It’s Friday and we’re getting ready to kickoff the weekend, and what better way to do that than with a bunch of cool games that are currently available for free. The App Store is host to constant price drops and freebies, but here’s a list of some of the more recent ones that have caught our eye.
8 Ball Pool
Miniclip are the masters of simple, quirky game experiences that feel right at home on mobile. 8 Ball Pool is their spin on, well, pool that features a focus on competitive multiplayer and a level ranking system that ensures you’ve always got somebody challenging to play. This is the first time the game’s gone free since its release in February, and as it’s already shot up to the top of the charts, there should be no shortage of online competition.
Bouncy! Trampoline
This deceptively simple game hooked me pretty hard when I talked about it back in May, and it’s been a staple in my daily rotation ever since. The latest update to Bouncy! added a whole bunch of new trampolines to unlock and new trick goals to complete. There’s also a whole new customization system that lets you buy new outfits and items for your adorable wittle wabbit.
Dark Nebula HD – Episode One
The Dark Nebula series is among the best “ball rollers" since even the early days of the App Store. The IP went through some ups and downs since then, and ultimately the original Dark Nebula games were re-released earlier this year with full visual upgrades and all the modern features of iOS and current devices. This is the first time the re-released edition of Episode One has been free, so jump on it, and if you crave even more then be sure and check out Episode Two ($2.99) as well.
Kid Tripp
If you like super difficult games, you’re going to want to download this right away. Kid Tripp is a hybrid of auto-runner and platformer, but feels more along the lines of a traditional platformer. It’ll take sheer precision and timing to avoid the obstacles, take out enemies, and make your way through each of its bite-sized levels, and expect to die and retry many, many, many times over. The real brilliance of Kid Tripp is the ability to manually sprint, which can really change up the timing of the game and makes it perfect for competitive speed running fans.
Rage Warriors
This is a weird game since I’m not sure if I like it or not. It’s a fighting game that tries a few new things to make the genre work better on a touchscreen device, and it both succeeds and fails at it in different ways. I do really like the characters and environments in the game, and overall it has a really cool theme. The mechanics take a bit to get warmed up to, but before you know it you’ll be slashing and bashing your way around like a pro. I’m just not sure if it has the depth or lasting power that other fighting games do, but for free, and if you can spare the space on your device, it’s definitely worth a look.
SlamBots
Taking inspiration from Happy P’s Revenge (Free) which stars an adorable, umm, poo, SlamBots utilizes the same “bounce around and slam down on enemies" mechanics but fleshes things out with cool powerups and various slamming robots. This is one of those games that is played easily with just one hand and is perfect for busting out at a moment’s notice to kill some time. Also, I much prefer playing with awesome pixely robots as opposed to adorable fecal matter, but that might just come down to your own personal preference.
