Last year when the iPhone 7 came out, we posted this article detailing some of the most graphically impressive games on the App Store to stretch the legs of the increasingly powerful GPUs inside of these devices. With today's launch of the iPhone 8, we've assembled another article that has been updated with some new games that will be great for pushing the limits of the iPhone 8.

Oddly enough, the Infinity Blade trilogy is still some of the best eye candy available on the App Store, and chances are if you've been an iOS gamer for a while now you own at least one of the Infinity Blade games if not all three. If you're looking for cool games for your iPhone 8, definitely hit up our list.


While a whole bunch of new iOS games were released this week, the iOS port of The Witness is without a doubt the biggest. Whether or not it's the best is up for discussion, as our 4.5 star review of the game has been far more controversial than we originally expected.

If this is the first you've heard of The Witness, a great way to describe the game is that it's a modern version of Myst from the creator of Braid. It takes place on a mysterious island filled with puzzles at every turn, and even the island itself is a puzzle. The Witness sells for $39.99 on every other platform it's on, but the same great game can be played on your iPad or iPhone for $9.99 — a pretty great deal, overall.


We've been following classic iOS games that are still in need of 32-bit updates, and when we had all but given up on 2K to update any of its titles (given how Bioshock was left to die on the vine), XCOM: Enemy Within gets updated. The entire XCOM series of games is pretty legendary in its own right, but it'd be easy to argue that Enemy Within is among the best strategy games (if not the best strategy game) available on the App Store.

We reviewed the game back when it was originally released in 2014, and it's really only gotten better over the years. XCOM really pushed 2014's iOS devices to the limit, but after a few years of hardware releases, the game just sings on modern devices like the iPad Pro. With a 64-bit update, it's reasonable to assume XCOM should work until whatever the next massive compatibility event that happens in the world of iOS is, which hopefully is a few years off still.


Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story is another great game that hit the App Store this week. It's the sequel to A Normal Lost Phone which was a hit when it was first released (the original game is also now on sale for a buck). Both games are mysterious puzzlers with the basic premise of the player finding someone else's phone, and exploring the story by going through the various "apps" in the game.

It's an interesting feeling, as even though the text messages, emails, and other aspects of the games are all fake, playing at times seems oddly invasive as phones have evolved to be an ultra-private treasure trove of (in this case, made up) personal information that you're sifting through. Another game which does a similar thing but in a more hacker-ish setting is the Mr. Robot:1.51exfiltrati0n.ipa — all three are worth checking out.


The App Store is assembling an oddly complete collection of Phoenix Wright games, and this week Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice joined the rest of the titles available on mobile. The way these games are structured is the first episode is a buck, then the rest of the game's content is unlocked via a $15 IAP.

The Phoenix Wright series has been adored on Nintendo handhelds, and it's really cool being able to play them all on the iPhone. They all feature different legal mysteries which must be investigated, then argued in court. It's a super unique experience that you simply must try if you've never played one. It doesn't really matter too much what order you play them in, so you can just hop right into this most recent release.


Continuing right along with awesome games released this week is Crescent Moon Games' Morphite. The title has easily become the most anticipated game in the TouchArcade community, and so far it seems to deliver on the promise of being a mobile (and potentially better) spin on No Man's Sky. It's an open world planet exploration game where you wander around in a procedurally generated world completing missions, discovering civilizations, cataloging creatures, and a ton more. Morphite also launching this week has made this one of the best weeks for iOS game releases in recent memory.


I've mentioned it a few times in these roundups, but the Minecraft: Pocket Edition "Better Together" update is now live. It adds full cross platform play between iOS, Android, Windows 10, Xbox One, and (eventually) the Nintendo Switch. Regardless of what platform you're on, you can play together with friends in the same world.

Also, in order to make cross-device play easier, the update also adds Invite Links to the game, custom URLs you can generate that are unique to your Realm and will allow friends who use them to jump straight into the world even if the owner isn't online. The mobile marketplace is also getting more stuff, bringing it in line with the features and functionality of the "full" versions of Minecraft on other platforms. I really wish more games were this friendly in regards to not caring what platform you're playing it on, as long as you're playing it.


We're still on the fence about the usefulness of ARKit in games, but if you're really itching for a cool AR game, the creators of Zombie Gunship released Zombie Gunship Revenant, which uses whatever surface is nearby as the game world for your AC-130 to rain hell down upon. It's neat, but again, we've yet to really see an ARKit game that really does something truly amazing. As cool as Revenant is, all you're really doing is controlling the camera by moving your iPhone instead of swiping the screen with your finger.

That's about it for this week when it comes to the biggest stories in the world of iOS gaming. All of the games mentioned in this roundup come with strong recommendations from us, and you really can't go wrong with any of them. This is definitely one of those weeks that triples down on proving just how wrong people are when they say there are no good mobile games. Anyway, as usual, for all this and more be sure to stop by TouchArcade.com.

Top Rated Comments

Rochaeliseo Avatar
79 months ago
It’s too bad XCOM no longer works on iOS 11.

Edit: I see there’s an update for XCom now. Makes me really glad because I was on beta iOS 11 for awhile and couldn’t play it. I thought I wouldn’t be able to again.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Details: Action Button, USB-C Port, Face ID, and More

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 for All iPhones and iPads

Tuesday September 26, 2023 12:47 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates, with the software coming five days after the releases of iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1. Today's iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates arrive as build 21A351 and can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Note that iOS 17.0.2 was previously made available for iPhone...
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.1 Beta 1

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:57 pm PDT by
Just a week after releasing iOS 17, Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 17.1 to developers. iOS 17.1 adds some features that Apple promised were coming to iOS 17 in the future, plus it refines and improves some existing features. This guide covers everything new in the first iOS 17.1 beta. Apple Music Favorites You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Concerns Highlighted in Two More Reports

Thursday September 28, 2023 6:25 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max overheating concerns continue to make headlines this week, with the topic highlighted by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Both of the reports document anecdotal complaints from customers, and outline potential causes, but it's unclear how many devices are actually affected. Bloomberg said the overheating could be caused or compounded by the iPhone's setup...
iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

Kuo: iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issues Likely Due to Thermal Compromises, Not 3nm Node

Tuesday September 26, 2023 9:12 am PDT by
Complaints about heat issues with the iPhone 15 Pro models are not related to TSMC's 3-nanometer node that was used for the A17 Pro chip, according to well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says that overheating could be caused by "compromises made in the thermal system design" that allowed Apple to cut down on the weight of the iPhone 15 Pro models. Kuo says that the reduced heat...
iPhone 15 USB C Port Keynote

Some USB-C Power Banks Fail to Work With iPhone 15

Thursday September 28, 2023 2:06 pm PDT by
Apple added a USB-C port to the iPhone 15 lineup this year, allowing it to work with USB-C cables, USB-C power banks, and more. It turns out that some USB-C battery packs are not working properly with Apple's iPhone 15, resulting in charging issues. As highlighted on Reddit and the MacRumors forums, not all existing USB-C power banks can be used with the iPhone 15 models, perhaps due to the...
Mac Gaming

Apple Explains How Game Mode Works in macOS Sonoma

Wednesday September 27, 2023 2:24 am PDT by
In macOS Sonoma, Game Mode prioritizes CPU and GPU performance for gaming purposes on Macs. For those unfamiliar with Game Mode, Apple on Tuesday published a support document providing more information on how to use the new feature. Game Mode optimizes your gaming experience by giving your game the highest priority access to your CPU and GPU, lowering usage for background tasks. And it...