The Stuff Gadget Awards 2022: Mobile App and Game of the Year

where would be smart phones and tablets be without apps and games? Especially in your pocket, because your rounded joy rectangles would be... boring. But just any old app won't do - you want the good stuff. So let's find out the best mobile apps and games of 2022.

Our two best apps came right after death. Until then, 2022 had been eerily quiet in this space. (On Android, read "silent" as "deadly silent.") Fortunately, the end of the year turned everything upside down.

When it comes to games, it feels like the gold rush years are long behind us, with creators working on larger projects now focusing primarily on dedicated gaming platforms. Still, that leaves room to crack indie titles that made mobile shine in the first place.

Mobile App of the Year: Affinity Publisher 2

Serif has spent five years leading a daring land grab in the creative space. As Adobe continued to force subscriptions on everyone, Affinity photo rocked in 2017 as 90% of an affordable Photoshop. A year later, we got the Illustrator- ish Affinity Designer. Surprisingly, both apps were fully featured on iPad, including almost everything from Mac and Windows editions.

Affinity Editor 2 completes the package on iPad, bringing desktop layout creation (similar to InDesign) to Apple's tablet. You might be wondering why you would want this on an iPad, especially when Apple external display support promises are yet to be implemented. But as many creative professionals argue, direct touch control over layouts can be transformative, and the distraction-free nature of the iPad is a boon.

Naturally, Publisher maintains Serif's no-subscribe stance, and there's also a new all-in-one cross-platform universal license for the creative-curious. Pleasant.

Highly Recommended: LumaFusion

One frustration of being an Android fan is watching the Apple crowd get all the new toys. But with LumaFusion owners of Android (and also ChromeBook) devices can enjoy top-notch desktop-quality video editing - and without the hideous subscriptions that bundle largely equivalent apps already on the system.

Although in beta at the time of writing, the Android app is essentially the same as what is has long held a spot in our list of the best iPhone and iPad apps. You get up to six video tracks and six audio tracks, snap edits, and a host of layer effects and color correction tools.

Whether that's enough to propel you into the Hollywood ranks remains to be seen. But there's nothing better to give your videos a professional shine on Android than this app.

Also shortlisted

Emulation is one area where Android is kicking Apple rather than catching up. Daijishō (Android) is a superb interface ideal for casual retrogamers to people who want to turn a phone into a classic gaming machine.

Ableton Rating (iOS) finally brings Ableton music creation software to the iPhone, albeit in a way that feels more like a sketchbook than a full canvas. Still, for getting song ideas you can work on later on your computer, it's a great buy.

Barcodes (AppleWatch) saves you the trouble of fumbling through your ever-bloated wallet for the right plastic card to get into a gym, borrow a library book or secure 0.005p in supermarket rewards, by putting barcodes right on your wrist. Practice! Or should it be wrist?

Mobile Game of the Year: Knotwords

Zach Gage took shape by subverting newspaper-style puzzles and redesigning them for the touchscreen. (Android, iOS) looks like a bunch of miniature crossword puzzles, but play a few games and you'll realize it's something quite different.

Each puzzle is divided into pieces that look like Tetris-style blocks. You receive letters for each section, but they are scrambled. Your job is to place each letter and make sure the whole crossword makes sense.

For free, there is a daily challenge and a set of monthly puzzles. A nifty sharing system lets you post online how you did a puzzle (and how long it took you to complete it). Jump into the full game IAP and unlock additional modes, as well as the entire puzzle archive. Much better value than paper tomes - and more fun too.

Highly Recommended: Horizon Chase 2

Apple Arcade had a good year, with one-thumb eco-adventure Gibbon: Beyond the Treesthe shooting of yu suzuki air tornado and the exclusive motive of Football Manager 2023 Touch. But fast runner Horizon Chase 2 took the checkered flag for us.

Like the original Horizon Hunt, the follow-up is a super-fast arcade racing game, where you race down roads where everyone is strangely driving in the same direction. Aside from revamped visuals, the sequel adds a bunch of new challenges and welcomes multiplayer modes.

All in all, it's like having 90% of a on your phone - or a modern remake of the classic Amiga Where Top of the line on the SNES. In short, it's going very well.

Also shortlisted

Otteretto (Android, iOS) wowed us online and earned a well-deserved place in our best browser games listing. The mobile version builds on the well-based palindromic puzzle of the original with new game modes and global cross-platform leaderboards.

Pawnbarian (Android, iOS) merges chess-like mechanics with dungeon crawling. You take part in turn-based battles on a tiny five-by-five grid, trying to outsmart your opponents through chess piece moves and special bonuses. A unique IAP unlocks additional modes and dungeons.

Automata (Android, iOS) it's more tinkering than torturous pursuit of high scores. You get three colorful, quirky contraptions (and nine more if you pay) and use a single finger to trigger moving parts to help a ball towards a goal - or launch it into the ether.