The best Apple Arcade games you should play right now

If you’ve played Enter the Gungeon, then you absolutely need to give Exit the Gungeon a shot. This sequel is a bullet-hell-style game where, rather than diving further and further into the titular gungeon, you’re climbing your way out. It’s still got that rogue-lite style element of runs never being the same but now framed as a 2D side-scroller as opposed to the top-down, floor-based layout of the original. All the main characters are back, plus new and old enemies, bosses, and items. This is a shorter experience, making it great for bite-sized attempts.

This deliciously dark point-and-click adventure game is beautifully made with an incredibly quirky art style and moody music. You have to explore a map, meeting odd characters as you go, and work out how to get the things you need to progress. The local innkeeper wants a cooked fish in exchange for a bottle of booze, for example, but things get an awful lot stranger than that. The animations, sound effects, and voice acting make the testing process — as you try out different objects on different characters — genuinely fun and sometimes hilarious. The controls are simple taps, and objects and characters that join you are denoted by cards and stacked in your inventory at the bottom of the screen; it’s a clever, simple design that works perfectly on an iPhone or iPad. The makers, Amanita Design, were the creative force behind Machinarium and Samorost. Because there are so many possible interactions and 45 achievements to collect, Pilgrims also offers good replay value.

Billed as “Golf for people who hate golf” this clever puzzle game is enormously fun and it confounds your expectations at every turn. At first glance, it appears to be a golf sim, but as soon as you start playing the surprises come thick and fast. The only thing that remains constant is the basic pull back, aim, and release mechanic, which is perfect for touchscreen control. What you’re actually firing across the screen, your view on it, and the obstacles in your way all change from one level to the next. It’s wonderfully well presented, with a lot of witty gags that will make you laugh out loud, and a host of game references and tributes. There are lots of puzzles to beat, some easy, some really tough, but you don’t have to beat everything to progress, so if you’re stumped you can simply move on. While some Apple Arcade games are best enjoyed on an iPad with a game controller, this is a perfect game to play on your iPhone.

Beautifully animated and well-designed, this game immediately draws you in and doesn’t let go.  You’ll run, fly, and guide skateboards, motorbikes, and even a deer through a smooth, super stylish, psychedelic, indie-pop dreamscape that pulses along with the music. Ostensibly, you’re guiding a girl with a broken heart as she races through spectacular neon landscapes grabbing heart-shaped shards, avoiding obstacles, and trying to defeat enemies. There’s also Tarot card styling and narration by Queen Latifah. The gameplay is mesmerizing as it challenges you to time your taps and swipes correctly but offers forgiving instant replays if you mess up. Clearly inspired by Rez, this game leans a little more towards style than substance, but it’s so nicely made and such immersive fun that it’s well worth at least one playthrough, which should only take you about an hour, though it’s likely you’ll be back for more.

A stunningly beautiful and thoughtful puzzle game, Where Cards Fall is an unmissable Apple Arcade title. Your task is to guide the unnamed protagonist through a series of levels, helping him get from point A to point B, and you can collapse and expand houses of cards to help you do it. Muse a little more on the strange cutscenes in between and you can see that this is a journey through time, as well as space. It’s a dreamy coming-of-age tale that riffs on the importance of memories, but it’s also an engaging spatial puzzler that will have you swiping and pinching to try and unveil the way forward. Naturally, your journey gets trickier and requires more thought the further you progress.