Apple has named its winners for its 2018 game of the year awards, with a strong showing for indie titles, with the big mobile awards going to Donut County and Gorogoa.
Ben Esposito’s indie puzzler Donut County was named iPhone Game of the Year, while puzzler Gorogoa won out for the iPad. Both are unusual indie curios, a notable choice in a year where mobile gaming was hit in a big way by the arrival of the battle royale genre, with PUBG Mobile and Fortnite both finding success on mobile platforms.
Platforming think-’em-up The Gardens Between won out as the Mac’s best game of the year, and snowboarding adventure Alto’s Odyssey won best game for the Apple TV.
Related: Best iOS Games
Fortnite was thrown a nod in the shape of a win for Game Trend of the Year, an award which seems to be have been made specifically to honour the world-taming battle royale giant. Elsewhere, Apple seems to want to honour games that’ve made interesting design choices, highlighting titles like romance-’em-up Florence and the horrific platformer Inside.
It’s been a strong year for Apple, and it looks set to continue. Apple’s announcement this year unveiling the new model iPhones saw them joined by Todd Howard from Bethesda, talking up the company’s forthcoming mobile title The Elder Scrolls: Blades. That’s been delayed until 2019, but will no doubt draw in fans.
Having played most of the games highlighted, I’d recommend nearly any of them for someone looking to kill some time. You can look at the list here, there are some real crackers and Apple consistently dig up some excellent choices for those looking to game on the move.
Have you played any of the games on the list? Do you have any favourites from 2018? Let us know on @TrustedReviews. Play Florence too, it’s ruddy good.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
