What are some criminally overlooked mobile games?
I've played a few games on Android that are bizarre and wonderful, and nobody else seems to know them. Philipp Stollenmeyer makes nice, tactile, casual puzzle games with a clear and chunky aesthetic and great sound. Verticow, Zip Zap, Burger, and Okay? are four I can recommend. His art is very Monty Pythonesque, and the games just feel cool to play.
I also tell everyone I know about a game from 2014 called Always Sometimes Monsters. This game was telling an inclusive story before it was cool. It seems to have been made in RPG Maker, and is set in a modern city. There is no combat, just being a person, having conversations, running errands, and trying to accomplish your goals. The dialogue is realistic and sharp, and the story unfolds in a very satisfying (if a bit tropey) way.
I made a friend online a couple weeks ago -- this guy posted his game called Amethlion to an android forum. It's an open world crafting RPG and he was selling it for a buck fifty. I jumped at the chance to play a cool little pixel art adventure and actually get to interact with the creator. It's buggy as all hell, but it is very cute and pretty fun. The creator is a very nice person and has been very grateful to hear my bug reports. Dynamic Zero is the name of his company, and he made the game solo with his brother making the music. It's a family affair and I think that is just so sweet.
What mobile games are you all into these days, if any? And if the answer is none, how come?
I believe I’ve recommend it on Tildes before, Data Wing. This is a completely free (no ads, no IAP) indie game. You can truly tell how much work was put into it. The core is a fun top-down racing game. It’s accompanied by an awesome vaporwave soundtrack, a nice little story with awesome characters, and cool graphics.
This is probably my favourite mobile game, I think everyone should try it.
I just tried it out. It is really cool. Thanks!
Downloading it now on iOS. Their privacy policy is awesome:
A friend and I used this to pass time in lectures. Great fun trying to shave off the extra millisecond.
Really cool! Thank you!
I play Shattered Pixel Dungeon (Android) a lot – it gets regular updates, and the developer is active on reddit. It's a top-down pixel art roguelike with a pretty steep difficulty curve, but I can legitimately claim to have beaten it now :)
I like those games, my favorite was Sprouted. There's so many clones out there now that I wouldn't consider it overlooked. The Play Store tries to get me to download one variant or another every time I'm looking for a new RPG.
Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) has been out on android for a while for anyone that missed it on PC somehow or just wants to play through it again.
I wish there were more games like this. I love the story, the free roaming, the varied quests, and the world-building. I played and loved KOTOR, Jade Empire, Baldur's Gates, and Planescape for the same reasons.
You might want to Shadowrun: Dragonfall on mobile.
And Pillars of Eternity (1 & 2) on PC.
Yeah obviously being star wars doesn't hurt if not just for lending an amazing universe to craft stories in, but it really goes beyond the universe with its unique gameplay for the time.
Now playing through it's definitely a bit dated but surprisingly still passable imo.
There's a game I really enjoyed on PC that recently got a mobile port. The game is called Kingdom; it's a side scroller that has some "base defense" aspects, but done in a really interesting way. It's a little expensive (the same price on mobile as PC, about $10) but it's certainly worth it in my opinion.
Oh yeah, isn't it Kingdom: New Lands? That's a very pretty game. I considered picking it up, but I am not great at strategy and planning. I feel like I'd enjoy it during the day cycle, but when night comes around and the baddies come to get you I would get way too stressed out. I also prefer a lot more story in my sit-down games (as opposed to my smoke break games). God, that pixel art is so beautiful though.
Yup! It can be pretty stressful, though the difficulty scales and it takes a while. It doesn't really take much strategy and planning (the sites for the walls, archers, etc are already there, you just decide when to build them,) though it's still very engaging. And I agree, it's a really terrific looking game. If you're playing on PC, you can get a refund if you don't like it as long as you don't play for more than two hours. I would certainly say that you should try it, though you're obviously going to be a better judge of that than me.
For this game, I think it's definitely worth it. And if the games are exactly the same, like this, I'm fine with the price.
Ridiculous Fishing is really good.
The studio behind it, Vlambeer, also made Nuclear Throne and Luftrausers. I specifically remember the name of the studio because of a great GDC talk they did on the art of screenshake.
There was another studio (I can't remember which one) that had a setting for the amount of screen-shake: the max level was 'Vlambeer'.
Antiyoy is a minimalist turn-based strategy game that can be surprisingly difficult.
There's also Achikaps from the same developer, focused on managing resources and balancing different types of units.
Inflation RPG is pretty fun once you learn you can level up. It requires internet access for no reason though so it’s kind of annoying that way
Stormbound is an excellent strategy/card game! It's free to play, but you can get basically all the cards you need to play competitively simply by playing the game and coming up with good strategies. Cards can be upgraded, so no two deck strategies are really alike - definitely worth it for passing the time!
My friend code is 1002658004, add me up and we can play a few rounds! I love testing new strategies against real people.
I enjoy the puzzle game Subara City: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kuwaki.subaracity
It's a simple puzzle game, but I've lost hours playing it.
Giant Boulder of Death is a fantastic game. You are a giant boulder rolling down a mountain, wreaking havoc across the Austrian countryside.
It's one of the few games that is a lot better with the sound on. I'd recommend spending the few bucks to spring for Heavy Metal mode.
I can only speak for android, but I do have a couple of free games to recommend:
Putthole is pretty good, endless puzzle game. It does have in-app purchases, but it is completely possible to get all the needed currency to buy anything without paying.
Cell Lab is an amazing simulation game where you design(mostly how cells divide) simple life forms to complete challenges. I haven't completed it as it gets quite difficult for a mobile game.
Desert Golfing is one of my favorite games of any platform. It's so simple and well done, with no ads, pop-ups, or IAPs. It's great for playing in short bursts, or for a few hundred holes at a time. Many holes can easily be beaten in one shot, but occasionally there is one that takes twenty or thirty shots. It's also endless, I believe, as I'm up to hole 3953. Overall, it's a fantastic minimalist golf game. If you give it a shot (heh), make sure to keep your eyes peeled for cacti, as they're the only decoration!
I don't know if its overlooked or not, but I have been flowing Last Day on Earth: Survival as it has been going through early access/beta and it seems to like it is budding into a pretty cool game. I would highly recommend checking it out, it's a great take on a mobile sandbox.
On the iOS side of things... Mobile Ports of Board Games (Hostage Negotiator, Race for the Galaxy etc) are a good start. There’s also Card Crawl and Stealth Crawl oh and You Must Build A Boat.