Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
This Week In Mobile – Brevity, Bravery, And Beats
This week’s list features games on both ends of the “pick up and play” spectrum, ranging from a card-based RPG roguelike grinder to a 10-minute-long typing game. Choose wisely (though with this list, it’d be kind of hard not to).
I am a Brave Knight
Developer: Tree Interactive
Platforms: iOS, Android
Price: $1.29 (iOS), $1.12 (Android)
Originally debuting at last year’s Global Game Jam, I am a Brave Knight strikes a chord more Journey than Don Quixote. It’s a typing game at heart, juxtaposing simply-typed words and different phrases they elicit, all following a character’s journey through life. A humble, paintbrush-art style and fittingly emotional score are packed into this short but heartfelt mini-journey.
Beatbuddy HD
Developer: THREAKS
Platform: iOS
Price: $4.99
If you’re not in the mood for emotional games or complex interactive puzzles, Beatbuddy HD’s got your back. A click-and-drag action/adventure game with large, hand-drawn worlds and fully produced soundtracks to accompany each of them, Beatbuddy follows the titular creature as he sets out to reunite with his sisters and stop an evil prince.
Card Dungeon
Developer: Playtap Games
Platform: iOS
Price: $1.99
It’s hard to call Card Dungeon an RPG. It’s also hard to call it a card game, board game, or roguelike, but it’s more or less all or none of those things. Permanent death, card combination, turn-based combat, and randomly generated levels make it look different from how it plays. Its melding of at least a few genres with even more sensibilities makes it an appealing title to gamers who can invest a little more time into their mobile-gaming sessions.
Cloud Knights
Developer: Astrosnout
Platform: iOS
Price: $3.99
Cloud Knight’s controls are easy enough to grasp, but the game is built around loose physics. Players control a knight errant only by swinging his sword, a scheme which requires a little more skill than luck to defeat enemies and progress through the game’s 60 levels. It also includes a single-screen multiplayer mode, which might require a little (a lot) of thumb-squishing to play on an iPhone.
Absorption
Developer: Zhipeng Whang
Platform: iOS
Price: Free
Probably the simplest game on this list, Absorption is billed as an “arcade survival” game. The goal is to stay as close as possible to moving “enemies” to sap their life force without actually touching them or the ever-changing edges of the stage. Sapping several foes simultaneously results in quicker absorption, ending the level sooner. Though it's light on gameplay, Absorption keeps the player’s attention with increasing speed and colorful stages and enemies.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
