As we roll into Christmas, we asked some of mobilegamer.biz’s best-known readers what their personal game of the year was. Here’s what they said…
Chris Petrovic, FunPlus chief business officer
I can’t seem to stop playing Harry Potter: Puzzle & Spells. To me it’s one of the most well-crafted match 3 games (IP based or otherwise) that is out in the market. I also find myself still dipping in and out of Call of Duty Mobile whenever I want to get a quick FPS adrenaline boost!
Charmie Kim, Space Ape game lead
It’s Reverse: 1999 for me. I love the way they set the atmosphere and the thoughtful UX but particularly the card merging mechanic they added to the squad battles felt fresh yet intuitive.
Miika Luotio, Appcharge bizdev VP
Having a background in building match 3 games myself back in the day at PopCap and Rovio, I always felt I had missed out on the merge genre which was always a great evolution from match 3 games.
While there’s a lot out there in merge games space, I personally keep going back to Merge Mansion by Metacore, partially also because my daughter likes playing it. It’s a great game overall, satisfying mechanics and visuals. The game evolved a lot in 2023 as well.
Anette Staloy, Dirtybit chief marketing officer
My top pick for game of the year is June’s Journey. I was taking a break from the game after playing for a long time – we’re talking years! – however, I found myself checking in every now and then to see if there was something new.
The team over at Wooga has been real busy adding loads of new stuff lately, so now I’m back on playing daily, both enjoying the gameplay and getting inspiration!
Brett Nowak, Liquid & Grit founder
Monopoly Go may not be my personal top pick, yet it earned the title of mobile game of the year for me. Scopely’s approach is notably audacious, especially in a landscape where many companies are playing it safe due to the challenges posed by IDFA changes. This team stands out for its willingness to embrace the unknown with a blend of boldness and strategic foresight.
Sophie Artemigi, indie game developer
My game of the year is Teeny Tiny Town. It’s a cute relaxing puzzle game that is exceptionally well crafted. It reminds me of Alto’s Odyssey because they’re both beautiful and atmospheric games which still challenge their players. I love the monetisation strategy – free to play, but with the option to upgrade to premium for unlimited turns. What more could you ask for from a mobile game?
Chris Heatherly, Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow CEO
My personal fave came out at the end of last year on mobile, it is Vampire Survivors. As simple as it is, it’s really a masterclass in progression and the power of game ‘feel’. Second would be Stumble Guys. They’ve proven that party games can be a scaled F2P business.
Ruby Spiers-Unwin, Pocket Tactics editor
My game of the year has got to be Honkai: Star Rail. I have played it almost every single day since it came out and worry if Hoyoverse ever revealed my playtime it would be deeply embarrassing.
I love the continuous updates it receives and the fact I’m able to play each event in bite-sized chunks whenever I have a spare moment. I will definitely continue playing for many, many months to come.
Jordan Phang, Naavik consulting partner
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is an oldie but goodie. Why? It continues to scratch my competitive PVP itch with meaningful matches that have high stakes in a way that a three minute Brawl Stars match doesn’t. At 10-15 minutes a match, it straddles the line between being short enough to be able to slot in a quick session in between daily busyness while also feeling like I’m playing a game with real depth.
Wilhelm Voutilainen, GameRefinery senior chief analyst (US)
It’s a tough one for me between Warcraft Rumble and Arena Breakout. If we are not looking at performance graphs at all (so just purely based on my view as a player), then I would give it to Arena Breakout for succeeding with excellent FPS core gameplay and bringing a new shooter genre to mobile, but if performance matters, then Warcraft Rumble would take it.
An honorable mention goes to Stumble Guys for evolving this year, pushing their live event framework with constant unique limited-time modes, collaboration events, and now the map creator UGC mode.
