While the point-and-click genre of adventure games will probably never be as popular as it was in the 90s, adventure games, in general, are seeing a renaissance. The App Store is full of remastered classics as well as new-school adventure games that experiment with different forms of story-telling, taking advantage of the Internet and touch-screen displays. This article is a glimpse into the thriving world of iPhone adventure games in 2024 and beyond, featuring cult classics alongside recently released titles.
The App Store itself has thousands of adventure games to choose from. That said, it’s just so difficult to play them all, let alone find one that you really like. But that’s why we compiled and created this guide for you — to show you seven of the best adventure games that you can download with confidence for the iPhone today. Let’s dive right in.
Best iPhone Adventure Games
1. Bard’s Tale
If you’re looking for a lot of fun, you cannot go wrong with The Bard’s Tale. This is a role-playing and adventure game that will give you hundreds of hours of content to play through. It’s actually rated as the #1 role-playing game in 75 different countries.
The premise of the game is that you are the Bard, a self-aware rogue tired of all of the side quests, monster hunting, and grinding that role-playing games go. The game is made with some excellent dialog, providing you with a comedic and entertaining time. There are tons of quests and characters that you can fight with, and plenty of unique items that you can outfit your bard with.
Download it now: here
2. Broken Age
And then there’s Broken Age, almost one of the most unique titles on the App Store. Created by Double Fine, this is a point and click adventure game filled to the brim with puzzles, brilliant voice acting, and state of the art graphics.
The premise is actually pretty simple. You play as Vella Tartine and Shay Volta, two teenagers in strangely similar situations, but “radically different worlds.” The player can freely switch between their stories, helping them take control of their own lives, and dealing with the unexpected adventures that they come across. This game will actually work fine on the iPad and the iPhone.
Download it now: here
3. The Walking Dead: The Game
Based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard, The Walking Dead: The Game is an episodic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games, a California-based game development studio also known for Game of Thrones, Minecraft: Story Mode, Batman: The Telltale Series, and a series of CSI games.
Apart from iOS, the game is also available on Android, Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Even though it takes place in the same fictional post-apocalyptic world as the original comic book, most of the characters are original to the game.
Players assume the role of Lee Everett, a professor of history at the University of Georgia and a convicted murderer, and, along with a young girl named Clementine, embark on a quest for survival in a hostile world filled with deadly undead and even more dangerous living and breathing human beings.
The core gameplay mechanics revolve around choice. At certain points, players can make far-reaching decisions that completely alter how the story will progress. Not only does this make the game highly replayable, but it also increases the immersion ten-fold.
Download it now: here
4. Her Story
Developed and directed by Sam Barlow, the writer and designer of Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Her Story is an award-winning adventure game that uses live action footage together with an innovative approach to narrative.
The story is presented from the point-of-view of a person who controls a computer with an old desktop environment to search and sort through a database of video clips from police interviews, using the clips to solve the case of a missing man. The man in question is Simon Smith, and the interview tapes feature his wife, Hannah Smith. Simon has been murdered, and Hannah is the prime suspect, even though she has a reasonable alibi.
The game was simultaneously launched on 24 June 2015 for Windows, Mac OS X, and iOS. Sam Barlow said that the game is a natural fit for mobile devices. According to Barlow, a sequel is already in development and should be released this year as a spiritual successor to Her Story, sticking with full-motion video as the game’s core gameplay mechanic.
Download it now: here
5. République
République is a mysterious, stealth-based, episodic adventure game that takes place in a fictional totalitarian state, République. This state is similar to the superstate of Oceania from George Orwell’s novel 1984. The main protagonist, Hope, is one of Pre-Cals, people who were born and raised in a research facility known as Metamorphosis. Hope manages to contact the player, asking them to help her escape from the facility.
To do that, players must use the OMNI View software, which allows them to hack and use various connected devices, such as cameras, doors, and security terminals. As players progress through the game, they can upgrade the OMNI View software to access areas with stronger security.
Camouflaj, the studio behind the game, wanted to do something about the lack of AAA titles on mobile devices and make something that could rival even the best PC adventure games. The first episode of the game has received 77/100 on Metacritic based on 34 reviews, which clearly shows that République is one of the best iOS adventure games. The studio now wants to bring République to Nintendo Switch, although they have yet to announce a concrete release date.
Download it now: here
6. Grim Fandango Remastered
Just like The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango is one of the most cherished adventure games ever released. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics on pre-rendered backgrounds. The art style could be described as a mixture of Aztec belief of afterlife with film noir’s grim and gritty atmosphere.
Grim Fandango is set in the Land of the Dead, where players play as Manuel “Manny” Calavera, a travel agent at the Department of Death who must work off a debt. Manny’s actions can be controlled using intuitive touch-based gestures, and the gameplay mechanics include puzzle-solving, exploration, and humorous conversations with other characters.
The game uses the infamous GrimE engine, which is known for being notoriously buggy and nearly impossible to run on modern operating systems, let alone mobile devices. The remastered version has fixed all compatibility issues and added re-painted, hi-res character textures, dynamic lighting, re-recorded musical score, over 2 hours of developer commentary, and a concept art browser.
Download it now: here
7. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the most famous and beloved classic adventure games ever released. It was developed and published by Lucasfilm Games in 1990, featuring a young man named Guybrush Threepwood, who has a dream to become a fearsome pirate.
Back in the day, The Secret of Monkey Island was one of the first adventure games to completely avoid death as a gameplay mechanic, instead encouraging exploration. And you can be sure that there’s a lot to explore in The Secret of Monkey Island. The game takes place on Mêlée Island, where Guybrush encounters many memorable characters and humorous situations.
Indeed, the humor of the game is one of its strongest points, with some dialog lines ascending into the hell-of-fame of adventure game humor. The Special Edition of the game features a new art style, a remastered musical store, full voiceover, an in-depth hint system to help players get through the game without the use of a walkthrough, and various minor improvements. Those who would like to experience the game in its original form can switch between the updated version and the original classic version with a single tap on the screen.
Update: This app has been removed from iTunes
Best iPhone Adventure Games Verdict
Here we’ve shown you seven of the best adventure games available for the iPhone. There are countless games on the App Store available for the iPhone, but these are definitely some of the best available. If you try out all seven of these games, you’ll have plenty of content that will tide you by for months at a time.
Do you have a favorite adventure game for the iPhone? Sound off in the comments section below — we’d love to hear from you, and your choice might just end up on our list at a later point!