4. World of Goo HD
Release date: December 16, 2010
Developer: 2D Boy
Publisher: 2D Boy
This game was released for iOS in 2010, which is roughly equivalent to the Cretaceous period of mobile gaming. Nevertheless, it followed up the boatload of awards it won for Wii with a ton of acclaim on mobile, which is why we felt comfortable including it here.
The idea here is to use large balls of … well, goo, as your building blocks to construct things. Those things help you get other balls of goo to an exit pipe, and you’ll want to get as many of them as possible across so you can use the extras in the World of Goo Corporation mode.
I did mention that this game has an unusually sly sense of humor about it, right? You’ll notice it across all five chapters of the normal gameplay and the additional stuff, and it helps propel this game above many of the other puzzle-based games to have graced the App Store over the years.
It’s also worth mentioning that even after the praise thrown its way on consoles and PC, World of Goo HD endeared itself to critics once again for its touchscreen controls, with IGN calling interacting with the goo “an organic experience.” Not too many games earn that sort of compliment.
Why didn’t this game become a franchise? That’s an excellent question, but we’re definitely happy with the one goo-filled trip we got.
Next: Plants vs. Zombies