Silence isn’t just golden in Alien: Isolation—it’s a literal lifesaver. This deliciously difficult survival-horror game traps Amanda (daughter of franchise hero Ripley) aboard a space station...alongside one of the famous dual-jawed Xenomorphs. Unable to stop the creature with the few weapons on hand, you have only one choice: evade it as you sneak through (and hopefully off) the doomed outpost.

What we love: The relentless tension. See the free-roaming Alien on your motion tracker? Duck under a desk or inside a locker—quick! Knowing that the monster can see and smell you makes every step nerve-racking, and on iPad and iPhone the jaw-dropping graphics and superb sound design (hisssss!) ratchet up the terror.

Quick tip: Hostile humans giving you trouble? Throw Noisemakers to attract the Alien. Once it eliminates them, you can either hide until the monster leaves or use a flamethrower to drive it away.

Meet the creator: UK-based studio Creative Assembly made its name with the Total War strategy games before moving into survival horror with Alien: Isolation. The mobile version of the game was handled by Feral Interactive, which specializes in bringing high-end PC and console games to the App Store.