Apex Legends Mobile came out in 2022 and hit the ground running. It’s a battle royale shooter in the same genre as Fortnite and PUBG New State. However, this one came out relatively polished with some excellent controls, a few different game modes, and more interesting abilities. The base battle royale mode features 60 players across 20 squads. There is a ranked variant as well, along with a team deathmatch mode. You unlock new Legends as you play, and each Legend has its own set of abilities. It’s new, so it’s a little light, but it got over ten million downloads in its first month, and it’s honestly more fun than most other offerings in the genre.
Call of Duty: Mobile was our pick for the best Android game in 2019. We usually wait a while before adding a game, but Call of Duty: Mobile is so intensely popular with such a high rating that we added it more quickly than usual. The game has both a normal FPS online PvP mode along with a 100-player battle royale. That puts it in a rare category where it does battle royale like PUBG Mobile, but also regular FPS PvP like Critical Ops or Modern Combat. There is a surprising amount of stuff to do, and the gameplay mechanics are solid and smooth. It is a free-to-play game, but most of the in-game purchases are cosmetic items. You can find some more excellent FPS games here or some general shooting games here if you want more options.
Genshin Impact is an action RPG game with gacha mechanics. The game was also our pick for the best game of 2020. It received wide critical acclaim upon its release for its impressive visuals and excellent gameplay. It looks and acts a bit like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but nobody seems to really mind. The game does have a party system, and you summon new characters through a gacha system similar to other gachas. However, the visual elements, gameplay mechanics, and the completely open world (complete with a glider) make the game feel a lot less restrictive than most in the genre.
Unless the developer messes this one up, it should remain excellent for a long time. You can play on PC or PlayStation as well with the same saved data, even if it is annoying to set up at first. Of course, there are other excellent gacha games here if you want to see more. Tower of Fantasy (Google Play) has some similar mechanics, but Genshin does it better.
GRID Autosport launched in 2019 and immediately became one of the best racing games for Android. It’s a premium game with no in-app purchases or advertising, a rarity in this space. The game also boasts excellent graphics, excellent controls, hardware controller support, tons of content to play through, tons of cars to unlock, and a variety of racing styles.
The game is a bit expensive, and it’s missing some smaller things racing fanatics tend to like, but it’s otherwise one of the best racing experiences in the Play Store. It doesn’t get updated frequently, which isn’t ideal, but it gets enough to keep it relevant. Riptide GP and the Asphalt series are also great racing games. You can find more great racing games (including the popular Asphalt series) here.
League of Legends: Wild Rift is a 5v5 MOBA game. Mobile used to have a ton of these, but several kind of fell off over the last few years. League of Legends: Wild Rift is arguably the best of the bunch right now. Matches take about 15-20 minutes and that’s a bit long for a mobile MOBA. However, the game is fun, you can’t buy wins, and the developers seem intent on making sure this one stays balanced.
It’s not perfect. Casual games sometimes have unbalanced teams which can be frustrating. However, there isn’t much that can be done about it. This is a rock-solid MOBA in a genre where nothing has been consistent for a few years now. Of course, there are other good mobile MOBAs here if you’re interested.
Levelhead is a new platformer from Butterscotch Shenanigans, the same developer of Crashlands. Crashlands was on this very list for a good two or three years, and we expect Levelhead to be here for a while too. It’s a platformer with 90 levels, surprisingly satisfying controls, and some excellent humor. However, this one sets itself apart from others with its truly excellent custom-level building. Players can build levels and upload them to the game. Other players download them and the most popular end up in the game’s prestigious vault.
Plus, the game has speedrunning features and each level comes with its own leaderboard (even the custom ones). Finally, the game is cross-platform with cloud saves. It covers all of the bases for a mobile platformer. For real, this game is so good. It’s also free with Google Play Pass if you use that. This is easily the best in its class, but here are some other good platformers to try as well.
Minecraft is a popular game all around the world for people of all ages. For those who have never played, Minecraft puts you in a giant world where you mine stuff, build stuff, beat up bad guys, and do pretty much whatever you want. There is a survival mode where you must mine your own resources and food along with a creative mode that gives you unlimited everything. Frequent updates have added tons of new content and possibilities.
The game is pretty much on par with its PC and console counterparts. In fact, you can play on multiplayer servers with people on those platforms. There are in-app purchases, but they’re just for customization things like skin packs. It’s not only the best sandbox game on Android, but also one of the best survival gamesas well.
Monument Valley 1 and 2 Price: $3.99 + $1.99 / $4.99
Monument Valley returns to the list with the release of Monument Valley 2. Both games are still very excellent. In fact, they both have virtually identical gameplay mechanics and graphics. The player adventures through Escher-style puzzles where levels are movable to complete the path using illusions. The premise is still charming and the Monument Valley franchise continues to stand as a couple of the best mobile games ever.
The first one runs for $3.99 with an optional $1.99 in-app purchase for the Forgotten Shores DLC. The second game runs for $4.99 right now. You can play both games as part of the Google Play Pass if you subscribe to that. Here are some other great puzzle games as well if you want more options.
Nintendo has a decent number of Android games and they’re all pretty decent. They have one premium game with Super Mario Run. Many believed it to be too high of a price. However, mechanically, it’s one of the best platformers on mobile. Nintendo also has a couple of free-to-play options including Fire Emblem Heroes (strategy RPG) and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (simulation).
Nintendo added Dragalia Lost to its repertoire in September of 2018 as well as Dr. Mario World in 2019. Finally, Mario Kart Tour is the second biggest mobile game release of all time, second only to Call of Duty: Mobile. Nintendo’s games can be a bit rough around the edges sometimes, but they all provide relatively fun and solid experiences.
