Recommended: 5 Great Mobile Games We Played in December

2018 has come to an end. Last month we saw a lot of awards from the big show, The Game Awards and plenty from the smaller one, the Google Play Awards. From those winners, we managed to try out a few of them throughout the month. So, without further ado, here is the December 2018 Mobile Games Round-Up.

Candy Crush Friends Saga

It has been a good decade (if not more) since Candy Crush made its appearance and swept through a new wave of love and adoration. Since then, it has had a few twists on the concept and new games from this gaming company, King. The latest one is Candy Crush Saga Friends which essentially uses the same Match-3 puzzle concept but adds in other characters to go through their different quests in different levels and each have their own power-up that aids in accomplishing the puzzle goal within the limited amount of moves. Candy Crush always brought colorful joy with its sweet ideas (pun intended) and its quirky characters and this one delivers even more on that level. The characters get to unlock more skins which has their own bonuses. The game has lot of little treasures and bonuses to have and daily goals. It doesn’t feel too different from other Match-3 games but somehow this Candy Crush world never seems to get old. Its this colorful and happy world perhaps that seems to always have this addictive quality to it.

Orbia: Tap and Relax (Jox Development LLC)

Orbia is a casual arcade game where you play as a little orb which you tap to move from one spot to the next as you time to avoid the enemy pieces obstructing the path. It is about focus and timing. There is currently 700 levels to its Mountains section, 500 levels in its Pyramids Section and a new section is in development while another one is unlocked as a reward for connecting to Facebook. This type of game is ripe for on the go mobile gamers because its a one touch control but also has a little more depth as certain quests achieved (which usually consists of making it to a certain level will unlock new skins which will give a different bonus or boost. It is also very cute to see in a Badlands sort of way which is a plus in its visual aspects.

Faraway 3: Arctic Escape (Pine Studio/Snapbreak)

While we have looked at Faraway and Faraway 2: Jungle Escape in full reviews, Faraway 3: Arctic Escape is generally the same concept. It takes it to an Arctic snow zone setting. The goal of the game is to maneuver and solve puzzles to unlock the door in each level in over to be transported to the next level. There are a few twists in the puzzles we usually see in this third instalment. The story still has notes scattered about which are more or less not too coherent. For fans of the games, it is still a clever addition to the Faraway series. Half the game is available for free and the second half has to be paid to unlocked, just like its previous installments.

Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment/Square Enix)

Life is Strange has been around for a few years and has landed on all platforms. While we’ve previously reviewed Life is Strange on consoles, this year’s Google Play Awards gave it recognition for innovative on how the game transfers smoothly to mobile devices. With that said, it was inevitable to give this game that the Game Warp team loves a go. The first episode is available for free and it is also the episode that was played for this review.

What works here is the flexibility for movement, you have a choice at the beginning on whether to tap to move or use an on screen joystick. Having those options are great. The graphics also transfer very well. The game did crash out once in the first loading screens however the game in general still feels very much as immersive as on console with the choices also being easy to navigate. The only thing here that became quite a hassle was moving around during time travel moments which took some getting used to. Other than that, Life is Strange for mobile devices does translate well enough plus it always great to have more ways to let others experience the fantastic world of Arcadia Bay and its characters.

Murder in the Alps (Nordcurrent)

Graphic novel narrative, voice over for its characters, hidden objects and puzzles with mini games gameplay: Murder in the Alps creates a great balance. The only catch is that it works on accumulated energy. While it doesn’t show how much energy is used for each movement, it does feel like everything costs some level of energy. However, there are collectibles and achievements which also earn energy as well as walking away and giving it time will build up the energy meter again. Aside from that which prevents from sitting down and playing through the game in one sitting (unless you want to pay), the game itself has a lot of polished aspects, be it the graphic novel art style and conversational narrative or voice over for everything. Plus it has the perks of not being solely hidden objects game but has other puzzles and mini games which also gives it some depth and variety in gameplay.