GAME TREND OF THE YEAR

Blockbusters reborn

Gaming’s biggest hits are evolving – and bringing generations together.

Great games can’t be constrained by time. They span generations, uniting players young and old in the pursuit of shared fun. This year, blockbusters from decades past were reinvented for the App Store – and got more people playing than ever.

Simultaneously time-honoured and fresh, these aren’t remakes or tributes. Modernised for iPhone and iPad, they breathe new life into some of the most beloved franchises in the history of gaming.

It’s Mario time

Cross-generational play has long been Nintendo’s mission, and in 2019 the Kyoto giant gifted gamers a top-notch duo.

Dr. Mario World is more than a recreation of the 1990 NES puzzling great. It literally flips the script – capsules float upward instead of raining down – but your favourite mascots are on hand to prescribe new power-ups. (Though if Dr. Bowser’s your physician, you might want to get a second opinion.)

Mario Kart Tour reinvents mobile racing while keeping the look and feel of the console classics.

The portly plumber wasn’t content wiping out viruses, however. Nearly three decades after the original Mario Kart sped to glory on the Super Nintendo, Mario Kart Tour powerslid to iPhone and iPad with one-handed touch controls, the art style you know and love, and, for better or worse, those pesky blue shells.

Extreme makeovers

Other all-time greats transformed themselves into entirely new experiences. Ten years after revolutionising gaming, Minecraft has been reborn as an augmented reality (AR) playground in Minecraft Earth. It’s Minecraft like you’ve never seen – or experienced – before. Build massive, life-size structures and walk through them with others – right in the middle of a park, your living room or wherever you happen to be.

Take the virtual pirate ship you’ve built and explore it on a real-world beach with the AR powerhouse Minecraft Earth.

Pick your favourite genre and a blast from the past awaits. Love stealth? Sneak through Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion. Hankering for horror? Track a cunning xenomorph in Alien: Blackout. Searching for strategy? Topple towers in Gears POP!, the first Gears of War game to go mobile.

Role-playing fans battled dragons this year in the spectacularly streamlined The Elder Scrolls: Blades. The world’s best trainers settled scores in the competitive Pokémon Masters.

Even games once thought impossible to realise on a touchscreen broke out in 2019. Call of Duty: Mobile’s jaw-dropping graphics and blazing speed wowed us all. And with customisable loadouts, 5v5 matches and battle royale competition, the game proves to be the real deal.

Back to the future

Games we’ve played for years can leave an indelible mark. Who can forget their first Mario Kart victory? Or that overnight run-in with a Minecraft creeper?

It’s in these moments that gaming connects players of all ages with something truly precious: a rekindled love for their favourite pastime. And that’s something we can all enjoy sharing.

Some games are not available in all regions or languages.