Luxora

Luxora dropped onto my phone quietly and ended up eating most of a weekend. You play a courier weaving through a stacked, vertical city that hovers above the clouds, and the whole thing is drawn by hand in these soft chalky colors. Movement is a mix of tap-to-move and swipe gestures for climbing and gliding, and once it clicks the traversal feels genuinely satisfying rather than fiddly.

The core loop is deliveries, but that's really an excuse to wander. Each district has its own little cast of characters, and conversations open up shortcuts, side routes, and small optional stories. I liked that nothing punishes you for being slow — there's no timer breathing down your neck, so you can just enjoy how the light changes as you move higher into the city.

Controls are the standout for me. Portrait mode, one thumb most of the time, with the glide mechanic mapped to a satisfying flick. A couple of the later platforming bits got a touch tricky on a small screen, but never unfairly so. It's the kind of game you show a friend just to watch their face when the city first opens up.

What we liked

• Gorgeous hand-drawn vertical world
• Relaxed, no-pressure exploration
• Smooth one-thumb traversal controls