Every single day on the App Store is the launch day for some number of games. It's so big and busy that we can assume that's true. Still, a list of new games and a list of the best games to play on iOS are not the same. We try and highlight the best of what's new each month, but make no mistake, some games on this list simply won't budge. They're that good, so they'll be around for a while, we expect. Here are our picks for the best iPhone games.
- The 25 best Android games to play right now
- The best gaming phones
- Best Apple Arcade games
50. Rolling Sky 2
Genre: Auto-runner
Price: Free with in-game purchases
Auto-runners are a dime a dozen on the App Store, so one really has to stand out to earn a spot here. Rolling Sky 2 does just that. This musically-charged auto-runner is brilliantly scored with orchestral music covering different genres and performed by real musicians for this game. There's nothing pre-canned about any of it, and across several different mood piece-type stories, you'll see (and especially hear) it all.
49. Telling Lies
Genre: Adventure
Price: $6.99 | £6.99
Sam Barlow's live-action games have been huge hits on mobile, partly because of how they smartly use the format to tell stories, but also just because they're great games on their own, as evidenced by how they've succeeded on other platforms too. Still, if playing a cool game that will get your coworkers or fellow train or bus riders looking over your shoulder is worth anything, few turn heads quite like Telling Lies.
48. The Room: Old Sins
Genre: Puzzle
Price: $4.99 / £4.99
Escape rooms are another of those genres that never seem to be in short supply, but the simply titled series The Room has long been the best of them. Old Sins is arguably the best in the series, though if you're new to them, you can start anywhere and feel at home with these ingenious puzzles.
47. Clusterduck
Genre: Simulation
Price: Free with in-game purchases
Clusterduck is a difficult game to explain, but I'll try: you breed increasingly weird ducks while strategically mating them to enable the rarest breeds. Think of it almost like very subversive Pokemon, but it takes place all in one area and there's no battling system. You just want to fill out your Pokedex (Pokedux?) with all the rarest waterfowl. Gotta quack 'em all, right?
46. Microsoft Solitaire Collection
Genre: Card
Price: Free with in-game purchases
Once upon a time, Solitaire came pre-installed on some electronic devices. Somewhere, it probably still does. If it's not already on your iPhone, it still deserves to be. As one of the most low-maintenance games of all-time, this collection of Solitaire and its spinoffs provide the solo mode relaxation you may seek when your brain is too fried from the work week or even just other busier, louder games.
45. Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic
Genre: Simulation
Price: $5.99 | £5.99
This might be controversial. There are several Roller Coaster Tycoon games on mobile, and they each have their fans, but for our money, the best is still the old one. Sure, visually, it doesn't hold a cotton candy - er, candle - to the newer ones, but we think it holds up even without the nostalgia factor. And if you do have that, prepare to remember just how fun it is to turn up the speed too much on your roller coaster and watch those patrons take flight.
44. The Simpsons Tapped Out
Genre: simulation
Price: free with in-game purchases
The Simpsons is in a strange place right now. Modern TV watchers don't seem to catch it anymore, or they pick on it when they do, but you can't deny its prior grip on the zeitgeist. Tapped Out does well to keep America's favorite cartoon family relevant by giving fans and newcomers a deep city sim and mini-game collection that feels unique and looks great.
43. Marvel Future Revolution
Genre: Action-adventure
Price: Free with in-game purchases
This visually stunning action-adventure game is the closest we've come yet to getting a fully fledged Avengers game on mobile platforms. It's a testament to how far the platform has come over the past few years, quickly catching up to something like the Switch. While it lacks controller options right now, it's still a lot of fun to play through a third-person, story-driven Marvel mash-up with many of the heroes that have hit the big screen over the past 15 years.
42. League of Legends: Wild Rift
Genre: MOBA
Price: free with in-game purchases
Wild Rift is a remarkable achievement in that it takes one of the world's most popular games and gets it to work on mobile. This is a spinoff, technically, but so much of it looks and feels like the real thing, including a huge and ever-growing roster, that diehard fans and newcomers alike (I am a newcomer myself!) should have no trouble getting the hang of this MOBA thanks to great mobile controls and a very welcoming tutorial.
41. Song Pop
Genre: Trivia
Price: Free with in-game purchases
Playing Song Pop with friends is like sharing control of the auxiliary cable on a long car ride - perhaps I'm dating myself here. Song Pop is Name That Tune without the usage rights on the title. Packed with songs from all genres and eras, you can challenge others to beat you at your own game, or try to dethrone them in categories they are strongest in. For me, I've found it nostalgic (and dorky) to take on my wife to see who can identify more 2000's alt rock and classic hip-hop. Whatever your musical taste, there's universal fun in music trivia where racing for the right answers and song clips themselves are equally entertaining.
Turn to page two for our top 40 best iPhone games...
