Brawl Stars is the next game from Supercell, and it’s coming to the App Store in soon. Can’t wait? You can get a taste of it right now with this animated emoji app.

If you have an iPhone X, iPhone XS or iPhone XR, it uses the TrueDepth Camera in a similar way Animoji do, allowing you to grin and grimace as six Brawl Stars characters.

And even if you don’t have one of those devices, it also functions as an iMessage sticker app, allowing you to brighten up your messages by dragging and dropping fun little images into your iMessage chats.

And then, in December, Brawl Stars drops for real. Our games editors have been playing it for months now, and we can confirm it’s marvellous: a cartoony, quick-fire team game with an infectiously colourful cast of characters.

It eases you in gently; to start, you and your team have got to snaffle as many Gems as possible – first to get ten and hang onto them for a short countdown wins.

Then, as you play more, a whole load of new game modes open up. And new characters are added to the roster as you play too, each with different strengths and weaknesses.

So before you jump into the world of colourful carnage that is Brawl Stars this month, it’s worth getting to know the cast a little with the iMessage app.

Not familiar with how iMessage apps work? Here’s a quick guide:

‣ Hit the Get button below and when you’re done downloading, hit Open and you’ll be taken to the Messages app.

‣ Open up a new message and slide your finger along the grey strip above the keyboard to find the Brawl Stars icon.

‣ Fire up the app and if you’ve got an iPhone X, iPhone XS or iPhone XR, you can select your character and get gurning. Hit the red button to the right and you can record and send your animated emoji to friends and family. Or just tap the animated emoji itself to send it straight away as a still image.