Cast your mind back to 2008 – the year that saw Apple’s groundbreaking iPhone 3G launch alongside its industry-changing App Store. Suddenly, users were able to access a storefront filled with thousands of games that could be instantly downloaded to their handset, essentially granting them a portable phone/gaming device that could be carried with them at all times (and not in a lame Nokia N-Gage way).
I, like many people, jumped into this new gaming landscape with absolute enthusiasm, and over the next few years I would take the opportunity to pull my phone out and play a quick game of Doodle Jump, Real Racing or Monument Valley whenever I had a free moment.
Of course, that enthusiasm would eventually dwindle, leading me to abandon mobile gaming entirely. This was due in large part to the limitations of on-screen controls on tiny mobile displays, along with the aggressive monetisation that would make mobile gaming an insufferable grind for those unwilling to succumb to microtransactions.
So believe me when I say that I’m especially surprised to find myself returning to mobile…
