Pocket Gamer 20th anniversary: Mr Monopoly plays an extraction shooter
Okay, maybe not, but you'd watch that Twitch stream, right?
Of all the recent years, 2023 might be the most fun to say. There's just a pleasant cadence to it, if you ask me. Oh? You didn't ask? Right, you're here to see what was going on in 2023 as part of Pocket Gamer's 20th anniversary rather than hear someone prattle on about the sound of a number. That makes a lot of sense. Sure, we can do that, I guess.
The world of cinema was dominated by two films in particular: Oppenheimer and Barbie, cementing them as a pair for all eternity. Why? Pretty much entirely because they're complete opposites in almost every conceivable way, and that amused people. A fair enough reason, I'd say. I've seen both. They're perfectly fine films. Still, I wouldn't rave about them. Barbie claimed the highest-grossing honour, while Oppie had to settle for third. Chris Pratt, bizarrely playing Mario, managed to pull Barbenheimer apart by sneaking into second.
In music, Miley Cyrus' Flowers was proving popular. It's not as good as Wrecking Ball, but then it's unfair to ask for a better song from old Miley at this point. Meanwhile, Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo also enjoyed its fair share of radio play. Unsurprisingly, both artists had big albums that year, too. As for me, I was listening to Blood Omen by the Raven Age. It's the band's third effort, and it's a decent listen. Not as good as 2019's Conspiracy. However, much like Miley and Wrecking Ball, that's a tall order. It's impossible to improve on perfection, after all.
On PC and console, Baldur's Gate 3 stole the headlines, blowing minds with the sheer amount of depth and potential outcomes it offered. Meanwhile, the Resident Evil 4 remake gave us a chance to spend more time with Leon Kennedy, which is always welcome, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 showed that open worlds can be good if handled by the right developer. For me, GOTY was Dredge, but I'll save talking about that for now since it came to mobile in 2025!
And what of our first true love here at PG? Well, on mobile, it was business as usual for many of the games we've referenced. There was room for a few new players, though, who joined the party as well. And while the whole live service business continued to be the main trend developers followed, some stuck to good old-fashioned premium releases. As such, I’ll highlight a couple of those, too.
Arena Breakout
Escape from Tarkov has quietly grown in popularity over the years, with a ton of people enjoying the whole extraction shooter shtick without shouting about it. Still, it had proven successful enough that Tencent figured there was a gap on mobile they could fill with Arena Breakout. And they were right! It delivered the realistic shooting that Tarkov provides alongside humanity's unrelenting desire to gather fancy trinkets to add to their collection. Shaun declared it the next titan of mobile shooters, and well over 50 million downloads later, it seems he was right.
Honkai: Star Rail
Apparently, miHoYo weren't content with having one smash hit, so they decided to make another in Honkai: Star Rail. However, rather than going down the increasingly saturated open-world gacha RPG route, they created a turn-based one instead. Specifically, one featuring a train that travels through space. And while that seemed outdated in many ways, it was almost immediately a success, with the stunning visuals drawing people in and the turn-based combat proving tactical enough to keep everyone invested.Monopoly Go
I must admit, when Scopely first released Monopoly Go, I didn't get it. Where was the game? I thought. In truth, I'm still not entirely sure of that answer to that question. However, I can't deny that Monopoly has got its hooks in me. There is something undeniably fun here that keeps me coming back day after day. I suspect it's largely how superbly animated everything is. The dice rolls feel tangible, the explosion of banknotes when winning big is delightful, and your piece bobbing around the board is adorable. Everything feels so alive that it doesn’t overly bother me that it’s potentially not a game by the dictionary definition.
Lost in Play
As I've mentioned before, point-and-click adventures do well on mobile. They're perfectly suited to touchscreen controls, and the puzzle-based nature of them means anyone can get involved. No speedy reflexes required. Lost in Play is yet another stellar entry in the genre, as Catherine noted in her review. Story-wise, it focuses on the majesty of a childlike imagination, where everything is possible, and the responsibilities of adult life haven't settled in yet. We could all do with reliving that a bit.Usagi Shima
If I ever met someone who didn't find rabbits cute, I'd probably not be able to trust them. I mean, look at their big floppy ears and giant back feet. They're great. And while cats and dogs are celebrated in gaming left and right, bunnies are reduced to that one scene from the original Last of Us. *shudders* Thankfully, Usagi Shima came along to give them the love they deserve. It's all about collecting rabbits. That's pretty much all you need to know. Or you could read Catherine's review. Actually, do the second thing, please.
Par for the Dungeon
Golf is a fascinating sport. In real life, it's painfully dull. However, use it as inspiration for a video game, and you get some incredibly fun results. Take Par for the Dungeon, for example, where you play as a sentient golf ball armed with a bow and arrow. See? Whatever you think of that, you certainly wouldn't describe it as dull. Anyway, to get through each level, reaching the hole isn't enough. You have to take out all the baddies that stand in your way, which is achieved by bumping into them at speed or by shooting an arrow into their face.
And, as always, a shout-out to a few ports, including TMNT: Shredder's Revenge and Coromon. Of course, I can't cover everything here, so if you're intrigued to see what else was released, check out our best mobile games of 2023 list.
