The Wii U handheld integration, an iPad Mini, new Kindle Fire devices, and a bevy of new smartphones, including the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy III, were released in 2019. More handheld/mobile devices and applications are becoming the norm in terms of technology trends and innovation. You can now play online with handheld consoles in a seamless manner. Gaming is no exception. Let’s take a look at what the year 2020 has in store for mobile gaming.

Before I get started on the main event, I’d like to make a quick disclaimer. This list of anticipated games contains both independent and major games, first-time and seasoned creators, and Android and iOS platforms. With that said, any gamer’s particular preference and style should be satisfied by this list.

Mew-Genetics

Team Meat, the indie developers of the popular and addictive game Super Meat Boy, are hard at work on a new project. It’s being dubbed Mew-Genetics. Team Meet has been releasing details about the game every week, like bread crumbs from Hansel and Gretel, giving their followers teasers and nuggets of information one by one. The 11th teaser was released a few days ago. According to a summary of all 11 bullies, Mew-Genetics allows you to do the following odd and bizarre things:

Make a living as a pageant mom. Mr. Tinkles hosted the annual Boon County Cat Pageant. Interact with Mr. Tinkles, Dr. Beanies, Tracy, and Butch, among others. Featuring hundreds of thousands of CATS! Twenty songs have been recorded—a Trinket Display Case with Trinkets Multi-platform. Cryo-Cube 5000 – ideal for keeping cats frozen! And there will be more.

Badland

Frogmind, two Finnish developers that worked on the enormously successful XBLA title Trials Evolution, are behind Badland. They progressed and now have an artistic and aesthetically rich iOS game. It’s a side-scrolling action adventure with an evocative setting. A fluffy, hedgehog-like creature is one of the main protagonists—the scene: A silhouetted forest teeming with traps and other perils. Four-time changes, 12 different power-ups, character cloning, and other characteristics all have varied effects on the gameplay. Many have linked the visual design of Badland to that of Limbo, and if the two games truly share that similarity, Badland is in for a big year.

Assassin’s Creed: Utopia is a video game developed by Ubisoft.

With Assassin’s Creed III set to appear in late 2019, one would wonder if the gaming community is ready for another Assassin’s Creed game so soon. One thing is certain: there will be fighting, assassination, and covert robbery, all of which will provide plenty of entertainment. On the other hand, Assassin’s Creed: Utopia is an iOS and Android game with a Winter 2020 release date with gameplay that is considerably different from the other Assassin’s Creed titles. First and foremost, Utopia focuses on the construction of a “Utopian colonial city.” This is the first game to offer simulation-style gameplay, so it should be a fun change. We’ll have to wait and see.

Wars of the Halflings

Now for a brand-new, mostly undiscovered gem presently in development and available on Kickstarter. Halfling Wars is the long-awaited realization of two brothers who founded ChondroStrike, an indie game developer. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and other outstanding simulation/building/farming games inspired the game. Still, it has its original tale, fantasy characters and monsters, and a wide range of gaming elements. You can construct a hamlet and realm, harvest crops, raise/breed creatures, conquer nearby adversaries, combat your creature against a friend’s creature, place bets on battles, complete missions, play mini-games, and more as either character. You can choose your allegiance at the start: Halfling, Darkling, or both at the same time. 

Dungeons and Infinity Blade

The Infinity Blade iOS series’ first two installments were very profitable and fantastic games. They were created by Epic Games and Chair Entertainment, the creators of the Unreal Engine games for mobile devices. The third installment, Dungeons, will be released soon. The gameplay appears to have been changed significantly, featuring a brand-new top-down view comparable to Diablo and other similar games. Though the battle mechanism will remain, this will allow for more exploration and a broader area.

Axle

Fallstreak Studio was created by recent Chapman University grads and Obsidian Entertainment team members to develop their first game, Axle. The game had its premiere at the IEEE Games Intercollegiate Showcase, where it won first place and was successfully funded on Kickstarter. The Axle is another Kickstarter game that is relatively unknown compared to Double Fine Adventure’s $3 million campaign. You play as Axle, a gear that must “learn the twisting, turning, the hazardous world of machines” to stay alive and find the necessary repairs. It’s a more humorous game than others on this list, but it’s still appropriate for all ages.

The Observer

Jonathan Blow, the designer of Braid, has released a long-awaited iOS game that is still shrouded in secrecy, as is Blow’s custom. The Witness is a strategy game in which you must explore a deserted island while solving challenges. The graphic design is distinct, fluffier, and wispier, with echoes of The Mist and Super Mario Galaxy. Based on what gamers saw in Braid, a sophisticated puzzle structure is a norm for Blow. For additional information, visit his blog.

Those seven titles should give you a decent idea of what mobile games to look out for in 2020. There are plenty of more intriguing releases to look forward to, some of which I’ll cover in a future piece. In the world of gaming, stay tuned and keep a careful eye on 2020. It has a chance to beat out 2019.