Best Apple TV games 2017

The Apple TV is more than just a ‘hobby’, it’s a fully fledged television system complete with apps, and even more importantly, games that you can play using the Siri Remote or an MFi controller. Especially now that the Apple TV 4K has arrived.

While it’s tempting to think of the Apple TV as a machine for casual and non-traditional gamers – the sort of device that Nintendo specialises in – the quality of gaming on the iPad and iPhone has risen tremendously in recent years, and you shouldn’t underestimate the power of the A9X processor and Metal software.

Here’s our roundup of the 34 best Apple TV games, ranging from shooters and platform games to puzzles and RPGs.

Note that we’ve put links to the App Store where possible (for universal apps, in other words), but for many of the games below you’ll have to open the Apple TV App Store and manually search for the app you want to download. Sorry about that!

Afterpulse

This highly rated first-person shooter is a great choice for testing out how well an MFi controller and an Apple TV stack up against a more traditional console. The graphics are extremely good, and it’s built with 64-bit and Metal in mind.

AG Drive

AG Drive is a futuristic driving game similar to the hugely popular Wipeout series, featuring high-paced racing across a number of windy, unpredictable tracks with technologically advanced cities providing a rather nice backdrop. The best part of AG Drive? No in-app purchases, which puts all players on a level playing field with no skipping ahead allowed.

The idea is that you win races and upgrade your ship with the prize money, allowing you to enter higher tier races with more advanced competitors and thus, higher rewards. It’s compatible with the Apple TV remote but, for an unknown reason, the developers don’t allow for an auto-accelerate option, meaning you have to hold down the Play/Pause button at all times which can become uncomfortable over long periods.

It’s also a universal app, and is one of a few iOS games that boasts 3D Touch support for the more recent iPhones.

£3.99 | AG Drive on the App Store

Alto’s Adventure

Alto’s Adventure is a serene skiing game, with similar mechanics to the hugely popular iOS game, Tiny Wings. Controlled by the Siri remote, the game requires the user to navigate the skier down the mountain while avoiding dangerous obstacles like rocks and cliffs, while trying your best to collect coins and power-ups scattered throughout the course.

The graphics are understated yet gorgeous, and thanks to its never-ending nature, you’ll loose hours playing this game. The best part is that if you have the iOS app on your iPhone or iPad, your progress will automatically sync thanks to iCloud support.

£4.99 | Alto’s Adventure on the App Store

Asphalt 8

Few people are aware that the Siri Remote has Accelerometer and Gyroscopic functionality. While this isn’t quite the same as the Nintendo Wii remote, it will be great for playing racing games (already a style suited to iOS devices).

Asphalt 8 is one of the best racing games on iOS, and we’re looking forward to it hitting the Apple TV. Turn the Siri Remote on its side and rotate it left to right to simulate a steering wheel.

FREE | Asphalt 8 on the App Store

Beach Buggy Racing

Beach Buggy Racing isn’t a new app per say, but it really comes to life when played on the Apple TV – especially when used with a controller. When used with a controller, you no longer feel like you’re playing an Apple TV game, instead you feel like you’re playing a full-blown console game (with the only giveaway being graphics). Beach Buggy Racing is reminiscent of Mario Kart, with a variety of themed cars and drivers all with special abilities, and power ups available throughout each race to keep things interesting.

Upgrading your car and battling through various collections of races should keep you entertained until your tokens run out, at which point you have to wait, or pay for more – one of the downsides to a completely free app. Although with this being said, for £3.99 you can get rid of the adverts and token system, and play for as long as you desire.

FREE | Beach Buggy Racing on the App Store

Beat Sports

Thanks to the accelerometer in the Siri Remote, you can use it in a similar fashion to the Wii U controller. One of the best games to make use of this is Beat Sports, a game that mixes cartoon sports with music.

While it’s a clear attempt to capture the market that Wii Sports created, that’s not exactly a bad thing: this could be the game that the family gets round the TV to play.

Canabalt

Canabalt is a hugely popular iOS game, similar to platformers like Ski Safari and Alto’s Adventure, except with this game you aren’t skiing – you’re running away from the robot apocalypse (of course). The gameplay is simple, lightly tapping the Siri remote touchpad to jump from building to building, avoiding plummeting to your death. It’s essentially the same game as its’ iOS counterpart, but the big screen and loud music means it’s a more intense experience than when played on your iPhone.

£2.99 | Canabalt on the App Store

Chameleon Run

Chameleon Run is one awesome – but also very difficult – 2D platform game. It’s like a hyper-speed version of Mario, albeit with a twist: to make it to the end of the level, you can only step on platforms that are the same colour as your hero (pink or yellow). Land on anything else and your character detonates on the spot.

Luckily, you can swap colours on the fly with the tap of a button, and Chameleon Run keeps its controls simple with one button used to jump and another for changing colour. However, the challenges built around those controls are downright devious in spots, as you must rapidly switch colours while navigating up and around moving obstacles. Clearing a tough stage is immensely satisfying, though. Andrew Hayward

£1.99 | Chameleon Run on the App Store

Crossy Road

After all the hours we’ve poured into Crossy Road on iPhone – all the hard-fought leaderboard battles and close calls with speeding cars – switching platforms is tricky. It’s such an intimate experience on a touchscreen: You tap and it happens right there. Here, you’re clicking the Apple TV remote and the television is a few feet away. It’s strange. It’s different.

But then we realise: we’re totally overthinking this. Also, it’s free and still super fun, so you should definitely grab Crossy Road on Apple TV, even if you already got your fill on iOS. The big, bright, blocky graphics look nice on your TV, plus there’s a unique perk: A two-player mode, which you can’t find on a touch device. Andrew Hayward

FREE | Crossy Road on the App Store

Framed

Framed is one of the cleverest original games on the App Store, as it builds a puzzle-solving experience around comic book panels that correspond with each other. You must help a shadowy man (and later a woman, too) evade capture by getting to an exit on each screen, and you’ll do so by rearranging the panels to create the correct series of events.

You’ll learn how it all works through trial and error, but then the game throws in curveballs – such as panels that can be rotated, or others that the hero can run through multiple times to get to the end. The stylish noir aesthetic is really slick, and the Siri Remote controls are pretty easy to learn, as you’ll simply use the touchpad to drag and drop the comic panels. Andrew Hayward

£3.99 | Framed on the App Store

Galaxy On Fire: Manticore Rising

Galaxy On Fire has long been one of the most visually impressive games for iPhone and iPad, and Manticore Rising – a prequel to Galaxy on Fire 3: Manticore – looks spectacular.

The gameplay is fast paced, which may be a downside when using the Siri remote, as its motion-controlled nature doesn’t allow for quick reactions. It’s therefore a disappointment that Manticore Rising doesn’t feature MFi support.

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved is a hugely popular shooter available not only for iOS devices, but also on PS4 and Xbox One… and now Apple TV.

The fantastically detailed and vibrant gameplay involves players firing at the AI-driven enemies while evading them by moving around a spherical board and collecting power-ups. The shape of the board changes often, with each one bringing its own set of challenges to the table, and can be controlled either via the Siri remote or your smartphone.

£9.99 | Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved on the App Store

Guitar Hero Live

Guitar Hero Live is, for us at least, the best game available at the moment for the Apple TV, complete with the guitar accessory we all love. Guitar Hero: Live has had a facelift when compared to older games – in career mode, the CGI-based gameplay is gone and has been replaced by live video which changes depending on how well (or badly) you’re doing. If you’re hitting every note perfectly then the crowd and your bandmates will respond positively, cheering and dancing – but if you start to miss notes and loose your combo, the crowd will respond accordingly by not dancing and becoming increasingly hostile with their jeers. Your bandmates start to give you evil looks, too.

Unlike with older Guitar Hero games, the colour-based system has been replaced by something simpler – though it may seem more complicated at first. Whereas before you’d have to strum whenever a red, green, yellow etc. marker was on screen, Guitar Hero: Live features only black and white keys, with three black keys and three white keys directly above them. This makes it more difficult as you really have to pay attention to whether you’re hitting the top or bottom buttons, but once you get used to it, it’s a great system to have.

You’ve also got an online multiplayer mode, with a difference. Instead of going head-to-head with a specific person, you choose from two channels playing (usually very different) genres of music and play along with everybody worldwide instead. Your scores are displayed in real time along the side of the screen, to provide visual feedback on your progress. This gives you more competition, which is always exciting – especially when you’re in first place. The best part is that Guitar Hero: Live isn’t just for the Apple TV – it’s for the iPad and iPhone too. Those of you thinking it might be awkward to play with the guitar when using an iPhone display are correct, which is why the company also provide you with a touch-based version of the game for smaller screens.

App is FREE from the App Store, while controller is £12 from Amazon

Hidden Folks

Where’s Wally? is the obvious inspiration here, but Hidden Folks takes the hide-and-seek premise in its own pleasurable tonal direction. As in those classic books, you’re given a list of people and things to find in each densely-populated image, which might span a suburban neighbourhood or a large forest/campsite area.

And while the black and white, doodle-esque drawings might look simple, they’re actually full of life: they’re delightfully animated, plus there are little puzzles and pop culture references, along with great sound cues throughout. The play-at-your-own-pace design is perfect for the Apple TV and Siri Remote, making this an ideal game to enjoy while lounging on the couch. Andrew Hayward

£3.99 | Hidden Folks on the App Store

Jetpack Joyride

Halfbrick Studio’s hugely popular fly-and-dodge game has made its way to the Apple TV, jetpacks and missiles included. Jetpack Joy is an endless scroller where the player has to avoid oncoming obstacles like missiles and lasers, while collecting coins to upgrade your jetpack and power-ups. Though the concept is simple, the game is hugely addictive and thanks to its upgrade system, you’ll be a jetpack master in no time. Oh, and you’re able to fly a DeLorean in its current release too – pretty cool, eh?

FREE

Lara Croft Go

The kind of big-budget, high-impact Tomb Raider adventure experience we know from consoles and computers just wouldn’t translate well to the Siri Remote (or touch controls in general) – but Lara Croft Go makes a lot of sense. Moving over from iOS, this attractive spinoff takes the iconic heroine and tosses her into environmental puzzles inspired by the bigger games.

You’ll move one space at a time in each level, overcoming or outsmarting enemies while figuring out how to safely reach the exit, and the game smartly layers in new mechanics over time. It’s also a gorgeous-looking game, given a lush, cel-shaded aesthetic that will really shine on your TV screen. And if you dig Lara Croft Go, sister games Hitman Go and Deus Ex Go are also now on Apple TV. Andrew Hayward

£4.99 | Lara Croft Go on the App Store

Lumino City

The hugely popular puzzler for iOS devices has made its Apple TV debut. Lumino City features hand-crafted levels made from paper, which showcases a unique visual style on the big screen that’s unique to this game. The gameplay itself is rather slow paced so if you’re looking for a game where you run through attacking enemies, this isn’t for you, but with this being said it does become more addictive the more you play.

£4.99 | Lumino City on the App Store

Minecraft: Apple TV Edition

Now that Apple allows developers to require a gamepad, the Apple TV finally has the killer app needed to make it a proper game console: Minecraft. Mojang and Microsoft’s open-ended block-building game is a sensation, notching more more than 100 million downloads across platforms, and you can play it on your big screen with Minecraft: Apple TV Edition.

It’s pricey compared to most other Apple TV games, but that’s the price you’ll pay on Mac or other consoles. Besides, this is a game you could pour countless hours into. The survival mode has you fend for yourself as you mine resources and craft tools amidst monsters, while a freeform creative mode gives you the power to shape your own structures and dream up other cool scenarios. Andrew Hayward

£19.99 | Download Minecraft: Apple TV Edition

Oceanhorn

Oceanhorn is, essentially, the closest thing to Legend of Zelda you’ll find without buying a Nintendo system. Though for copyright reasons this is a different game set in a different location to Zelda, you can certainly notice the developers’ hat-tip to Zelda in gameplay. There are many quests to take part in, with a fairly lengthy storyline and although the graphics aren’t quite there, you still get the console feel when playing the game – quite an achievement for an Apple TV app.

£7.99 | Oceanhorn on the App Store

Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Octodad: Dadliest Catch features one of the most wonderfully bizarre premises in gaming: You play an octopus posing in suburbia as a human father, with a human wife and human kids. It’s as charmingly weird as it sounds.

And that informs the gameplay, as the intentionally awkward controls – you’re an octopus trying to act like a human, remember – make keeping up the illusion a hilarious, fumbly task. Octodad comes over from consoles and Mac/PC, and a gamepad provides more control than the Siri Remote, as it’s easier to move and interact with objects. That said, getting around is meant to feel cumbersome and silly, and the Siri Remote only amplifies that sensation. It’s hilarious either way. Andrew Hayward

£4.99 | Octodad on the App Store

PAC-MAN 256

PAC-MAN, a game we all know and love, has been reinvented for the Apple TV (and iPhones, and iPads as it’s a universal app!). While the premise of the game is the same as the original – eat PAC-DOTs and ghosts – the new PAC-MAN game features a number of new elements, like power-ups. There are 15 in total, from lasers to tornados and even a giant, to keep the gameplay fresh over multiple plays.

The maze has been updated with a number of different styles available, each with a distinct theme. Oh, and if you collect 256 PAC-DOTs, something cool happens – but we won’t say what. It’s free to download, featuring a number of in-app purchases including one for £3.99 that provides unlimited credits.

FREE |  PAC-MAN 256 on the App Store

Peg Ballet

Peg Ballet is a painfully simple game that’ll take minutes to learn, but hours to master. The aim of the Apple TV original game is to collect pegs in the fastest time possible, by clicking your Apple TV remote to ‘jump’. If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you can also compete with up to eight friends in real time – and if you’re thinking that you don’t have enough remotes for eight friends to play, you’ll be happy to know that players can download a free iPhone companion app that’ll allow friends to join at a moments notice.

Rayman Adventures

Rayman Adventures is one of the best platform games ever created, and it’s great to see it on the Apple TV. While it’s nothing new for platformer fans, it does show that the Apple TV has first-rate games. (And visually spectacular ones at that.)

FREE | Rayman Adventures on the App Store

Real Racing 3

Even four years later, Real Racing 3 is still one of the absolute best racing games available on iOS – and that’s definitely true for Apple TV, as well. Using only the Siri Remote for steering, you’ll get an immersive in-car driving experience that runs well and looks nice on a large TV, and the game is utterly packed with an array of content.

Real Racing 3 includes more than 140 licensed cars from top makers, along with 17 different real-world locations and thousands of different events to tackle – including NASCAR and Formula E races. It’s a freemium game, so there are light annoyances in the form of timers and in-game purchase prompts, but there’s also plenty of free racing goodness within. Andrew Hayward

FREE | Real Racing 3 on the App Store

RunGunJumpGun

Some of the best Apple TV games are ideal for casual fun, but as you might surmise from the title, RunGunJumpGun is not that game. In fact, it might be one of the toughest games available on the App Store, but it offers up the kind of challenge worth savouring – and the promise of incredible satisfaction when you do prevail.

This indie gem looks and plays like an old-school 2D game, but your character sprints on his own – and he’s armed with a powerful gun used not only to zap threats ahead, but also vault him into the air when he shoots at the ground. You’ll use it to safely zip through hazard-packed stages that only get zanier and more densely layered in time. It can be incredibly hard, but truly, RunGunJumpGun is a blast. Andrew Hayward

£2.99 | RunGunJumpGun on the App Store

Shadowmatic

Shadowmatic is a quirky puzzler where you rotate objects to create shadows on a wall. You have to match the shadow to the pattern you are given to progress.

It’s a nice use of touch to create the kind of game that doesn’t work with a traditional control pad. While it may be a little sedate for some, we think it’ll be a great way to wind down.

£3.99 | Shadowmatic on the App Store

Sing! Karaoke

The problem is sometimes you find an app you want to play with, and that stops you from writing the article you were supposed to be writing… For us this was Sing! Karaoke. It works with or without the iPhone app, the latter gives you a microphone and allows the creation of playlists. We were slightly put off by the idea that there were other people playing the game that the app seemed to want us to team up with, but we didn’t seem to have any issues there in the end. There’s a nice selection of new and old songs, and we were worried that we’d have to pay for in app purchases, but we’ve not discovered any yet.

SketchParty TV

SketchParty TV is a great app for the Apple TV, reminiscent of the hugely popular Pictionary, and was recently named one of the “15 greatest party games” by Apple. The game is a fairly standard drawing and guessing game, where one person is given a word and using an iPhone or iPad, has to draw the word for their friends to guess. It’s a great game to play when with a group, as the app allows you to team up and go head-to-head with friends. Fun fact – SketchParty TV was the original Apple TV game, which launched back in 2012, utilising AirPlay functionality via an iPhone or iPad in lieu of an official Apple TV app.

Developer Matt Braun has reassured us that SketchParty TV is a universal app (you buy it once and its available for all platforms) so if you buy it for your iPhone or iPad here, it should appear on your Apple TV.

Sky Force Reloaded

We had a lot of fun playing Sky Force Reloaded on iPhone, and it’s just as impressive on your TV. This arcade-style vertical shooter finds you commanding a powerful aircraft as you blast planes out of the sky, take out tanks on the ground, and try to topple gargantuan boss ships at the end of each stage.

It’s a super streamlined game with auto-firing weapons, so the Siri Remote is a pretty ideal fit: you’ll just slide your thumb to move the ship around as needed. Sky Force Reloaded still looks like a dream when blown up on your television, and the free-to-play model is pretty friendly, even if it can make things repetitive in time. Did we mention that it’s free, though? Andrew Hayward

FREE | Sky Force Reloaded on the App Store

Skylanders Superchargers

Skylanders Superchargers is primarily a game for the younger generation, however we found ourselves playing it for slightly longer than we’d care to admit to. The gameplay is simple and addictive, with an easy to follow storyline – Skylands is in peril due to Kaos unleasing the ‘Doomstation of Ultimate Doomstruction’, and the ‘SuperChargers’ have been assembled to pilot some very interesting vehicles. The Skylanders Superchargers starter pack includes a land vehicle and two characters, which are placed on a portal when used in-game. It’s a fun experience placing the characters and vehicles on the platform and watching them be instantly recognised on screen, and one that kids will enjoy.

The aim of the game is to fly, drive and dive through the various levels with land, sea and sky-based vehicles. You’re able to complete the main storyline using only the land vehicle, but to complete the game in its entirety will require you to purchase additional vehicles. Don’t fret – the vehicles and characters can be bought digitally instead of having to go out and find them yourselves, though having the physical models is pretty fun.

As well as getting a hold of the various types of vehicle, you’re also able to upgrade and customise each. The various options available have different effects on your vehicle – some will increase top speed, while others will increase control, etc. and while this may seem excessive, you should customise your car based on the mission ahead – you’ll find that you have an ‘edge’.

Price: £36.49 from Argos

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Your Apple TV can take you on a flashback to 25 years ago, when the Sega Genesis battled it out with the Super Nintendo for 16-bit console supremacy – that’s because Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is available from the App Store, along with its predecessor. Sonic 2 looks exactly like you might remember, but it’s actually better: it’s been remastered in widescreen and has smoother animation.

Of course, that’s just icing on the cake here. Sonic 2 is considered by many to be the blue blur’s best retro adventure, as you control him and Tails across an array of alluring zones while running like mad and bashing baddies. Using the Siri Remote admittedly feels a little fumbly, but it’ll do the trick. And if you have a gamepad, then it’s absolutely perfect. Andrew Hayward

£2.99 | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the App Store

Spaceteam

Spaceteam delivers hilarious multiplayer fun – just as it has on iOS the last couple years. You’ll need at least one other player on a nearby iPhone or iPad, and then you’ll work together to keep your ship hurtling through space. You’ll do so by telling each other which button to press or dial to turn, each with an absurd command: Turn the Spring-Loaded Irritant to 3! Press the Synthcage!

Before long, the game devolves into frantic yelling at each other as you try to memorise which commands are on your screen’s control panel. But then the game ditches words and uses symbols, your ship catches fire, and panels start changing positions. The more chaotic and zany Spaceteam becomes, the more fun it is. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a blast on Apple TV. Andrew Hayward

FREE | Spaceteam on the App Store

Tiny Wings TV

Tiny Wings is one of the all-time beloved iOS games, and nearly five years after its original iPhone debut, this colourful addiction is finally playable on your TV with Tiny Wings TV. It’s a standalone purchase, so even if you have the iPhone or iPad versions, you’ll need to buy it again – but the game is such a delight that it’s well worth experiencing again.

As ever, your task is to help a flightless bird gain air by sliding him down slopes and then launching him into the sky, attempting to maintain momentum as you soar ahead to bumpy new islands. Reaching the farthest possible distance is the main goal, and online leaderboards turn it into a competition with friends. Tiny Wings remains massively charming, even when blown up for your TV. Andrew Hayward

99p | Tiny Wings on the App Store

Transistor

Eager for a meaty, large-scale game you can dig into on your Apple TV – ideally with a gamepad in tow? Point your eyes (and wallet) at Transistor, then. This sci-fi-themed action RPG comes from Supergiant Games, makers of the brilliant Bastion, and similarly features an unconventional approach to storytelling, a stunning and interesting world, and interesting gameplay twists.

Last year, we explained why Transistor was such an essential iOS pick. But a game this rich and rewarding – not to mention superbly presented, both visually and aurally – can really shine in the living room setting. It’s been smartly adapted for the Siri Remote, but if you’ve got a gamepad handy, it makes for a smoother play experience. Andrew Hayward

£4.99 | Transistor on the App Store