GAMES OF THE WEEK - The 5 best new mobile games for iOS and Android - September 17th 2020
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.
This week we've got everything from jumping arachnids to a physics-based wrestling game, that said we do also stop off at a sword-flinging arcade game, a beautiful art-puzzle game and a brilliant battle-chess game along the way.
Remember, 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 Twitter or join our Discord.
Anyway, without any further delay, click on the big, blue button below to find out more about what we believe to be the top five of the games which released on mobile over the last week.
1
Swordshot
Easy to play but hard to master, Swordshot has you launching swords at progressively harder enemies, carefully timing your assaults so that the swords fly through the various objects which are orbiting the enemy. It's a game of careful timing and perfect skill which perfectly encapsulates the risk-reward loop that keeps many of us playing games.
2
Auto Brawl Chess
We mentioned Auto Brawl Chess earlier in the year, as part of our LaunchPad event, specifically relating to the Android release. Well, the popular auto-battler is now available (after a light rebrand) on iOS as well. For those unaware of the game, it pulls together auto-chess, hero-collection and merge mechanics to make for a very interesting tactics game filled with almost infinite play combinations.
3
Arachnowopunk
A cutesy spooky setting and simple, single-button controls are two of the reasons why Arachnowopunk really works as a bitesize, auto-running platform-puzzler. It's probably one of the most fun entries into the genre in the last few years, and while its retro-inspired visuals might put some off, there's a brilliant game working on deliberately minimal mechanics going on here.
4
The Unfinished Swan
If you've been fancying the idea of exploring stark, cold architecture and bringing them to life with splashes of colour then - frankly - you've probably already played The Unfinished Swan through it's previous Sony-exclusive releases. If not then now is the time to grab it as it's just launched on iOS and at under $5 it is a complete steal.
5
Rowdy City Wrestling
It's been two years since Colin Lane released Rowdy Wrestling, a hilarious physics-based wrestling game. In that time it turns out that he's been working on, among other things, a follow-up which includes an equally fun career mode and some light RPG mechanics tied to your winnings. That follow-up, Rowdy City Wrestling, is available now on iOS, and it's free to play, so if you enjoyed the first then there's no reason to not grab it.