So we’ve decided to approach this from a simple, if slightly out-there premise. If an alien were to land tomorrow and ask for a crash course in gaming, which of the best mobile games would you encourage it to install first? With such an unusual filter applied, we’re not looking for obscure gems or even necessarily run-away hits here. We’re looking at those important, genre-defining games that represent something essential to the history of smartphone gaming. A veritable greatest hits compilation of the App Store and Google Play.
All we stipulate is that the game has to still be active and great to play today. We’re also only going to include one game per series, so we’ll generally (but not exclusively) go with the first rather than the best entry.
THE BEST MOBILE GAMES
We’re starting with a relatively compact list, but you’ll find us filling our selection out over the coming months – and perhaps even removing one or two entries as they’re supplanted or lose the ongoing support of their developers. But these 15 games are a great place to start with any mobile game collection.
RAID: SHADOW LEGENDS
It’s easy for seasoned gamers to get a bit sniffy about gacha RPGs. But the simple truth is, a quite startling number of people seem to play them, and Raid: Shadow Legends is the 800lb gorilla of this
particular loved-and-loathed sub-genre. You can’t really ignore it.
Indeed, it’s pretty difficult to ignore a game that looks this good, with stunning 3D graphics and screen-filling pyrotechnics accompanying your every PVE campaign mission or PVP Arena scrap.
GENSHIN IMPACT
Genshin Impact wears its The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild influence quite shamelessly, with a familiar anime-inflected fantasy world and action-RPG mechanics.But you’ll forgive the obvious tribute act because it nails the formula so well, and because it does so in the form of a free-to-play mobile game. Which is quite amazing.
ELVENAR
Looking for a new free-to-play game to play on your commute? Fan of strategy and city-building? Well, boy oh boy, are you going to like Elvenar. In this fantasy game, you’re responsible for cultivating lots of beautiful cities, all of which fit into a gorgeous fantasy aesthetic.You have three main objectives: the first is to complete an endless supply of quests that are given to you. Some of these progress the games story, while others are more generic, looping tasks. You can also choose to invest time in research, which will help you to enhance your cities and buildings, allowing you to better gather resources. Meanwhile, if you focus on exploration, you’ll be able to expand across the world map, building more and more of your beautiful cities.
FORGE OF EMPIRES
This free-to-play mobile strategy game is one that delivers on multiple fronts. First of all, you get the satisfaction of creating your own settlement, which you can build and develop as you wish, using resources you gather to invest in different types of research. Then there’s the fact that you get to see it pass through multiple real-world era of history, before moving on into the science fiction realms of the future. On top of all that, you also get to engage in turn-based strategy battles as other nations wage war against you.There’s so much great content wrapped up in Forge of Empires, and it’s one of those games that you’ll easily pour hundreds of hours into as you come back to it every single day. Addictive in all the right ways, it’s a must-play for fans of strategy or history.
RISE OF CULTURES
Yes, you’re right: this is the third game developed by Innogames that we’ve included in this list, but don’t worry, we’ll focus on other developers soon (we promise), and this game definitely deserves its spot on this list. So what is it that makes Rise of Cultures so special?
JUNE’S JOURNEY
Do you like a good mystery? Fancy the idea of building your own country estate? Well, these are both key aspects of the game June’s Journey. In this game, you play as June Parker, who is investigating the murder of her sister and her sister’s husband, and it’s very much like something out of Agatha Christie.The game is free-to-play and sees you looking for hidden objects in different locations. You need to find specific things in order to gain more information about what happened to your sister. A lot of effort has gone into weaving a genuinely gripping storyline, and gameplay is simple enough to be enjoyed by anybody – but to unlock more items for your estate and progress the story, you have to be fast when looking for those clues.
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