November's standout mobile releases bring console favourites to touchscreens, including Saints Row: The Third, Monster Hunter Outlanders, and Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble, alongside the first reader-created game to make the round-up, Juno And The Dragon King.
Space Defender: Frontier Squad
Space Defender: Frontier Squad (iOS & Android, free – full game £2.99, Petit Vasseau) blends space-based real-time strategy with a single-stick shooter. Its campaign delivers a full space opera, letting players explore a galaxy in top-down view, shoot enemies, scan planets for resources, and send away teams to harvest them.
Battles start off feeling formless, but as you add ships and upgrade their guns, missile batteries, turrets, and shields, engagements become more tactical. The default view is too zoomed in, especially with many enemies, but the systems work, there is a proper plot and characters, and the upgrades and ship unlocks are compelling. With a free trial and minimal fee for the full game, it is a bargain. Score: 7/10.
Monster Hunter Outlanders
Monster Hunter Outlanders (iOS & Android, free, Level Infinite) brings Capcom's action role-player to mobile with a more socially oriented take on monster hunting, set on the new island Aesoland, where the element radiantite has mutated familiar monsters into new forms.
It offers two control methods: one handles much of the traditional complexity for you, while the other gives full command, which can be a lot without a controller. Hunts are shorter than those in the console games, though larger monsters still take minutes to whittle down. Several slow-to-earn currencies hint at the game's monetisation, but fans who do not mind grinding will find much to like. Score: 7/10.
Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble
Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble (iOS, free, PlayStation Mobile) reinvents the console franchise for mobile with a multiplayer twist, placing the characters in colourful arena-based matches involving shooting, punching, and blowing up opponents.
Players unlock new characters, special moves, weapons, and modes including king of the hill, team and individual deathmatches, and first to collect 300 bolts. Avatars can be upgraded for more damage and hit points. It lacks depth but looks good, has short intense rounds, and touch controls rarely get in the way. It is a shame it was canned before a proper worldwide launch. Score: 7/10.
Doodle, Please! – Draw Physics
Doodle, Please! – Draw Physics (iOS, free – full game £8.99, Ivan Onoprienko) is a physics-based puzzle game where you guide a stickman to an exit flag by drawing bridges, chains, swings, and props. Its hand-drawn look and graph paper backdrop make it feel like playing a living doodle.
Drawing components accurately on a small screen can be tricky, with tiny imperfections deflecting the protagonist or knocking bridges down, forcing restarts. There are many puzzles with varied assault courses, and the stickman gamely scrambles the last few millimetres when items do not line up. A fun set of challenges. Score: 6/10.
Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row: The Third (iOS & Android, £12.99, Feral Interactive) sees the Third Street Saints morph from a street gang into a media conglomerate, an excuse for more cartoon ultra violence. Guns have infinite ammo and massive clips, there are many vehicles to unlock and planes to fly, and the franchise's trademark janky action suits a small screen thanks to Feral Interactive's technical polish.
Silly, sweary, and puerile, it is not subtle, but for over-the-top action and wobbly set pieces it fits well on mobile. Score: 7/10.
River City Survivors: Downtown Of The Dead
River City Survivors: Downtown Of The Dead (iOS, included with Apple Arcade subscription, Arc System Works) is another Vampire Survivors-style game, this time with a Streets Of Rage twist, using two onscreen attack buttons to fight hordes of pixel-art undead.
You balance attacking with collecting experience points, with extras for taking on random events like mid-level bosses or civilians to protect. Special moves become destructive after upgrades, and the difficulty is surprisingly taxing. Short-term objectives, achievements, and longer-term upgrades make progress feel constantly rewarding. Score: 8/10.
Juno And The Dragon King
Juno And The Dragon King (iOS, £4.99, Darren & Robyn Crozier) is the first reader-created, commercially released game in the round-up. Made by Darren Crozier and his seven-year-old daughter Robyn, it is a spiritual successor to C64 classic Flimbo's Quest, with 2D, multi-layered parallax scrolling levels containing coins, collectible letters, secret rooms, and monsters to shoot.
There are no ads or microtransactions, and shops use in-game currency for cosmetic and gameplay upgrades. Difficulty escalates over 10 stages, and it has been play-tested for younger gamers. It may appeal less to seasoned players, but for primary school-age children it is perfectly tailored. We look forward to what this father and daughter team cook up next.
