With its large screen, the iPad Pro is great for gaming. We’ve rounded up some of the best iPad Pro games around, from strategy games to shooters.
It’s perhaps too easy to dismiss the iPad Pro as a legitimate gaming tablet. After all, it’s hard to believe even a 12.9-inch tablet can hold a candle to something like a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. However, while games certainly play nicer on a bigger screen, the iPad Pro offers internals every bit as powerful as the best video game consoles while giving you the freedom to take your games just about anywhere.
After all, the latest iPad Pro (2022) models pack in Apple’s insanely powerful M2 processor — the same chip used in Apple’s MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. It offers more than enough performance for even the most demanding games. Combined with Apple’s Metal 3 hardware-accelerated graphics and support for the latest game controllers, it’s pretty hard to find a game title that Apple’s tablet can’t handle — and there’s a massive library of games to prove it.
There’s a reason why the iPad Pro tops our list of the best gaming tablets, and while the 11-inch model is a great pick for portability, serious gamers will want to check out the larger 12.9-inch version, which not only offers more screen real estate, but sports mini-LED technology for even more vibrant colors and deeper blacks. If you’re ready to take your powerful iPad Pro to the next level, here are our picks for the best iPad Pro games in 2023.
Glory to Arstotzka! You’re an immigration inspector in the border town of Grestin, in the communist state of Arstotzka, and your job is to check papers, take fingerprints, and search the throngs passing through the border to uncover spies, terrorists, and smugglers among the visitors and immigrants. Who will you allow to enter? Who will be turned away? And who will you arrest? This critically acclaimed, award-winning dystopian thriller is strangely addictive, painting a dark, fascinating tale of morality versus progress. Play the full game on iPad Pro, set over 31 days and with 20 different endings, as well as unlockable multitouch support to inspect paperwork faster. Papers, please! It’s available for a one-time $5 purchase.
Apple App Store
If you’re missing watching Henry Cavill grunt and slay monsters as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher on Netflix, let this fill your time instead. Hardcore Gwent fans are no strangers to the PC version, but now you can get your fill on your iPad Pro — and it’s every bit as eye-catching. Hand-drawn art and stunning visual effects breathe new life into every PvP duel, and there’s no shortage of challenges thanks to the new Arena mode that Geralt of Rivia himself would relish. You can choose from a variety of other modes, too, from classic to seasonal.
It’s free to play Gwent, but a word of warning — you may see little of the light of day as you toil to build a deck you can be proud of and collect cards to gain spells and special abilities. If you’re up for the challenge, then you’ll find Gwent: The Witcher Card Game easy to get into and hard to master — and it makes for a satisfying morning commute or a sweet time-sink whenever you have some time to spare. You can play for free with optional in-app purchases,
Apple App Store
If you’ve played the original Little Nightmares games on Steam or console before, you’ll notice that this prequel puzzle adventure game is set in the same universe, with lots of intricate puzzles to solve. You play as a little girl in a yellow jacket, trapped in a spooky mansion called The Nest. Everything in the mansion is out to see you dead, and you must get to safety, avoiding enemies and solving puzzles to piece together The Nest’s dark secrets. Equal parts cute and creepy, Very Little Nightmares looks its best on the iPad Pro. Get it now for $7!
Apple App Store
This highly-rated puzzle game is a must if you love puzzles — but it’s so much more than just a puzzle game. With a bittersweet story, magical moments, creative touches, and gorgeous graphics, The Gardens Between looks best on iPad Pro. Best friends Arina and Frendt fall into a world of dreamlike garden islands where objects from their childhood are hidden. Together, they must set off on an emotional journey to examine the significance of their friendship. Cause and effect are malleable in The Gardens Between, and you must manipulate time to solve puzzles and reach each island’s apex. You can get the game as a one-time $5 purchase, or play for free if you subscribe to Apple Arcade.
Apple App Store
The follow-up to 2015’s Alto’s Adventure, Alto’s Odyssey sees Alto endlessly sandboarding through the desert. Explore beautiful, varied landscapes ranging from vast dunes to temples and canyons, unlock six unique characters with their own attributes and abilities, and complete 180 goals. The one-touch trick controls are easy to learn but a challenge to master, and chaining together combos is some of the most fun you’ll have on your iPad. Dynamic lighting, weather effects, and an original soundtrack round out one of the most stunning games around. Just want to relax? With Zen Mode, there are no coins, goals, or scores — just you, the endless desert, and a serene soundtrack. If you’re an Apple Arcade subscriber, you’ll want to check out Alto’s Odyssey: The Lost City, an exclusive remastered version that weaves in several additional fun elements, including a new landscape to unlock and explore. Alto’s Odyssey is available for $5.
Apple App Store
Hironobu Sakaguchi’s stunning Fantasian is easily one of the most compelling reasons to subscribe to Apple’s gaming service. Bankrolled by Apple to be a flagship exclusive for Apple Arcade, this Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) was designed by the creator of the Final Fantasy series with over 150 handcrafted physical diorama models — and it shows. Sakaguchi said he borrowed heavily from his roots in building Final Fantasy VI, so there’s a lot to love here for fans of that series. In the game, you take on the role of Leo, the young protagonist who awakens in a world governed by machines with almost no recollection of who he is or how he got ther. Lro is forced to gather allies and piece together his history.
The first part of the game offers a massive world to explore, with a fairly linear plot that easily offers 50-plus hours of gameplay to enjoy. Players then move into a more open-ended quest-driven play style that takes them into even more new realms and unique boss encounters. This is every bit the kind of console-quality game you’d expect from the creator of Final Fantasy, and if you’re a fan of JRPGs, it’s easily worth the price of an Apple Arcade subscription.
Apple Arcade
The popular wilderness survival game now comes to iPad! You play as Wilson, an intrepid gentleman scientist who has awoken in a strange wilderness. Your goal? Utilize the environment and fend off dangerous creatures, then escape and find your way home. Starting with nothing, you’ll gather resources, craft items and structures, farm, fight monsters, and hunt for food. The dark, whimsical graphics and randomly generated new worlds mean you’ll never tire of starting over in Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition. You can get the game for $5, or included with an Apple Arcade subscription.
Apple App Store
Bastion is one of those games that sticks with you long after the end credits roll. The hand-painted artwork, critically-acclaimed score of original music, and deep, fulfilling story make it a really memorable experience. It’s great to play on the iPad Pro thanks to touch controls created for iOS, and there are over 40 hand-painted environments to explore as you discover what happened during the Calamity, a catastrophe that decimated the world.
