It’s that time of the year. When every platform ever tells us what topped the charts. It’s a wrap-up not quite as exciting as Spotify Wrapped, but we’re always here to find new and useful apps and beautiful games we can play across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Arcade.
Apple on Friday revealed the 2021 App Store Award winners, recognising the 15 best apps and games that helped users tap into personal passions, discover creative outlets, connect with new people and experiences and really, just get through this cursed year.
According to Apple, this year’s winners include developers from around the world whose apps and games were selected by Apple’s global App Store editorial team for delivering exceptional quality, innovative technology, creative design and positive cultural impact.
So here they are, the best games available on the Apple App Store.
iPhone Game of the Year: League of Legends: Wild Rift, from Riot Games.
This game was built for mobile and Riot Games pretty much nailed it with League of Legends: Wild Rift. This LOL epic also got a shout out as the best competitive game available on Google Play.
iPad Game of the Year: MARVEL Future Revolution, from Netmarble Corporation.
MARVEL Future Revolution is Marvel’s first Open World Action RPG mobile game. These graphics render perfectly on the larger screen of the iPad compared to the iPhone.
Mac Game of the Year: Myst, from Cyan.
This is the first game I’m immediately going to play on my MacBook Pro, I can’t believe it’s escaped me until now. Myst is a starkly beautiful island, eerily tinged with mystery and shrouded in intrigue. And I’m definitely intrigued.
Apple TV Game of the Year: Space Marshals 3, from Pixelbite.
Space Marshals 3 follows the Space Marshal crew on their latest misadventure in outer space. It’s a story-driven action game with an emphasis on stealth and tactical combat. It continues the quirky story from the prequels, but you don’t need any previous knowledge to enjoy this one.
Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Fantasian, from Mistwalker.
Fantasian is a classic role-playing experience with over 150 hand-crafted dioramas serving as its locations. If the graphics look familiar, it’s because Mistwalker is lead by Final Fantasy creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi.
What else topped the App Store charts this year?
iPhone App of the Year: Toca Life World, from Toca Boca
Taking out the prize as the number one iPhone app of the year is Toca Life World, where you can create your own world and play out any story you like. I haven’t played this game, but it seems like you can do everything from give grandma a wild hairstyle, to bring a sloth along to a skate park and hang out with friends. It’s actually been in the Apple App Store for 10 years!
iPad App of the Year: LumaFusion, from LumaTouch
LumaFusion was the favourite iPad app this year, which makes sense, given the selling point of the new iPad mini and entry-level iPad was that creators would love them. LumaFusion is a multitrack video editor that’s used by mobile journalists, filmmakers and video producers. We spent a lot of time inside in 2021 and it’s getting easier and easier for us to become content creators.
Mac App of the Year: Craft, from Luki Labs Limited
According to Luki Labs, Craft is about bringing back the joy to writing (hey, it never left some of us!).
Apple TV App of the Year: DAZN, from DAZN Group
DAZN is a live and on demand sports streaming service, offering its sports fan users control and flexibility. The platform considers it an affordable way to watch sport and one that’s all about putting sports fans first
Apple Watch App of the Year: Carrot Weather, from Grailr
The makers of Carrot Weather reckon this is one ‘crazy powerful’ weather app. Known for its quirky remarks and customisable humour, Carrot Weather deserves to be the most popular Apple Watch app in 2021.