Our TOP 10 of the best games of 2017 on iOS

It was once again a very busy year on the iOS game front, with however a major change compared to 2016: the best iOS games this year 2017, for the most part, are not games designed for mobile support at the base but adaptations from either the PS4 or the Steam platform (note that the Xbox does not "provide" games for iOS). Should we regret it? Not really since it means very clearly that the console / PC quality games are coming to the Apple system in droves and that, to put it mildly, a "real" mobile game is now commonplace. Do not sulk his pleasure: The Witness, Grid Autosport or Oxenfree are not only excellent mobile games; they are excellent games, which have already made the happiness of the players on their original platform. Some games really thought for the mobile however manage to emerge, like Iron Marines, Reigns Her Majesty and some others ...

The year 2017 is also the year of big disappointments, which often involve promising games massacred by the implementation of freemium models of a grotesque rapacity. Battle Bay is the perfect example of this drift (our test and especially our note confirms the discomfort) and it is unfortunately not the only one to have fallen into the pot of games whose economic model is thought by financiers ... for financiers .

It is also impossible to ignore the first games based on augmented reality technologies; despite all, ARkit is still a revolution in the making and only one of our top 10 games offers AR functions (GNOG); however, some titles manage to show that real AR games are possible (aRise, The Machines, Splitter Critters, etc.). But truce chatter, and place our ranking of the best iPhone / iPad games of the year 2017:

1 – The Witness

The new title of Jonathan Blow proves that the creator of Braid still had under the pedal. This adventure-puzzle game originally released on PS4 takes place on a mysterious island filled with riddles increasingly full-bodied but still perfectly consistent. Beautiful, intriguing, long and especially intelligent, The Witness is a pure jewel that pushes the concept of Myst to the rank of contemporary masterpiece. The Witness (App Store Link - $9.99 - iPhone / iPad)

2 – Grid Autosport

Grid Autosport has just sent all the competition back to the ropes, and that's a bit of saying it. The adaptation of the title of Codemasters (by Feral) is ultimately a racing game bluffing with realism, whether it is absolutely stunning 3D display that gameplay both demanding and subtle. Dozens of hours of play await the lucky owners of iPhone 7 or iPad Pro (at least). Grid Autosport (App Store Link - $9.99 - iPhone / iPad)

3 – Iron Marines

So far, the strategy game on iOS was declining on the air of XCom. But under the tune of a "cute" strategy game with pixel-art mini-marines, Iron Marines is actually a subtle mix between Tower Defense (and Tower attack) and the venerable StarCraft. The gameplay perfectly designed for the mobile is a real treat and additional heroes add some salt to parties that do not miss. Iron Marines (App Store Link - $4.99 - iPhone / iPad)

4 – I Am The Hero

The Beat them all is back in fashion in 2017. I Am The Hero goes from the Steam platform to iOS ... and the result is surprisingly playable on the screen of the iPhone. With its art direction pixel-art superbly mastered and its varied gameplay (and which especially gives a real feeling of power and blows), I Am The Hero is the proof that we can still do great arcade game old. I Am The Hero (App Store Link - $1.99 - iPhone / iPad)

5 – Oxenfree

Oxenfree is a bit of the Stranger Things of the video game. With his gang of Goonies kids, his beautiful stylized graphics and his fantasy movie storyline, Oxenfree assumes that some radio waves can detect the presence of strange spirits. Let's not fall asleep by the "cute" side of the achievement: Oxenfree offers big moments of thrill. Oxenfree (App Store Link - $4.99 - iPhone / iPad)

6 – Reigns : Her Majesty

The first Reigns had narrowly avoided our 2016 ranking, but this year, his suite Reigns: Her Majesty manages to refine the original concept to the point of allowing him to finally be the little awaited masterpiece. With the addition of "relics" that can affect the "destiny" of cards, Reigns 2 remains a pure gem of tactics and finesse of funny writing, with in addition to the music of Jim Guthrie! Reigns: Her Majesty (App Store Link - $2.99 - iPhone / iPad)

7 – Skullgirls

SkullGirls is the return of the highly technical 2D fighting game ... transposed into a crazy universe where hyper-sexy fighters in garter belts fight giant slide trombones, all on jazz tunes. Accurate, "skilled" and a little crazy, Skullgirls is a favorite who hits hard in the chest, almost as strong as these new domineering devastating special moves. Skullgirls (Link App Store - Free - iPhone / iPad)

8 – Halcyon 6

Few games can mix gameplays of different types of games. Halcyon 6 achieves this with a truly intergalactic grace. Management game, role play, exploration game, space combat game, there is everything in Halcyon 6, and yet this great mix never detonates and brings a unique style. Add to that a charming pixel-art achievement ... Halcyon 6 (App Store Link - $6.99 - iPhone / iPad)

9 – Cat Quest

Cat Quest is the proof that one can "casualize" a genre without distorting it. This action-role-playing game with a graphical and curvaceous design plays the card of simplicity and 100% thought-out gameplay for the mobile. In the end, one of the most beautiful surprises of 2017, and a gameplay immediately "fun" that carries the piece, cut both for long sessions of play that for bus trips. Cat Quest (App Store Link - $4.99 - iPhone / iPad)

10 – GNOG

Our 2017 ranking ends with a jolly and crazy puzzle game made by the creators of Psychonauts. Each puzzle comes in the form of a strange "box" that must be manipulated in all directions in order to get to the end (at the end of which everyone has to discover ...). The colorful atmosphere and a surreal strand add a touch of cheerfulness to this imaginative, unpredictable and playable puzzle game in AR. GNOG (App Store Link - $4.99 - iPhone / iPad)