The Apple AppStore Best Apps of 2020 didn’t impress. More subscriptions? No thanks. The best games list, however, are a different matter. The short answer is it is a mixed bag. For the long answer, read on.

iPhone Game of the Year 2020 is Genshin Impact. I heard its fun. An open-world anime romp done in the style of Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild. But, with gambling elements. We can sugar coat it and call it a gatcha game, an eastern term that has the same meaning but not the same stigma as the western loot boxes.

It can be the best game ever made, but I am done with paying real money for a chance to get a digital something that I might want or need. I don’t like the mechanic in booster packs and I don’t like it here. But I would still buy a blind box designer figure though.

Speaking of booster boxes and gatcha mechanics, the iPad Game of the Year 2020 goes to Legends of Runeterra. The best collectable card game I have ever played. And it is available on the iPhone and Mac too.

This is the only collectable card game where I don’t feel like it is a pay to win game. Seriously, that is what most collectable and trading card games are. That’s why I hate Magic: The Gathering. Still love the art though.

Anyway, I can confirm that Legends of Runeterra deserves the award. A card game without boosters! It is amazing. The mechanics are fun too.

You can try it out for free. Heck, you can even play the game without paying a single cent. I know a lot of games says that, but they mean it here. 

Apple went with the safe option by awarding Disco Elysium as the Mac Game of the Year 2020. It is a highly acclaimed RPG set in a unique looking world that is neither wholly futuristic nor fantasy but at the same time isn’t quite present.

It is available on the Mac and the other team and is worth playing. Just look at the unique art style.

I admit that I don’t know much about Dandara Trails of Fear, Apple TV Game of the Year 2020. Yet it looks intriguing. A 2D Metroidvania is exactly the kind of game that I could get lost in for hours on end.

What sets it apart is its ricochet movement mechanic. It looks wind and chaotic, but there is a method to the madness.

Stealthily making its way to the Apple Arcane Game of the Year is Sneaky Sasquatch. And you know what? If this game is available on more platforms, I bet it would be bigger than it currently is.

Best played on a large screen this open-world adventure stealth game is full of secrets, choices, and surprises. If you have an apple device and is subscribed to the Apple One plan, please give this game a chance. There is a very good reason why Apple keep using this game’s imagery in the Apple Arcade section of the app store. It is full of charm, layers of fun, and discovery.