Perfect your game with these skill-based hits

Test your gaming prowess and sharpen your skills with these wonderfully tactile experiences. While each of these games are brilliantly fun from the outset, if you have the time, patience, and desire to sharpen your skills there’s no ceiling to the greatness you can achieve.

Whether you strive to become a magnificent marksman, an aerial superstar, or a pool shark for the ages, our selection of easy to play, hard to master games has you covered.

Soccer meets physics and… rocket-powered cars in this frenetic 2D take on the sport. Master flight in either 1v1 or 2v2 modes to perform deft dribbles and aerial acrobatics to dominate the field and score outrageous goals. While there’s no limit to the jukes you can pull in Sideswipe, its simple controls make for instantly intuitive fun.

Known for blending arcade action with tactical play and realistic visuals, Call of Duty Mobile elevated the mobile shooter to new heights. At its base level moving and firing is effortless thanks to its slick controls. However, the real skill comes from learning how to maneuver around the battlefield – balancing aggression with caution to prevail in a mix of 1v1, team, and battle royale modes.

8 Ball Pool couldn’t be easier to pick up and play – just line up your shot, pull back on the cue, and release. There’s even a nifty little indicator to show the trajectory of the cue ball and the target ball. But be warned – at higher ranks, that indicator goes away. Make sure you’re honing your tracking skills to track how the ball will travel across the cloth to ensure you get your crack shot.

On its surface, Dead Cells’ randomized level design, uncompromising gameplay and gloomy setting may seem intimidating, but once you nail the timing there’s nothing like cleaving through hordes of bats, bandits, and bosses with a barrage of well-timed attacks, dodges, and parries. However, one death means and your run is over adding pressure to your tactics and reflexes alike.

Fend off an onslaught of increasingly bigger and badder waves of undead in this love letter to gothic horror. Armed with an arsenal of auto-firing holy weapons to ignite the battlefield with, you’ll need to make every second count to gain as many upgrades as possible to survive, demanding a shrewd mix of aggression and evasion.

Duet’s deliciously minimalistic style suits its simple premise: navigate red and blue balls through a series of obstacles by tapping to twist them around. Despite its easy two-tap controls, increasingly long levels filled with ever-complicating obstacles ensure that only those with iron determination and the sharpest reflexes will triumph.