The Wrapp - Cracking codes, colliding realms, and making dawn

Welcome back to The Wrapp, our weekly gaming feature where the Pocket Gamer staff discuss what they're playing over the next few days. It's the first edition of 2026, and we're off to a great start. Catherine's putting her code-breaking skills to the test while Shaun is fraternising with sky bison. Elsewhere, Will is wading his way through Dawnmaker, and I've fallen in love with Into the Breach all over again.

Catherine Dellosa

Reviews Editor

I’m getting back into the swing of things with TR-49, which - even though I’ve already installed it on my device for review access - still baffles me as to what exactly it is. But given how I absolutely adored Overboard!, I can’t wait to give inkle’s new adventure a go this weekend.

Outside of mobile, I’ve got my eye on Tiny Bookshop, where you get to run a second-hand bookstore and recommend books to the lovely townsfolk. The premise is already everything I could ever want in a cosy sim, but because the holiday rush has effectively drained my wallet, I’m going to have to wait for it to go on sale. Ah, the harsh realities of life.

Shaun Walton

Staff Writer

For the past two weeks, I was relentlessly playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, rinsing everything I could out of the Double EXP events in a bid to level my crafting alts. I will still be continuing this journey over the weekend, but now that the event is over, I am free to slot in some other games too.

And I know exactly what I want: Avatar Legends: Realms Collide. I am not the biggest fan of these types of games; I think the building queues get too ridiculous and boring. However, I love the Avatar series, and Tilting Point recently released the Companions system. You can get your own sky bison. I want my own Appa! But I will reverse the name, so Aang doesn’t realise I stole it. I see no flaw in this plan...

Dann Sullivan

Editor in Chief

I’ve yet to fully shift gears back to mobile gaming following the break. In the last Wrapp, I said that I’d been messing around with State of Decay 2 with some buddies. I have continued that and am about to finish my first Dread difficulty run-through, which hasn’t been easy and has required a lot of careful planning.

I imagine that, should I actually get back to mobile this week, it’ll be through Cult of the Lamb, which was a solid port that I really enjoyed the feel of. Regardless, I’ll almost certainly have something new to write about next week. 

Iwan Morris

Staff Writer

Once more, you’ll be sad to learn my mobile gaming is more on the casual end. I do have Shotgun King downloaded from when it was free on the Epic Games Store, though. But my time is going be taken up with more writing for the Aliens TTRPG scenarios I have planned.

I think that this year is going to be a good one for mobile gaming. Or at the very least, the more interesting launches outside what I hesitate to now call ‘AAA’ mobile. Vampire Crawlers is definitely going to be my one to watch for obvious reasons if you read this Wrapp frequently.

Will Quick

Freelance Writer

It's a brand new year, which means it's another full chance to dominate the mobile market! We got the skills and the smarts to climb to the top, and I'm gonna toss my stats into the pile. We're already off to a good start with Epic making Bloons 6 TD the free game (even though they confusingly didn't make it the mobile version), and new releases coming out every '26 crevice, and we just gotta snatch them up. I've already been fortunate enough to be set on the trail of two such titles.

I've got to strategise my way through Dawnmaker on iOS and then follow the text-based journey of Knight & Dragon on Android. Time to head for the top!

Stephen Gregson-Wood

Deputy Editor

Belated Happy New Year! We're still in the early knockings of January, and it already feels like it's going to be an excellent 2026 for mobile gaming. Ball x Pit, AFK Journey: Homestead, and Shotgun King are but a few examples that have already caught my attention, with some undoubtedly slipping my appalling memory. 

I wanted to shout what's to come, mostly because what I'm currently playing hasn't changed. Since we last spoke, I have played a frankly obscene amount of Into the Breach. Its constant autosaving and turn-based nature make it great for dropping in and out during the day. It's a perfect fit for phones and is rapidly tailing Retro Bowl for the no-doubt prestigious title of Stephen's favourite mobile game.