1y ago

Are almost all mobile games bad?

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

223 comments

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.

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.

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 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:
Fancy Pants Adventures
Data Wing
The Battle of Politopia
Sonny
Plato
Cube Escape Collection
Pocket City (or its sequel)
Bloons TD 6 (paid)
Dicey Dungeons (paid)
Dead Cells (paid)
Downwell (paid)
Baba Is You (paid)
Levelhead (paid)
Kingdom Rush series (paid, usually on sale though)
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.
- A chunk of those aren't mobile-first games. Dead cells is like an award winning game on PC and console. They're good games. Maybe the metric should be "is this on other platforms , too?" Somehow the shitty models of mobile games haven't fully developed on other platforms.
- Polytopia is awesome. It is free to play offline, and only requires one one time purchase to play online. No ads.
- Thanks for those Netflix suggestions, didn't know about that at all.
  
  Into the Breach was my final push into getting a netflix subscription. It's that good.

After trying bunch of Android games I found Nintendo DS games that can be entirely played with a stylus have been the best games to emulate and play on mobile.
Edit: Kirby Mass Attack is great and felt like a native experience.
Some others that might be worth trying.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/925329-nintendo-ds/65539209
- Any particular suggestions that you've enjoyed playing? I've mostly been playing GBA pokemon romhacks (Radical Red mainly) and Fire Emblem Romhacks.
  
  Kirby Mass Attack is one I enjoyed and played all the way through. You flick around bunch of kirbies so it feels like a very polished mobile game with it being entirely touched based and no reliance on trying to emulate tactile buttons on a flat screen.
  Warioware touched is fun for a quick session. I haven't tried tried Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass yet, but it looks promising. It's also entirely touch based.
  
  Another good Kirby one is Canvas Curse, entirely touch based. Any of the many puzzle vns on DS should be good too, like hotel dusk or 999

If you want good mobile games, look out for paid ports of PC indies, like:
Door Kickers: Action Squad
Baba Is You
Bad North
Bridge Constructor Portal
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Crypt of the Necromancer
Dead Cells
Don't Starve
Don't Starve: Shipwrecked
Downwell
Forager
GRIS
Retro City Rampage DX
Reventure
ScourgeBringer
Sparklite
Teslagrad
This War of Mine
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
- Meh, whole they're undoubtedly great games, the experience on mobile just isn't.

My hard and fast rule is, "Don't play freemium games." The second I see stars, coins, tickets, tokens, I'm out. I exclusively play what are mostly ports from console. Trials of Mana, The Alliance Alive HD Remastered, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, Danganronpa, Spiritfarer, Oxenfree, Stardew Valley, Minecraft etc. I also have Apple Arcade from my Verizon package, and I play the Netflix games. Avoid freemium / gacha / IAP-riddled games, and some of the ports are at least decent.
- Absolutely agree on the freemium bullshit. Haven't seen a single one that was worth playing.
  I'll also add on a handful of suggestions if anyone enjoys puzzle games: The Room series (4 games in the series), and The House of Da Vinci (3 games in the series, heavily inspired by The Room).
- Personally don't mind freemium games, I don't care about wait times and shit, just play the game at my own pace.
  What I do hate is FOMO, I'm an all-or-nothin' kinda gamer. If i feel pressured to play because I might miss an exclusive item, I'm out.

Just download a SNES/Genesis/GBA emulator, no need to waste time sifting through the piles of shit that is mobile gaming.
- GBA emulation is the best. All the games are meant for small screens and modern hardware has absolutely no issues with emulating the GBA. It has soooo many games. You can also get ROM hacks (most common for Pokemon games), which are fan edits to games. Some of which are such massive edits that they're basically entirely new games only using the existing framework for the style of gameplay.
  Only downside is controls. Touch screens are simply not as good as physical controls. I don't recommend trying any games that require fast paced and precise controls, as you will hit wrong buttons plenty. You can get Bluetooth controllers to help with this I think, though I've never personally tried them. I've also seen "case controllers", which go around your phone and make it sorta like a Switch form factor.

I find Dark pattern games site to be fairly informative on which mobile games are good and which are not. The Healthy Games section has bunch of good games while the dark games section has games you should actively avoid.
If game is listed as healthy and has a good rating there's a pretty good chance for it being actually good.
- That's a great resource thanks!

Actually, if you have Netflix, there’s a decent number of good mobile games through that
- huh I had no idea! thanks

It could just be you are not the target market for these games and you see through the bullshit. A lot of them are designed with shitty dark patterns to keep you coming back for more. Also, a lot of those reviews are probably fake to draw in the curious.

Almost all mobile-only games from mobile-only game developers and advertised in mobile-only environments are trash. Look for mobile games related to other gaming environments or advertising channels. Android games through Humble Bundle are great (although they don't do mobile-only bundles any more?). Android ports of PC or Switch games tend to be pretty good. Open source Android games run the gamut of quality, but the ways they are bad are the same ways open source PC games are bad, not the very different set of ways that mobile games are bad (microtransactions, ads, etc).
- Humble Bundle got bought out by IGN in 2017 and has been trash ever since.
  
  Wow yeah that explains a lot.

It is really hard to find good mobile games.
Most games are just blatant pay to win fronts. I especially despise those "idle whatever" style games where you wait for your 'money' to rake up. Boring stuff.
With smartphones getting more and more powerful, I miss sophisticated games on it. And I am not talking Skyrim here. Even most stuff we could play on Newgrounds 15 years ago blows most of the shit in the store out of the water.
There is just not a big enough market for it, it seems.
- May I interest you in The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind ?
  https://openmw.org/2021/openmw-0-47-0-released/
- I call those idle games battery killer sims. You do nothing on the game, it has no merit whatsoever.
  Leaving those games open, especially during the summer, degrades your battery so much.

Mobile games aren’t games, or at least not what I’d consider a game. Mobile “games” are simple puzzles, swipe action fighters and click-and-wait builders. They are built around the concept of microtransactions and are in place to make developers money and to be a time-suck for the end players.
- those are actually… games. But also, beyond that, been playing some fun platformers and having a blast! Oddmar & Suzy Cube are 2 stand outs I’ve been enjoying.

Monument 1 and 2 are great puzzle games well worth the purchase price.

There's no good mobile exclusive game, in my experience. There are plenty of great games that are 1:1 ports of their PC or console versions, with buy-once pricing and no microtransactions.
The ones I have installed on Android are: Baba is You, Slay the Spire, Peglin, Downwell, Super Hexagon, SNKRX, and 20 Minutes Til Dawn.
- Peggle has eaten every one of my lunch break for the past two weeks.
  
  How is the advert situation?
- Seconding Slay the Spire so much. Though I steam remote play it most of the time because it doesn't support cross-saves (from what I've read online, you can do it manually though)
- Part Time UFO used to be Mobile exclusive. Made by the Kirby devs, though they later ported it to Switch.

Pretty much. Unless you're an anime/gacha fan there really isn't any 'good' mobile games since the entire world decided that premium mobile games aren't worth it. Which pretty much fed back into itself. So the only thing approaching good will be either emulation/ports of games from console, the your mileage may vary genres (incrementals/idlers, and gacha) and the occasional diamond in the rough.

There are plenty of highly-rated indie games ported to Android and iOS. Why plays gatcha games and ads/microtransactions-laden mobile games when you can play Into the Breach, Terraria, Stardew Valley, Limbo, Samorost, etc for a small sum of money?
- Also The Room series and Monument Valley 1 and 2.
- Into the Breach is a perfect game for mobile. Haven't played it on Android (I have it on my Switch), but it reminds me of playing a ROM of Final Fantasy Tactics on my phone and it was perfect. And that was 10 years ago, so Smartphone technology has come a long way since then.

Apple Arcade seems to have escaped this cycle and has games that feel like early mobile games where developers made their games passion projects; games are focused on fun without any in app purchases, games get constant content updates, remasters of some of the best mobile games but without ads or in app purchases.

Nope, you just have to dig...
Minecraft
Ocean Horn
Terraria
Don't Starve
Neon Chrome
Stardew Valley
GTA III
GTA Vice City
GTA: San Andreas
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Bully
Max Payne
Star Wars KOTOR
Limbo
Roller Coaster Tycoon
OpenTTD (Transport Tycoon)
Portal
With some fiddling you can even run some PC games like Half Life 1 and 2, Doom 3 and Morrowind (not even emulated, their engines were actually ported to Android).
If you add emulation to the mix you can play everything up to the Wii if you have a half decent phone, which means an endless ocean of good games.
- Just to nitpick, Morrowind's engine absolutely wasn't ported to Android. What actually happened is that we made an entirely new game engine from scratch that can also interpret Morrowind's game data. That's obviously massively more effort than 'just' adapting source code to run on a new platform, but unlike DOOM, the source code has never been made available to the public, so that was never an option.
  Also, OpenMW's Android port is technically not official and tends to lurch from maintainer to maintainer, so if anyone reading this wants to help bring it up to scratch so it can be absorbed into the main project, that might be good.
  
  Sick to see the delveoper behind it here! Almost feels like that website :)
  Thanks for providing this info, I was not aware of that.
- I'm not sure about many of these and wasn't aware of most of them being on phones. But you're the first comment I've seen that mentions Stardew Valley. It's by far the best mobile game I've ever played.
  That said, I preferred it on PC for better controls, easier modding, multiplayer, and quicker updates. Though you actually can mod Stardew on Android. I still started with it on Android and it's a very high quality mobile game.

Cultist Simulator, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, Slay the Spire and Dead Cells are all good options. Admittedly they're all PC games you can play on mobile but they're still good.
- I can't imagine Dead Cells on a mobile device oof
  
  I played it, it's just as clunky as you'd think.
  
  It's all about getting used to it, many people have finished the game on 5BC with touch controls. I'm pretty sure it has controller support too.

There are good mobile games out there. World of Goo, Little Inferno, Angry Birds, The Room, What the Golf?, Plants vs. Zombies, FTL, Genshin Impact, Jetpack Joyride, are good examples. There are also some ported games that are fantastic, like Minecraft, Papers Please, Roblox, and I'm sure countless others.
However, mobile devices don't have enough resources for many triple-A PC/Console games, they also don't have the ergonomics of a controller, and the screen is inherently too small for some games. Even if the technical issues could be mitigated, would you want to play something like Elden Ring on a phone? Likewise, would you want to play Angry Birds on your television? I think the best compromise is when mobile games are specifically tailored for the platform they are on. FTL and Plants vs. Zombies come to mind as great implementations. But if those type of games aren't something you like, then you're out of luck.
- Wait FTL is on mobile? That sounds amazing..... dang it looks like it is ios only.
  
  damn!! That was my reaction too. Well.. probably good thing it's ios only or I'd suddenly have a lot of time sitting in the bathroom.....
  
  Afaik its for iPads only. Into the breach, however, is on mobile.
- However, mobile devices don’t have enough resources for many triple-A PC/Console games
  I don't think this is ever an obstacle when one of the most popular games out there is Stardew Valley, which can run on mobile without even straining it. There is a whole ecosystem of indie games that could be run on mobile just fine, but even indie developers are more likely to target PC as the primary platform.
  As for ergonomics, that's pretty much a circular problem from games not being made for mobile in the first place. Games designed around touch controls, like Monument Valley, can have pretty good ergonomics. Those trying to emulate buttons and analog sticks, not so much.
  Unfortunately, more than anything I believe the real obstacle is the culture created around apps, where users are driven away if they have to pay anything at all, and even a $20 price point is nigh unthinkable. So mobile games all lean towards microtransactions, which often makes the monetization of those games downright predatory, at expense of the fun. They look "free" until they trick the player into spending $100+
- Most of your examples are not 'mobile games', they are actual games that are also available on mobile devices. That is a big difference in my opinion.

Vampire Survivors and Baba Is You

Try getting your games from F-Droid instead of the Google Play Store. Although a lot of them might still be bad, because everything F-Droid offers is required to be Free Software, you can at least be assured that they're the kind of bad that comes from the amateur dev not knowing how to make a good game, not the exploitative kind of bad that's a glorified Skinner box designed to addict you and extract microtransactions.
Games from F-Droid that I like include:
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Mindustry
Endless Sky
Feudal Tactics
Vector Pinball
There are also a bunch of the usual traditional sorts of games: card games, tetris, chess, etc. l won't recommend particular ones for those since it basically comes down to personal preference, but I'll point out that you can pick any of them without worrying about them being infested with ads and shit, unlike in the Play Store where trying to find that one implementation of Solitaire that doesn't try to monetize you is like finding a needle in a haystack.
- I'm seconding Mindustry. It's on the Google play store free as well. I play it on PC though because I could never do the controls on touch well. Free on PC itch, or $10 on steam which I bought to support the fantastic game.
- My favorite from FDroid (also on the Play Store) is called simply "Puzzles"... It's a collection of ~40 logic puzzles (including Sudoku) that's great for micro-gaming. Individual puzzles are randomly generated, so you never run out of content.
- Shattered Pixel Dungeon is absolutely amazing if you are into roguelikes.

I used to visit the incremental games subreddit to find new, good ones.
After all, why download a game when others are willing to play test it for you?
- That's honestly one of the subreddits I miss the most. I mean, sure, I can go visit it still, but it just feels wrong. It honestly feels like a bad prestige or accidentally clicking "Hard Reset."

Avoid Freeium games. If you known what to look for, it’s pretty easy. Combat Master is a pretty good CoD clone. Galaxy on Fire II is worth a shot as well.

There are a lot of good-amazing games but they are buried under a mountain of garbage, as @simple@lemmy.world suggested I suggest you give the MiniReview app a try I'm pretty sure you will like it, it is pretty much a hidden gem that deserves more popularity

Gaming in phones sucks.

Nowadays Apple Arcade is the only way to get somewhat quality games for mobile

Not all but most are terrible.
I'm currently having fun with Mario Kart Tour

Slice and Dice is a solid phone game, easy time waster and a lot of fun rolling some dice to kill some baddies. In general though I do think they are quite trash, but ports and emulators are probably the best option
- I got hooked on slice and dice for a good while, worth the paid version

Yes, almost all of it is bad. But that's only because there's a lot of bad games on there. There are certainly great games on mobile, you just have to find them.

Whilst the vast majority of shovelware on Android is a low-effort cash grab, there are areas where mobile gaming shines. I personally play a lot of board game adaptions and mostly text-based incremental games like Kittens Game. Here's a great curated list of Android adaptions of physical board games: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HFYnQ95orfYCc3Vka1S66cL1GDgS6wfTR3uNwo8S37A/edit#gid=2025438514

Not sure what you're into but Super Auto Pets might seem silly but is great to kill some time or when sitting on the toilet.
You can access a lot of content completely free to play and if you want more it's one-time unlocks in the form of expansion packs.
- Another good one is Brotato.
  
  I love Brotato on PC and Steam Deck but a touch screen just isn't a good interface for that kind of game. Setting precision issues aside, your big fat thumb blocks the screen where enemies or trees might be.

Magic the gathering Arena is on mobile and it is basically PC port of the game. Highly recommend if you are into collectible card games.
- Isn't it as expensive as the cardboard counterpart?
  
  Potentially more expensive as you can't buy singles in Arena.
  
  Depending on your prefered format, patience and number of games you play it can be actually free or it can cost you thousands od dollars.
  I spent around 20 dollars since I started playing in 2019. I have practically all cards for standard format i want to use + bank of gems and gold to purchase new set when it comes out in September.
  
  If you're looking for a free version of Magic, there is Forge. It's a FOSS engine for MTG with multiple game modes, including an adventure mode which is extremely reminiscent of the old Microprose Shandalar game. It will even automatically download the real card art as you come across it in game.
  It's under constant development with the latest cards and has multiple updates per week. I primarily play adventure and in the six months or so that I've been playing, there have been huge content additions such as quests, boss dungeons, new enemies, graphics etc
  Just be warned that it is dangerous to your free time to have this available on your phone at will.
  
  I played it for months and received enough free cards to have several decks, including multi color ones, ready to go.

I would suggest to use the website: darkpattern.games to find fairly designed games.
On the other hand, I fell for a pseudogacha but really engaging card game: Marvel Snap.

I would guess that almost all games ever created, in all platforms can be considered bad games. Mobile gaming could be the worst offender because the barrier to publish are low and they are easy to monetize via ads, or just by selling your data. Taking this in account, try to look at paid games and you are going to find good quality games like Dicey Dungeons or Slice & Dice.

good pizza great pizza is pretty awesome if you want any suggestions

I was exploring for over half an hour for a paid games and didnt find anything decent to play

Virtually all free to play games are. The most popular are designed in a way to lure you in with freebies and gameplay that tickles you lizard brain in a pleasant way. Then, when you are invested enough, they annoy you with waiting times and artifical speed bumps just enough to make you spend bucks in their cash shop but not enough to stop playing. These games are basically slot machines masquerading as a game, where the only goal is to milk you dry of your income.

It's been years, and I see that it contains ads now, but I absolutely loved Super Stickman Golf 1 and 2. It is a simple 2D golf platformer with a ton of courses (at my time of last play you could download like 15 extra courses individually, on top of 6 or so to start). I'm sure it has been ruined by the freemium model, but it was a joy back in the day.

Just wanted to share that if you have a Netflix account, you can probabaly try some good mobile games. Here's some I found that were good:
Arcanium
Bloons
Into the Breach
- Terra Nil is also pretty good too imo
  
  Is that on the Netflix service? I might have to look into that..
  Edit. Thanks for saving me 25$!

There are good games, but usually they don't have the advertisement budget of these crapware companies that oversaturate the market. Best advice would be to look for good mobile games using other media, then get them on the store; not looking at the store's suggestion.

It is not you. There is a glut of terrible games on mobile. The reason: Most of the time, they are free to download with in-app purchases. The point isn't to play the game. The point is to try to see how much money people will pay for the in-app purchases.

It's definitely not you. You're right and most of them are complete garbage. Idk what kind of game you are looking for but Bloons TD6 is great. It does have an up front fee but if you buy it it's actually playable. It does have some microtransactions unfortunately but it's 100% totally playable without spending any money beyond what you paid to buy it. The Stardew Valley mobile port is another great one that does come with an up front fee and no microtransactions. Since the mobile version isn't actually done by concernedape himself though it isn't always up to date with the latest and greatest updates he has added to the game.
- Mobile is up to date with the PC version now for Stardew
  
  Woo hoo! I haven't played the mobile version in some time but last time I did it was seriously out of date. Thanks for the update.

Simon tathams puzzle pack! They're all puzzles, all procedurally generated, but I challenge you not to find one you absolutely love out of the whole set.
- I could play Loopy everyday. This puzzle pack has been on every device I owned since I discovered it around 2003. including on Nintendo switch.

Space Marshals 1 and 2 Anomaly Warzone Earth and Korea ...
Holy shit I am not able recall anymore decent games I have enjoyed on mobile! 😂
Well definitely ports of old games from other platforms, like Professor Layton and Ace Attorney series.
I mean the bitter truth is, mobile games nowadays are completely plagued with the same cancer of trying to sell you stuff inside the game. Virtually every "worthwhile" game on mobile has become a flea market in on itself. So even the decent games a chore to get through to the actual meaty part. I used to enjoy PUBGmobile and CODmobile with my friends but even that I stopped playing because it was just rinse and repeat live service model of trudging through gutter waste. It became just an obligation to my friends rather than anything I would enjoy so I quit.
Problem is that nobody takes mobile as a serious platform for gaming. And somewhat sad reality is that the huge user base you see in mobile space, especially Android, is coming from people who are not going to spend a single penny on anything software.
- Yeah emulated games on mobile are usually fantastic. Playing through the ace attorney series worked great, and the number of really well done Pokemon roms are also high.

If you find a good developer, it's worth checking their catalogue. For example, Butterscotch Shenanigans is one I am a fan of. Another to look at is Noodlecake.
- Love noodlecake for the pumped bmx series alone but they make some good stuff besides too. I'll have a look at butterscotch as not heard of them.
  Ninja kiwi make very little besides bloons but btd6 is arguably the best value games I've ever played, mobile or not. Cost £6 and I've been playing it daily for 30min or more for over a year, and haven't even come close to exhausting the content. If you like tower defence games then you've almost certainly already played it though. But I'd definitely consider it a very good mobile game (also available on steam/apple now but was android/ios originally so I think we can call it a proper mobile game).

These are my picks.
Infinitode 2: Pretty good standard Tower Defence.
Gravity Box: Very simple platformer where your only movement is rocket jumps. People say it has occasional ads but I've never seen any.
God Field: fun tacky card battle game. Quick games. Can play bots, private lobbies, casual or ranked. Anywhere from 1v1 to 9ffa. I would look up a guide online to find out how to play, as it doesn't have a tutorial (just a glossary).
Arknights: DISCLAIMER - Gacha game, I play f2p though just fine. You're only allowed a certain number of missions per day. Unique Tower defense game with levelable Pokemon for towers, except it's waifus instead of pokemons. Has lots of story (though you'll get through slowly).
Emulation very possible (though I dislike touch controls):
Dolphin (wii/gc)
Citra (3ds)
RetroArch (any older system)
I've seen these mentioned in other comments:
Mindustry
Slay the Spire

I'm a big fan of BuriedBornes. Great little old school rpg to pick up and play. Lots of in depth mechanics and replayability.

Well... I have GTA: San Andreas on mobile and that shit is damn near as good as console or PC

223 comments