Top 10 Games Played on Play Store 2021

Call of Duty: Mobile

Price: Free to play

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 and regular FPS PvP like Critical Ops or Modern Combat. There is a surprising amount of stuff to do. It is a free-to-play game, but most of the in-game purchases are cosmetic items. If you want more options, you can find some more excellent FPS games here or some general shooting games.

Genshin Impact

Price: Free to play

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 caches. However, the visual elements, gameplay mechanics, and the completely open world (complete with 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. Of course, there are other excellent gacha games here if you want to see more.

GRID Autosport

Price: $9.99

GRID Autosport launched in 2019 and immediately became one of the best racing games for Android. The Riptide GP and Asphalt franchises are also quite good, but GRID Autosport hits almost all checkmarks. It’s a premium game with no in-app purchases or advertising. The game also boasts excellent graphics, excellent controls, hardware controller support, tons of content to play through, tons of cars to unlock, and various 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. Our only real gripe is the lack of updates. You can find more great racing games (including the popular Asphalt series) here.

GRIS

Price: $4.99

GRIS is an adventure game with puzzle-platformer elements. This is one of those you know is good just by looking at it. The game follows Gris, a young girl lost in her own world while dealing with the painful experiences in her life. It doesn’t have anything like player death or anything like that. You explore the world, solve some puzzles, and enjoy. The game features almost no text and chooses instead to tell its story through visual elements instead. It’s an artsy game but one of the best in its genre. You can find more outstanding adventure games here.

Legends of Runeterra

Price: Free to play

Legends of Runeterra is one of the newer Android games on this list. It’s an online battler similar in scope to games like Hearthstone. Players collect cards and heroes, then build decks from those cards and heroes. You then battle opponents online. The game removes as much of the randomness as it can, leading to a good gameplay experience overall. The game includes 24 champions, a bunch of cards, and you can invite friends to duel with you as well. Hearthstone donned this list for a long time, but it’s time for a new champion in this space. You can find more great card dueling games here.

Level head

Price: $6.99

A level head 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 the Level head 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. 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

Price: $6.99 with in-app purchases

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 games.

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 games

Price: Free / Freemium / Varies

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 freemium options, including Fire Emblem Heroes (strategy RPG) and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (simulation). Nintendo added Dragalia Lost to its repertoire in September of 2018 and Dr. Mario World in 2019. Finally, Mario Kart Tour is the second biggest mobile game release, second only to Call of Duty: Mobile. Nintendo’s games can sometimes be rough around the edges, but they all provide relatively fun and solid experiences.

Pokemon Go

Price: Free to play

Pokemon GO exploded onto the mobile gaming scene in July 2016 and immediately became of the best Android games ever. It’s an augmented reality game similar to Ingress, where you walk around the real world, catch Pokemon, complete little side missions, a battle for Gyms, and hit up Pokestops to restock on items. It beat virtually every record in the books as the world’s most popular mobile game. Thankfully, the game gets frequent updates with new features. Some more recent features include an AR camera mode, new Pokemon, and much other neat stuff. Niantic also launched Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, a Harry Potter AR game with similar mechanics. The two games stand alone atop the best-augmented reality games on mobile.

PUBG Mobile and Fortnite

Price: Free to play

PUBG Mobile hit the ground running upon its releases. It already has over ten million downloads and nearly a million user reviews. Thankfully, it’s actually a very competent mobile FPS. It features simple, effective controls, decent graphics. And a simple premise. Basically, 100 people drop from a plane onto an island and duke it out until only one is left standing. The island is littered with gear, weapons, and vehicles, along with a mechanic that lowers the play area over time to keep matches from lasting too long. Recent updates added new game modes as well as a free-to-play element. Fornite is another excellent option, but you have to jump through some hoops to install it. Of course, here are some other satisfying battle royale options as well.

Sky: Children of Light

Price: Free to play

Sky: Children of Light is an excellent adventure game from 2020. The game features seven worlds for you to explore, a variety of character customizations to look how you want, some truly excellent graphics, and one of the unique social experiences on any game. You can interact with players in the game without a voice or text chat (although text chats are available). Players get your attention to take you where you need to go by grabbing your hand and taking you with them. It’s preposterously adorable. There are many truly great adventure games here, but Sky: Child of Light is just something different.

Square Enix games

Price: Free / Free to play / Varies

Square Enix is one of the few “big name” developers that took mobile gaming seriously from the start, and they have some of the best Android games available anywhere. Fans of jRPG games have remakes of Final Fantasy 1-7 and 9, seven Dragon Quest games, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition to play, and they’re all perfect. You have Heavenstrike Rivals, Final Fantasy Tactics: WotL for tactical RPGs, Secret of Mana for an action RPG, and the Deus Ex series for strategy shooter enthusiasts. Even their free-to-play efforts, such as Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, are pretty good. Some recent titles from the studio (and its affiliates) include Romancing SaGa Re; univerSe and Dragon Quest Tact. Square Enix is arguably the champion of its genre, but you can find more great RPGs here. If you want to pre-register, the company also has an upcoming game from the NieR series (Google Play).

Stardew Valley

Price: $7.99

Stardew Valley is easily one of the best premium games from 2019 and one of the best games overall. It’s a farming simulator with some RPG elements. You start with a neglected farm and must rebuild it to its former glory. Players catch fish, grow crops, raise livestock, and interact with the various townspeople. You can even get married and have a family. The retro graphics help keep things simple, but the game has dozens of hours of content. Plus, the controls are simple, and most of the in-game interactions are charming and fun. It’s the best farming sim on mobile, even if it’s not entirely realistic. It’s also free if you subscribe to Google Play Pass. Stardew Valley sits atop its genre, but there are more good farming simulators here if you want to see more.

The Room series

Price: $0.99-$4.99 each

The Room is a series of four puzzle games. It was the first franchise that did the puzzle genre really well on mobile. The latest game in The Room series is just as big of a hit as its predecessors, and they remain among the best Android games. The Room is a series of escape puzzle games. Each room has a bunch of mysterious objects. Your goal is to solve the puzzles and get out. You progress from room to room to find even more unique objects and solve their puzzles until you win the game. The latest one, The Room: Old Sins, includes cloud saving, Google Play Games achievements, and even a small exploration element. That sets it apart from the pure puzzle experience of the first three games. You can’t go wrong with any of these. They’re all perfect. There are some other decent escape games here if you want to see more, but The Room is definitely the best one.