Saw a game on Google Play that had great reviews (4.6k AVG with 77k reviews) so downloaded it thinking I finally might have found a good mobile game only to find it was trash like almost every mobile game I’ve ever tried.
Is it me, am I the problem, or are virtually all mobile games terrible?
Edit
Thanks for everyone’s feedback and suggestions, I’ve been trying out some of your recommendations as well as trying out Steam Link to play my steam PC games
there are good games. but they most of the time do not get promoted. you need other websites or like reddit or lemmy with lists from actual players to find them. in store only the moneygrabs get promoted.
I’ve not found that to be necessarily true, since some games just don’t feel that great translating over to a touchscreen coming from its basis being gamepad. I’ve bought lot of games from spare Google rewards points like Dead Cells which is a good game and playable but not really comfortable enough for me to play it on mobile, and getting controller out feels like I’m defeating the point of mobile game since usually it’s something I’ll play when all I have is my phone. Not going to stuff a gamepad in my pocket.
Games that really do try to make use of the touchscreen in a great way I’ve found to actually be Nintendo DS games that were specifically designed to be played entirely with stylus. Other actual mobile games have felt more like gamepad games trying to translate over stuff to the touchscreen with non tactile elements. Kind of works, but feels off. Unless its like an RPG or a game like The World Ends with You which was made to be touchscreen from the start. That seems like a good port.
Me too. If I’m at a place where I can grab a controller then usually it means I’ve got my switch or deck with me so would just opt for that if I’m in the mood for handheld. DS emulation on phone is the only one where I found the experience the best there over the alternatives I have available. Aside from an actual DS.
IMO, smartphones had the chance to revolutionize the gaming industry, but ended up wasting almost all of that potential on skinner boxes riddled with ads and microtransactions. Most of the best mobile games are ports from other systems, like the mobile edition of Minecraft and whatnot.
I think Pokémon Go was possibly the closest any major publisher has come to actually realizing the full potential of mobile games as a format, but it still fell painfully short with massively dumbed down mechanics and an absolute grindfest of a progression system.
There are still a few good indie projects out there (I like Soul Knight) but generally the mobile gaming market is so full of absolute dreck that I usually just don’t bother.
Or did it revolutionize the industry to it’s endpoint, that we just don’t want to admit was the natural conclusion of capitalistic society video games?
It’s the common denominator phenomena of all systems though. Mobile is literally the easiest point of entry to games and content in the entire world and it’s not even close with all other platforms combined. The ENTIRE spectrum of intelligence and discipline have phones (“do you all not have phones?” -blizzard DI launch). It’s in your pocket, it has all your information, access to your funds, and the majority of people probably get interrupted too frequently to scrutinize the quality of game design. It’s a cigarette hit waiting for the bus kind of vice that the rest of the majority know that the game is garbage but just don’t care- they need that dopamine hit.
There are a few hidden gems (I enjoy Plague inc. and Rebel inc. on occasion, for example), but for the most part, the majority of mobile games are mtx-laden cash grabs. So the actual quality is commensurately low because the devs figured out they don’t have to put in real effort to implement gambling and hook addicts.
There are a ton of good mobile games but the reason you can’t find them is because 99% of what you see in app stores are paid advertisements. Every section is basically paid, and the few which aren’t get botted by major companies. That app that has 5 million downloads and 4.6 average score? Most likely spammed with bots that give it 5 stars. Google Play is a disaster.
Here are some Android games I would absolutely recommend:
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Fancy Pants Adventures
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Data Wing
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The Battle of Politopia
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Sonny
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Plato
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Cube Escape Collection
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Pocket City (or its sequel)
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Bloons TD 6 (paid)
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Dicey Dungeons (paid)
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Dead Cells (paid)
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Downwell (paid)
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Baba Is You (paid)
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Levelhead (paid)
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Kingdom Rush series (paid, usually on sale though)
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If you own Netflix you get to play their catalogue of games for free. I recommend Into the Breach, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, Oxenfree
I could go on, but the point is ignore everything you see on the store. The store is garbage. Try to look for games that are well-talked about online.
Edit: Forgot to mention, there’s an app called MiniReview where you can browse game reviews from people who actually care. It’s a good resource if you’re looking for good games.
