolling triangles through geometric space, all while the camera twists, music blasts and colours shift. As it turns out, slowed down it's really quite a nice way to spend more than a few minutes.

Wave Redux is available as a free to play game on the App Store.
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3
Battle Legion

Publisher: Traplight Games
Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Action, Multiplayer, Strategy
Find out more about Battle Legion
Battle Legion

Battle Legion is the latest game from Big Bang Racing developer Traplight. It's an auto battler filled with colourful characters and a lot of strategic options. Both of these combine to make it really charming and, well, easy to leave running on your phone.

I've been playing it on-and-off since it released late last week and I've been really enjoying how the battles play out. One of the big things that the developers shout about is the density of combatants, and that's something which adds a lot of depth to each battle as they play out. There's also a wide variety of units, from traps to stunning units, teleporting backstabbers and more. The variety of ways that it can play out make it interesting to watch because the tiniest tweak to a position can see a big shift in your win-loss ratio as you let battles play out. It definitely feels like one to watch.

Battle Legion is available as a free-to-play game on the App Store, similarly, you can grab Battle Legion from Google Play.

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4
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

Available on: iOS
Genre: Adventure, Card/board game, Fighting
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, the Gwent-powered RPG, suddenly appeared on the App Store earlier today. 

It's taken a couple of years for it to make its way over from PC, which, in retrospect, seems like a bit of an oversight considering how well Thronebreaker fits the touchscreen. Much like Gwent, and other card games, it just feels better on the platform. Handily there's cloud saving which allows you to split your save between PC and mobile, and if you do grab the game then you get a bunch of extra stuff for your Gwent deck - if you prescribe to such things.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a premium title, available now on the App Store.
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5
Bird Alone

Publisher: George Batchelor
Available on: iOS
Genre: Virtual Pet/Toy
Find out more about Bird Alone
Bird Alone

Hot Date and Far From Noiose developer George Batchelor is back with a thoughtful, soothing experience about being best buddies with a bird. Bird Alone is all about companionship, and also the absence of it.

It's entirely real-time, and essentially a series of well-written conversations and mini-gaps mapped to the daily cycle. Turn on notifications and your avian pal will ping you a message when they want to talk - for something about an animal, it's incredibly human.

You can grab Bird Alone for $2.99 on the App Store, it's a bargain considering the unique, calming experience on offer.

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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.